Below is a speech, based on an expanded version of my original posts entitled “Liberty” and “One.” It was shared at CUUB (Community Unitarian Universalist) in Brighton, Michigan on Sunday, October 27th 2024.
Good morning. I will be starting today’s message with one of my short poems. This one is entitled…
Heroes
Heroes stand tall,
for those who feel small,
lifting their spirits to the sky.
Lost courage regained,
we move past the pain,
never again asking why.
No longer alone,
just sitting at home,
we venture forth and try.
For we’ve learned how to stand,
with the help of our friends,
and the heroes who taught us to fly.
Before I begin, I believe it best to be transparent about some key aspects of my life that affect my perspective.
I am part of the LGBTQIA+ Two-Spirit community and a follower of Christ. Although it is only a part of my heritage, I relate deeply with my Aniyvwiya ancestry, which also strongly influences me and how I relate to my faith.
So, when I speak of bodily autonomy and liberty, I want you to know upfront that as someone who was born intersex and identifies as transgender and asexual, I have skin in the game.
…and as a Christian with a focus on caring for the Earth and finding a healthy balance with all living beings, I view and understand the world and my place in it through these lenses.
Bodily autonomy is at the heart of women’s rights, BIPOC rights, disability rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights. It is a core human right.
Liberty is having agency over one’s own destiny and decisions. Liberty cannot truly exist without the ability to govern what happens to and with one’s own body.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
– U.S. Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson
We can argue with our opposition about when “life” begins and not come to an agreement. We cannot, however, argue that as a human being living in the United States, it is acknowledged that we have been granted “by our Creator” and our founding fathers the unalienable rights of Liberty, with a capital L, and the pursuit of happiness.
We can pursue happiness our whole lives and not find it or only have moments of happiness amidst times of struggle. Thomas Jefferson said that we may pursue happiness. He did not say that we may do so as long as we won’t regret our decisions and actions at a later date.
This is where Liberty comes into play. As law-abiding citizens, we have had our “Creator” given, government acknowledged and respected, irrevocable Right to Liberty trampled upon when it comes to bodily autonomy.
The bodily autonomy of an adult falls under Liberty.
An individual’s Liberty is not based on whether or not someone else doesn’t like what we are doing. It is based on whether or not it is detrimental to others’ well-being. I cannot hurt you, take what is yours, or destroy your property and get away with it because I call it my personal Liberty. I can, however, choose to use and alter my own body to suit me and my lifestyle.
Legally, one can wear the clothes they prefer, cut, dye, and style their hair to suit their preference, and alter their style as often as they like. Yet, for many black people, Indigenous people, people of color, and trans people, this is not always a reality. The clothes they wear and the length and style of their hair are a reflection of who they are, their preferences, and their culture. Still, even this has been limited by employers, school officials, and other organizations for generations.
What adults do in their private lives is not the government’s business. A person can choose to be with another consenting adult, irrespective of race or gender. One also has a legal right to use all methods of contraception based solely upon their own personal preference and choice. These rights also fall under bodily autonomy and are once again in the line of fire.
Someone can get a tattoo or choose to cover themself in them. They can pierce any part of their skin that they want. Cisgender people get surgery or use medications to enhance their skin, hair, face, breasts, stomach, throat, belly, butt, and the size shape of their genitalia without having to get two psychiatrists to sign off on the procedure. Trans people do not have that same freedom.
Everyone is allowed to believe what they want. Everyone is allowed to express their opinions and beliefs openly. However, we are not, as individuals or collectively as a group, allowed to force others to live their lives and make decisions about their own bodies based on our opinions or beliefs. To do so removes their Right to Liberty.
In 1803, James Madison said, “The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.”
The dream of our founding fathers was for the United States to become a place where opportunity, liberty, and justice are afforded to each person equally, a place that recognizes that “All men are created equal…by their Creator.”
Without proper protections, people will continue to be marginalized, shunned, and prosecuted for exercising what are Creator-given, basic human rights, and they will continue to be threatened with emotional and physical harm.
I remember when women who got a divorce or had an abortion were publicly shamed and shunned by their families, churches, and communities.
Shame can stunt our growth, especially if imposed on us by a person or group with high social standing. This is true whether the shame is deserved or undeserved.
If we use the words of Christ to judge others or Old Testament rules or laws to govern the behavior of others, we may have missed the point entirely. Christ came to free us from the law of sin and death. He helped, served, forgave, and loved those He encountered. The ones He chose to judge were those in leadership positions who were using their power and influence to lift themselves up while pushing others down.
“Religious freedom ends when it becomes an excuse to harm other people.”
– Pete Buttigieg
Though they can cohabitate, and both are necessary for certain situations, the concepts of liberty and judgment are antithetical in their function.
We are called to show grace to others, to help, serve, forgive, and love all those we encounter.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus read a prophecy about His coming. He said, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;”
Where there is no solid agreement between opposing opinions and belief systems, as in the case of when “life” begins, we must err on the side of Liberty and personal autonomy. We must acknowledge that each individual’s situation is different, and as such, we are less equipped to choose what is best for them. Informed consent with respect to possible health risks for the individual is all that is necessary. In the end, the decision must be left to them.
