On campus I co-founded Filmic Productions, the University of
Michigan’s first ever student-led creative agency. Over the past two years
we’ve had the chance to tell the stories of many incredible Wolverines; perhaps
no film, though, has personally impacted me as much as our biography piece on
Jim Toy:
Jim Toy is regarded as the civil rights leader when it comes to LGBTQ rights in the state of Michigan. 40 years ago, he founded the Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan, the first gay-lesbian program for students at any university in the US.
(You can find the video on Vimeo here, or you can try to watch it in the video player above – unfortunately it’s not uploaded to YouTube.)
As Jim proudly states at the top of the video: “I’m a democrat, I’m an Episcopalian, I’m a consciences objector. I was born biologically male, so I was assigned to what we call the male gender; I identify with that gender assignment. And, as it turns out, I happen to be gay.”
For me, what makes Jim so unique is his ability to live at the intersection of his identities. So often when we discuss who we are, I feel we have a tendency to keep our varying traits ‘silo-ed.’ At times we focus on our gender…at other times our faith…and still at other times our race, SES, and sexual orientation. Instead of fully embracing every part of who we are, we often cover certain aspects depending on whom we’re with.
Building off of our discussion on gay marriage and the effects of covering, I wanted to specifically highlight Jim’s comfort being both a Christian and a gay male.
Many of our readings throughout the semester have mentioned the moral, conservative perspective when it comes to marriage equality; consequently, it would seem as if being gay and being Christian would be antithetical traits. Yet Jim lives his life confidently as both…never substituting one for the other. I admire him so much for that.
In her blog for Huff Post, Rev. Mieke Vandersall shares her story as a lesbian pastor. Regarding how she introduces herself to others, she shares, "[It ranges] from ‘I am a pastor’ to ‘I am an activist for LGBT people’ and everywhere in between. Neither tells the whole story. However, both are true, both often shut down conversation, and both often elicit long stories from my interrogators about the value of LGBT people and religion both.”
Jim Toy is regarded as the civil rights leader when it comes to LGBTQ rights in the state of Michigan. 40 years ago, he founded the Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan, the first gay-lesbian program for students at any university in the US.
(You can find the video on Vimeo here, or you can try to watch it in the video player above – unfortunately it’s not uploaded to YouTube.)
As Jim proudly states at the top of the video: “I’m a democrat, I’m an Episcopalian, I’m a consciences objector. I was born biologically male, so I was assigned to what we call the male gender; I identify with that gender assignment. And, as it turns out, I happen to be gay.”
For me, what makes Jim so unique is his ability to live at the intersection of his identities. So often when we discuss who we are, I feel we have a tendency to keep our varying traits ‘silo-ed.’ At times we focus on our gender…at other times our faith…and still at other times our race, SES, and sexual orientation. Instead of fully embracing every part of who we are, we often cover certain aspects depending on whom we’re with.
Building off of our discussion on gay marriage and the effects of covering, I wanted to specifically highlight Jim’s comfort being both a Christian and a gay male.
Many of our readings throughout the semester have mentioned the moral, conservative perspective when it comes to marriage equality; consequently, it would seem as if being gay and being Christian would be antithetical traits. Yet Jim lives his life confidently as both…never substituting one for the other. I admire him so much for that.
In her blog for Huff Post, Rev. Mieke Vandersall shares her story as a lesbian pastor. Regarding how she introduces herself to others, she shares, "[It ranges] from ‘I am a pastor’ to ‘I am an activist for LGBT people’ and everywhere in between. Neither tells the whole story. However, both are true, both often shut down conversation, and both often elicit long stories from my interrogators about the value of LGBT people and religion both.”
Her admittance of struggling to accurately
identify herself is something I wholly relate to. I’m a recently out gay male,
and I also consider myself to be a Christian. From my personal experience,
though, I have yet to be able to share both identities with confidence,
calmness, and poise. Although I am certain of who I am…I haven’t been able to
find the same comfort as Rev. Vandersall and Jim living out the totality of my
identities. Around my liberal friends…I always feel I have to shade my faith;
around members of my church, I always shield my sexual orientation.
Covering has become a natural part of my daily life…and it’s something I’m
looking to remedy as I make the transition from college into my professional
career.
Josh-
ReplyDeleteTwice in a row, you got me right in the feels. I am not in your exact situation, but I can speak to what it is like to be with someone who is forbidden according to your faith. I am currently in a relationship with a black Christian, and I feel myself having to cover constantly. I have never met an Arabic, Muslim woman who successfully had a relationship like this. I am told by my best friend and sister to keep it a secret as long as possible because somehow I cannot simultaneously be a good Muslim and be in a relationship with someone outside my faith.
I think the problem with being a person who does things that conflict with their religious values is that there is an all-or-nothing type of mentality. Either I do everything 100% right or I am 100% wrong. Some sins are excusable, but for some reason who we are attracted to (which is not a choice!) is seen as the worst type of sin. I find myself covering all the time, but I wish that, for once, I would have the courage to uncover. I would love to act however I wanted, be with whomever I choose, and not have to be paranoid about someone seeing me and calling me out for contradicting my faith or tell my parents. Unfortunately, I think that we will have to cover until either religion changes to meet the needs of this millennium or there are enough role models for uncovering that it becomes safe to do so.