Gender and Sexuality

My Life with a Pink Water Bottle

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If a thing as simple as color reinforces the pressure males are under to be dominant, aggressive and tough, one can imagine how deeply rooted stereotypes can have strong, tragic effects. David Harris-Gershon details his experience using his wife’s pink water bottle, and the insults and interrogations he faces highlight important implications of gender norms in today’s society.

Empathy

Politics, Humility and Homophobia: The Strangest Bedfellows of All

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Does Outrage Work?
When I consider how my own mind has changed, it was never because someone attacked and judged me harshly. It almost always arose from the surprising response of someone I respected. One example: I grew up literally and genuinely homophobic, one of those who are called “haters” though it was not true that I hated homosexuals.

Christianity

Thou Shalt Not Employ a Transgender Professor? It’s Not a Verse in the Bible

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Reflecting on her own coming-out experience at Yeshiva University, Joy Ladin speaks out in support of Professor Adam Ackley, the theologian who was just fired from Christian Azusa Pacific University after coming out as transgender. There is no verse in the Bible in which God says, “Thou shalt not employ a transgender professor,” and religious organization who act against such people only do so out of fear: fear of difference, fear of the unknown, and fear of losing money.

Gender and Sexuality

Sacramento, Not Washington, Sets Pace for Immigration Reform

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The rights of immigrants, LGBT communities, and women are intrinsically connected. And for all groups there has been a recent uprise in the amount of laws and resolutions being passed on a State level, with local communities taking the lead and making their own example of what they want to see happening in Washington.

Gender and Sexuality

Buffoon Politicians and the Saga of Anthony Weiner, et al.—A Systemic Disorder of Character

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In a culture that is tending towards equality, keeping one’s word and holding one’s vows as sacred and part of personal integrity has become ever more important. The excoriations for violations by public figures have also become more pronounced, even for lesser violations. Even so, I expected more revelations from Anthony Weiner and the possibility of his exhibitionism continuing. Yes, he could not stop—even after getting caught and suffering grievous harm.

Christianity

Nuns Who Commit Sexual Abuse and the Annexation of Mercy

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Unlike the vast majority of men and women who have survived clergy abuse, Steve Theisen was not sexually abused by a Catholic priest. He was sexually abused by a Catholic nun. Theisen’s testimony is gut-wrenching to hear. One of the saddest things Theissen told me was this: “The Catholic Church is supposed to be a community, but sex abuse victims are not treated as members of the community.”