If you Google 'LGBT
bible verses', all the results on the first page, whatever their point, are
about homosexuality. Half of them use the term 'gay'. The same goes for the
second page. It takes until the third for the word 'bisexual' to appear. Part
of this seems to be Google thinking that 'lgbt' and 'gay' are synonyms for each
other, but I think it also reflects how people tend to think about queer issues
as they relate to religion: here, more than usual, the trans people get
forgotten.
Now, when using the
right search terms, there's no end of argument back and forth about what the
Bible says about transsexuality. But while I've read plenty of LGB stories
where religious conflicts at least merited a mention, before writing
Manifest, I personally had never seen a story where a
transgender character struggled with their religious beliefs, Christian or
otherwise. In real life, though, it's a problem for many people, even if the end
result is often leaving their religion.
In
Manifest, the source of much of the anguish of the main
character, Chris, is her perceived conflict between her emerging identity as a
transgender girl and her dearly-held Christian beliefs. I am not religious
myself, but I do know queer people who are. My best friend, for example, is a
Catholic and also bisexual. He gave me plenty of advice when I started writing Manifest. I had another friend invite me to an inter-faith
discussion on homosexuality and religion that included Christians, Jews, and
Hindus.
Trans people
usually have enough to worry about without adding religion in to the mix. It
varies from person to person, but we worry about our bodies, how other people
perceive us, what our futures hold, and all kinds of things. Adding the worry
about endangering one's eternal soul or going against the word of God to the
mix - that isn't easy.
Chris eventually
learns to accept herself without giving up her religion. The journey to that
isn't smooth, of course, but she makes it through okay. Along the way she picks
up enviable sewing skills, creates some awesome costumes, and even finds love
for herself. Maybe the solution she finds isn't the one I would have chosen,
but it's the road she - and many others - has picked.
About Manifest:
The very last thing
Chris expects when he's forced to take sewing lessons is to enjoy them. Or for
sewing to lead him into the world of cosplay, and a friend with whom he begins
to cosplay in earnest—and who convinces him to try dressing up as female
characters.
He certainly
doesn't anticipate the realizations that cosplaying stirs—realizations that
could cost Chris not just his best friend, but his family as well.
Manifest can be bought at Less Than Three Press, and is part of LT3's GeekOut collection
You can find me at
I'm also giving
away the chance to name a main character in a future story! Leave a comment
(and your email) to enter.
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