Flyover States Reconsidered
Our local LGBTQ+ community has recently been subjected to some very ugly threats of violence. Maybe it’s time for the broader community to look in the mirror.
In recent years, our society has experienced an explosion of identity labels. There are now pronouns, labels, acronyms, and flags – each intended to convey a unique gender identity or sexual preference. One web site lists 44 flags for different identities and orientations[i]. Another lists 78 different gender pronouns[ii].
Many scoff at such a profusion. But consider that earlier generations fought wars to produce over 4,300 religions[iii] and 5,000 ethnic groups. One religion alone, Christianity, has splintered its way into 45,000 distinct denominations[iv]. Mankind has defined and divided itself over economic models, political parties, nation-states, tribes, family systems, artistic preferences … even clothing. In some circles, hoodies and face masks are fighting words.
And we haven’t even come to race. A nineteenth century German encyclopedia identified three global races: Caucasian, Mongolian, and Negroid. Since then, this list has evolved and expanded only slightly. Today, the U.S. Census Bureau recognizes six races: White, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
What do we gain by categorizing skin color? And who picks the colors? Artist, Angélica Dass, recently assembled over 4,000 photographs, each presenting a unique color of skin[v]. What purpose – other than something nefarious – is served by reducing all that beautiful, living color to a handful of categories? Several recent tv sitcoms have kept audiences laughing with a pair of inter-racial parents debating whose demographic box their child should check on a college or job application.
Is it any wonder that a growing number of people describe themselves as questioning, non-binary, living on a spectrum, or queer? A recent survey at the University of North Carolina’s Asheville campus revealed that over 30 percent of the student body identifies as nonbinary.
My favorite of these “non-identity” terms is queer. Some people dislike the term because of its many negative connotations. I adore it. Queer has a powerful verb form: to queer a social convention is to defy it by turning it on its side. In her book, Queer Virtue, Reverend Elizabeth Edleman argues that, in this sense, queer is the heart and soul of Christianity: Christ queered all sorts of social boundaries: between Jew and Gentile, Man and God, living and dead, sinner and saint.
Some dismiss these new “non-labels” as a sign of personal uncertainty, sickness, or confusion. But what if it is society that is sick and confused? Maybe our youth and minorities are growing tired of being pinned to shopworn labels that mask their humanity and do little more than enumerate societal prejudices.
To declare yourself queer, questioning, or non-binary is to step through a monochrome world into one of living color. To create your own pronoun is to queer tired conventions that mostly serve to limit your identity and marginalize half the world.
Become the author of your life. Take ownership of your identity. Liberate the person inside you. It’s pretty damn cool.
[i] www.vispronet.com/blog/sexuality-flags/
[ii] www.mvorganizing.org
[iii] www.theregister.com/2006/10/06/the_odd_body_religion/
[iv] www.livescience.com/amp/christianity-denominations.html
[v] https://news.artnet.com/art-world-4000-skin-colors-in-pantone-squares-1254683/amp-page
