By Ray Buckner — 2017
Ray Buckner offers a personal view of what it means to be Buddhist, gender-queer, and trans—and why they all fit together like “a miracle.”
Read on www.lionsroar.com
CLEAR ALL
Creating spaces where the need to assimilate, conform, and belong are no longer important
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A three-time U.S. champion in figure skating, Eliot Halverson is Colombian-born, was adopted and raised by a white Minnesotan family and is transgender non-binary.
When I told my family I was trans, one of their initial reactions was, “But you’re so hairy! It’s going to be so difficult to remove all your hair to be a woman, so you should just give up.” They were zeroing in on my body hair as the barrier for me to be seen as feminine.
One of life’s paradoxes is that we are encouraged to “be ourselves,” but are often punished when we do.
For LGBTQ youth in particular, the Internet can be a refuge—a safe place to feel less alone. For queer youth to feel normal, they need to see, read and hear the voices of others who look like them and use the same identifying labels.
“Representation and visibility is given to us by larger power structures, but what do we give ourselves? I’m more interested in that. What questions are we asking ourselves to grow and heal? To challenge the ways this world constantly teaches us to hate ourselves?”
Out pro wrestler Logan Black found the response to his coming out ‘overwhelming in the best way.’
I already have to deal with being Black in America and the risk that comes with that, but the vulnerability of being Black and trans is even greater.
For Lion’s Roar’s 40th anniversary, we’re looking ahead at Buddhism’s next 40 years. In our March 2019 issue, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares what he feels is the most helpful message Buddhism can offer in coming decades.
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We all want more well-being in our lives.