You Gotta Have Faith

One point that is repeatedly missed in the broader trans community is the faith of transpeople of color is an integral part of their lives.

Out of the long list of reasons why many POC trans people shy away from participating in the trans movement, the knee jerk bashing of religion by some people in it is probably in the Top Ten as to why.

To be honest, to transition takes a leap of faith to begin with.

You have to leave behind a life you aren't happy with in order to become the person you always were. You will endure scorn, ridicule, sometimes violence, loss of things, friends and sometimes family members that are near and dear to your heart.

And yet, through that process, we become the men and women we were born to be,

Contrary to the lies that our opponents tell about us, many of us were spiritual people before we embarked upon this gender journey, and it has only enhanced our faith.

There are times when that faith is severely tested, and times we have had to seriously lean on it to get us through some troubling situations.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, once said about this subject in his 1963 essay Strength To Love, 'Faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future.'

So yes, one of the prerequisites for any transition is faith.

Faith that you have prayerfully considered that transition is what you really want to do with all your heart, mind and soul. Faith that you will have the endurance to journey down this road to completion once you start down this path.

And finally, you have the faith to boldly look in the mirror, love the person that stared back at you in the mirror's reflection and be a better human being than when you started.