OK, So.

I’ve been wrestling with whether to post this, or not. I want to always advise of resources for marginalized people to find community. However, these are religious resources. They’re the sort that emphasize inclusion and welcome and community, though, so that wins out, for me. I’m going to post this, hoping that someone will be able to use the information or knows someone else who can. I don’t know if there is an audience here for such things, so this would be the time to comment as to Yea, post these when I see them, or no comments/Nay being there is no one who might use these, and I’ll save the space in future. Thanks for your time! There is no proselytization intended with this post. It’s only to try to reach any- and everyone who is looking for community. These came from my Sojourners magazine. They’re simple resources that one can check out with no obligation or identification.

TRANSforming Church Culture: Becoming Trans Inclusive

Convocation 2025: UNCHARTED

Comics For Hopeful Expression

(Having only just now (10 PM Sunday) opened the email with this comic, I’m quite late; I’d saved it for a possible post, and it got buried. No matter, though; the message is good for more than one day, IMO. Everyone should be welcome everywhere every day, as they are welcome here. So, enjoy a comic. -A)

Published March 30, 2025

Creating Space for Trans Joy—And Rage

Teddie Bernard

During my first Trans Day of Visibility after starting hormone replacement therapy, I’m feeling like being trans is such a gift.

“Trans Day of Visibility 2025” is a comic drawn with sketchy maroon linework colored in with yellow and purple backgrounds, evocative of the non-binary pride flag. The narration follows Teddie, the artist, and their thoughts about transness. Teddie is depicted as a white person with short brown hair and a masculine or butch fashion sense. In panel one, Teddie is standing in their bathroom. They share, “I’ve identified as non binary for almost a decade and have felt my gender non conforming for longer than that.” Panel two is an illustration of Teddie’s hand squirting gel out of a bottle. They think, “But this is my first year celebrating Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) while on Hormone Replacement Therapy.” Panel three, Teddie applies the gel to their upper arm. Their caption reads, “I’m incredibly grateful for this gift—for my happiness around transition.” Panel four, Teddie pulls down the sleeve of their t-shirt, covering their arm and looking reflective. The caption reads, “A huge weight, a blanket of dread that seemed to cover my life previously, has been lifted.” Panel five shows Teddie washing their hands of any remaining gel. They think, “Despite that lightness, that joy, I’m scared and furious for my community, my trans friends and family, for all of us.” Panel six has Teddie drying their hands off, thinking, “Anti-transgender legislation is being passed in the United States at a mind-numbing speed.” Across panel eight and nine, Teddie ponders their complicated feelings while looking in the mirror, seeing both a happy and frustrated version of themselves staring back. The caption reads, “While we celebrate transgender lives today, it’s crucial to hold space for not just trans joy but to hold equal space for trans rage.”

The next panels show those heavy moments of trans rage. A candlelight vigil with a trans flag in the background, a difficult conversation with a friend who says “I took they/them out of my bio…” and a phone balanced on someone’s knees, being informed there are “no operators available” are all depicted. The narration reads: “Every time we mourn for our trans siblings who were taken too soon, every time someone goes back into the closet, every time someone alls the lifeline and no one picks up, I feel trans rage, trans grief.” The next panel shows Teddie lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling sleeplessly. The caption shares, “Right before starting HRT, I would have nights where I couldn’t sleep, wondering if I could manage to postpone medically transitioning another four years…” Teddie thinks to themselves hopelessly, “...or forever?” The caption of the next panel reads, “I had my first inkling I’d eventually want HRT when I was a teenager during Trump’s first presidency.” Below is a drawing of teenage Teddie, sitting on the couch with a laptop, looking at Laurence Philomene’s Trans Gaze photographs on their computer. They see themselves reflected back in the faces of other trans and nonbinary people. The next panel reads, “But I swallowed that feeling down for years. Ultimately, I was choking on dread—I couldn’t do it again.” Teddie here is depicted in a spiral of distress and dread. They can’t keep going the way they’re going at this point. The next panel reads, “I tried to imagine myself as a cis person, but it felt pointless. I’m a gender-freak through and through.” The image in the panel shows a TSA agent pulls Teddie aside, telling them, “We’ll need to pat down your crotch area.” Teddie looks irritated but not surprised, thinking to themselves, “I’m sure you do.”

Cutting back to the present moment, Teddie’s caption shares, “I’m not politically optimistic. Things have gotten much worse in a short period of time.” Teddie is shown walking in their apartment, looking at news on their phone that says: “Texas Bill 3399 aims to ban gender affirming care for adults.” In the foreground, a stack of posters that say “Protect and Defend Trans Lives” lie on the table. The next panel reads, “But those feelings are contrasted with my sudden love for my life and my body.” Teddie looks in the mirror and, similar to when they were looking at those photographs as a teenager, really sees themselves reflected back. They smile. Teddie thinks, “I’m overwhelmed by this freedom—I am the person in control of my body!” They hold their hand to their heart, feeling like they’re at home. Narration shares, “I get to decide what feels happy and healthy for myself.” Teddie walks through the park, a spring in their step. Teddie approaches a sign pole in their neighborhood. The caption reads, “Bodily autonomy is a feeling worth fighting for—” The caption continues: “—worth harnessing all the trans joy and rage to protect and defend.” We see Teddie staple a poster to the pole with a staple gun. In the last panel, we see Teddie standing next to the sign pole with the poster “Protect and Defend Trans Lives” displaying behind them. They speak directly to the audience in the final moment of the comic, saying, “Happy Trans Day of Visibility.”

Matt Walsh STUNNED During Heated Debate | Hasanabi reacts

If you look past the Matt Walsh crap Hasan gets to talking about people who are passing as the gender they identify as. And that is one reason why the red states are pushing so hard to trans block kids from using puberty blockers while allowing them for cis kids, they work and are safe but the trans kids won’t go through the wrong puberty giving them the wrong features we normally associate with genders. These people are terrified they won’t recognize who is trans because they pass so well. It shouldn’t be the issue I know as many wonderful trans people who had to go through the wrong puberty are still the gender they know and identify as. Sadly two things are at work. The two groups working together to stop trans positive or any positive LGBTQ+ inclusion / equality are the fundamentalist religious groups who think the entire world should run according to their faith … yet they have different faiths so … and the republican politicians who use it as a way to win votes and keep their base outraged. Both groups have their own agenda and they both ignore science and facts to create the narrative / outrage they desire rather than create a peaceful loving inclusive society. Oh I guess I forgot the white supremacist Nazi’s but they really fall under the Fundamentalist Christian banner right? Hugs.