what's in a label?
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual
- what's in a label?
We all have labels, every one of us. Labels are used as a shorthand
way of explaining a set of characteristics. Sometimes they are defined
out of hatred and fear. Sometimes they are defined by science or anthropology.
Whether they are developed out of wanting to deny, or conversely out of
our inquisitive wanting to know, they are always inadequate.
You are so much more than your labels. You are a person, a unique individual,
with many things about you. Your sexuality is one of them; and it may
define other characteristics about you. But it does not 'sum you up'.
This condescending contraction of self when it comes to sexuality is something
one could say that the church and the gay scene are equally guilty of.
FIRST SUNDAY might loosely be defined as
a Christian fellowship for LGBT people, but this is a shorthand way of
defining something far more complex than that. It is a messy, diverse,
wonderful tangle. It's about individuals, and their stories shared.
