LGBTQ+

“Thoughts on the Transgender” – Freya’s Chambers – Sexual Identity

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Frigg and Freya’s Day!

Disclaimer:  The topics covered in Freya’s Chambers include serious discussions of sex, sexuality and related issues.  If it isn’t your thing; you can move along, otherwise enjoy and feel free to discuss.  Given the nature of some subjects be prepared for nude images as there may be some.  I avoid genitalia as a general rule but is not always possible.

Discussion:

This is one of those subjects I was going to get to later but it has been put in my face due to recent events.  A coworker came out recently that ‘he’ was transgender and in a few months months ‘he’ was going to become ‘she’.  He talked to me with a lot of trepidation, my empathy could tell he was very nervous and they told me it was because of my background.  As a former minister, they didn’t know where I stood on this issue.  I told him that he really didn’t have anything to fear from me as I pretty much now allow people to be whatever sexual identity they want to be.See the source image

My atheism has made me quite liberal on most social matters as I don’t care what identity/ role or pronoun people use about themselves anymore. My main issue regarding sexuality and behavior is as I said some time ago.  Is it consensual, is it safe, and are the people involved emotionally mature enough to handle it?  Beyond this let freedom reign.

See the source imageIf someone, therefore, feels they are a woman but their body is male, then I can’t conclude they are wrong out of hand any more.  No appeal to authority for my morality means I treat them as human beings who are making choices about their life.  I respect them and support them and their right to make such a decision themselves. My own sexual identity has no bearing on this.  This is about an individual right to make decisions regarding their body and sexual identity.   A right that no person should take from them.

See the source image

My concern for them is that they consider all the risks and factors as honestly as they can and with the greatest amount of information possible to make the best decision for themselves there are risks both mental and physical and this change tends to be a one way trip with some things that cannot be reversed.  This a lifestyle-altering decision and should be treated as such.  Socially the stigma is very negative right now and it can be violent, cause the trans person to consider suicide and other mental escapes even more than others, etc. Going into this decision without full counseling and consideration of all the implications is unwise and I don’t recommend it.

See the source image

It’s also why I don’t think minors should be allowed to make this decision, not to mention letting their body grow to the point where it can take the stress the transformation can put on it, and some changes are simply not possible until the body matures anyway.

The one thing I will not tolerate anymore, is these people being treated badly. I stand very strong for individual rights in this area and my coworker needn’t have been concerned because my attitude now is to defend their right to make this change.  I just have to get used to the change as it happens on a practical level.

My Two Cents,

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Deconverting and My Attitude About Women”- The Pagan Pulpit

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods, goddesses, or whatever powers that be (if any) either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here.  We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it.  Let’s be honest, offerings are not given to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it.  Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never sees a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Theme Song: Nordic/Viking Music – ‘Víðbláinn’

Meditation:

Image may contain: possible text that says '"WheRever you know or harm, Regard that harm as youR own; and give youR roes no peace." --Odin, Havamal 127.'

Text: 

Sermon:

When I was a Christian minister I always had the dreaded sermons when going through certain books of the Bible where I had to talk about male and female roles, husband and wife roles and the status of women.  It was so patently obvious that the Bible is patriarchal to the extreme it is ridiculous.  Women have a status of somewhere above cattle but below men, Women are clearly seen as male property either of their father or their husband.   The laws regarding rape and adultery in the Bible are much more about protecting a man’s investment and property than the woman’s right to her body and mind.

When I deconverted, one of the things I had to struggle with at first and deal with often was my own attitude about women.  Not that my views as a Christian weren’t fairly liberal, it is that the environment of the church still tends to put women in their place.  Even my last church which was very open, there was an almost unwritten rule that women could not be ushers for the offering. It actually caused some buzzing when one Sunday we had no choice but to use one of the female members of the church council to do this task because most of the men were gone that Sunday.

When I look at this issue now as a pagan atheist. the respect of the individual regardless of sex, sexual orientation or identity becomes paramount. I have no authority that tells me that women are subservient to men nor tells me that men and women have different roles in society.  We tend certain natural directions if left to our own devices, but it is quite possible for women to be mechanics and men to be hairdressers and there is nothing wrong with that.  It also possible for a woman to be the head of her house because she is the best suited to lead it.

I am very much attracted to the female form and feminity in general as a heterosexual masculine male. Our survival as a species has depended on this attraction for millions of years. I have no problem with the LGBTQ+ community but recognize my own attractions and desires that seem natural to myself are what most of society would classify as ‘normal’.  I love women and I love femininity as a masculine male.  I like pin-up girls (of all types and levels of nudity), the female form still lights my sexual fire and I find the wild pagan tattooed rebel girl attractive as fuck.

At the same time, my deconversion thoughts have taught me to respect women as their own individuals that have the right to be in charge of their own destiny.  Their sexuality is their own and they make the decisions about it. If a woman makes love to you by her own choice, it means she chose it as much as you and that is the best type of making love.  But that is also true of any time men and women work together to accomplish a goal or engage an issue.  I want a partnership with women, not ones that are subservient simply because I have a dick.

I find though that my upbringing and former way of life have a way of intruding from time to time with old attitudes. Old ideas of how men and women are different’ spiritually’ come up from time to time. One by one I have to deal with them.  I guess if something comes up where I notice it, I try to meditate on it and change my brain about it. My goal is to let women be what they want to be and enjoy the ride.

Parting Thought:

 

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!