June, 1975

HIGH GEAR

Religion

I am an atheist.

I arrived at this philosophical base in part when I fully accepted my sexual orientation. It was a well thought out, if not easy decision. Reared as a Roman Catholic, I was subject to repeated indoctrination that condemned me to hell for my very existence. A victim of religious scorn, degradation, and repudiation, I was judged immoral and a sinner. Those who chas tized me frequently chanted the verses of Leviticus, Chapter 18, First Corinthians, Chapter 6, and Jude, Verse 7. "You shall not lie with a male as a woman; It is an abomination.

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Certainly if I am to accept myself as an equal among all other humans, I must evaluate these charges as lies. And in doing so, logically also came to realize that if thses fallacies "inspired by God" are misleading then additional parts of the Bible can fall under the same scrutiny. The result? A distinct probability that the entire Bible is not only fallible but greatly lacking in any absolute, external guidance.

By means of my rational, cognitive processes, I am able to appreciate all races, cultures and sexual manifestations as being legitimate. An objective analysis of centuries of world history gives me no indication that a divine intervention ever alleviated the suppression of one people by another. Where was God in medieval Europe where "faggots" and faggots were the same thing, or where is he now while thousands die hungry in India and Bangla Desh? Predictably, believers would respond to such questions by insisting that only through complete faith in God can we gain the inspiration necessary to right the wrongs of the world.

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Such thinking, however, I feel is faulty. truly sincere in changing the conditions of oppression on our planet, social action is the answer, not prayer meetings. After all, "God helps those who help themselves." A moral deity is thus, by definition, irrelevant to human progress. The aspirations of human rights and responsibilities need no religious foundation for their endurance. Indeed, their continued strength in the long run will transcend religious speculation.

In mankind's short history, religion has provided needed services personal comfort, a reason for living, and an explanation for the cold realities of evolving life. However man is no longer a primitive animal. His increasing rationality gives him insights never before had. A collective sense of harmony, justice and morality surfaces without the chains of the suppressive past, and deals solely with secular problems.

In coming to terms with my sexuality and myself as a human being, I can see no compatibility with religion and homosexuality, or for that matter with religion and any human endeavor. Before we can reach out to the universe for the knowledge of its celestial bodies, we must first understand what it is to be fully human gay, straight, woman, black or white. Such self-realization, however, cannot come through the vehicle of religion; for history has proved that worship only divides man and never unites him.

Man is not an innately evil animal. He does not need the omnipresent fear of a doomed life hereafter in order to be righteous. Given an environment where bigotry and oppres. sion are absent, man can transcend the limits established by his fragmented past. The possibilities therein are both challenging and highly exciting. They should be givin a human chance.

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Transexuals Continued

away from it. He will also begin electrolysis treatments for the removal of his beard. (Surgery seems inadvisable until electrlysis is at least half comleted, for psychological readjustmant after surgery seems to be greatly impaired if much facial hair remains) The female-to-male's reaction to hormone treatment includes beard and body hair growth, complete loss of menstrual cycles and flow, a diminishing in size of the breasts, enlargement of the clitoris, and a voice drop.

The

When the individual has received hormones and lived as a member of the appropriate sex for an extended period of time, (at least six months, a period of two years or more being preferrred) and psychologically adjusted and ready, surgery is considered and performed. The male-to-female has a penectomy and has an artificial vagina formed. She may also have cosmetic surgery for the reduction of the Adam's Apple. male will have a masectomy, a complete hysterectomy, and will The femal-tooccasionally have a penis created from abdominal tissue. created penis is totally realis tie in appearance, but as techniques in creating a function are changing and being refined, many prefer to wait until this procedure is more functionally perfected. The majority of transsexuals report that their sex drive is greatly increased, (as a group, transsexuals are very low-sexed) and that they receive more satisfaction. large number report that they are experiencing their first orA very gasms, and that this is becoming a regular experience. become involved in heterosexual marriages, and are accepted inMany to the community readily. (Unless told, those meeting the postsurgical transsexual may never suspect the previous condition.) Although they find themselves facing a different set of problems, they are more adept at adjustment and may be happy for the first time, relieved of having to live a lie and having to pretend. they are something they are not for the sake of conforming to a physical reality. When physical reality finally matches psychological reality, they experience being ONE person for the first time.