For many years, I attended pro-life rallies; I held signs on Grand River Avenue and was willing to debate my position at a moment’s notice.
Then, I met someone who told me a story of the choice she had to make. In that vulnerable moment, she shared openly about her fears, her sadness, her loss, and how difficult and heart-wrenching it was. In the days that followed, we spoke honestly and openly about our views. She told me stories of other women and girls who were forced to make a decision for their own lives and well-being, a choice that came with mental, physical, and emotional pain. A choice that could cost them friends, family, and their standing in the community. A choice that, in the end, was the right one for them and their situation.
I am still pro-life with respect to my own body, but I have to acknowledge that even that would depend upon the circumstances I would be facing. I am pro-life, but only when it comes to me. I cannot and will not judge someone else’s choice as I have not lived their life, I am not facing their future, and I know that I will never understand the true weight that sits upon their shoulders.
I cannot allow my beliefs to color how I see another person who is facing an uncertain future and the choices they make based on their right to bodily autonomy.
It is their decision and theirs alone.
When bodily autonomy is taken from a group of people, it can be taken from all of us.
As Tony Porter said, “My liberation as a man is tied to your liberation as a woman.”
There is a difference between informed consent and gatekeeping. Even adults need to be informed of the potential risks of specific procedures to the health of the individual getting the procedure, but that is where the government’s responsibility ends. To force someone to justify their decision is to take away their agency and their acknowledged “unalienable right” to Liberty.
Just because someone regrets getting a particular procedure does not mean that we stop allowing other people to get tattoos, piercings, gastric bypass, breast implants, reduction or removal, their tubes tied, a hysterectomy, gender-related procedures and surgeries, or any other cosmetic procedures or surgeries.
For those who may not know where the term cisgender came from, “cis” is Latin for “on this side of.” Trans is Latin for “across” or “to change thoroughly.” So, a cisgender person is someone who remains the same gender as was originally on their birth certificate, whereas a trans person changes to a gender different from what they were assigned at birth. I am clarifying this because there has been a rumor going around that calling someone cisgender is somehow an insult or a slight. It is not.
We keep hearing about gender-affirming surgeries being performed on kids 15 and under. Does anyone here know who is getting the majority of childhood gender-affirming surgeries?
Cis kids. Cis boys actually. The majority were chest reduction surgeries performed on cisgender male youth to remove breast growth (gynecomastia) due to hormonal imbalances before or during puberty.
Now, out of the 150 gender-affirming surgeries performed in 2019, how many do you think were chest reduction for cis boys?
One-hundred and forty-six. That’s about 97%.
No trans or gender-diverse youth under 12 years old received any gender-affirming surgeries. The rare few that were performed on 13-17-year-olds were almost exclusively chest-related procedures.
I bring this up because gender-affirming care for trans youth is being misrepresented in the media and is being used to stop or severely limit gender-affirming care of any kind for kids and adults.
For the majority of trans kids, affirming care amounts to allowing them to use their preferred name and pronouns and wear the clothes that they are most comfortable with.
Does anyone know what the regret rate is for adult trans people who transition?
How many of us de-transition?
During one of his comedy shows, the comedian Steve Hofstetter stated that the regret rate is 3%, which is the same percentage as people who regret winning the lottery.
The actual number is 1% for trans femme people and less than 1% for trans masculine people.
What do you think the regret rate is for cisgender adults who have had similar surgeries like breast augmentation or other gender-affirming surgeries?
The regret rate for cisgender adults who undergo similar surgeries is 14.4%. Over fourteen times the regret rate of trans people, but nobody is telling cis people they can’t get surgery, use Viagra, or take hormones to help with imbalances.
A problem with the whole, “kids are getting surgery” topic is that the GOP is likely purposely conflating two different issues and groups of people when talking about child sex change surgeries. Either that or they are outright lying in order to rile people up and gain support for their agenda.
In the 2000 film, The Patriot, the main character, Benjamin Martin, poses the question, “Why should I trade one tyrant three thousand miles away for three thousand tyrants one mile away? An elected legislature can trample a man’s rights as easily as a king can.”
There are two different conversations going on in the LGBTQIA+ community. Trans people are rightfully saying that trans kids are not being pushed wholesale into surgeries before they have reached the age of consent. At the same time, the Intersex community is asking for doctors to stop non-consensual surgeries and other unnecessary treatments on intersex infants; what the medical communuity has long seen as “corrective” surgeries.
Intersex children are those who are born with one of the many differences of sexual development. In my case, I was born with both male and female attributes. The doctors performed multiple surgeries on me to “fix” things and make me a binary male, at age 15 our family doctor forced testosterone on me in order to facilitate male puberty.
When I was a baby, they chose male but my spirit, my gender, is female.
The intersex community is simply asking that doctors stop altering the natural attributes of an intersex infant to one of the binary options before the child can make that distinction and choose for themselves what, if any, surgeries they want.
Liberty, as mentioned, is the right to personal agency and autonomy, so long as it does not involve hurting or taking away property, privileges, or rights from others.
The preamble to the United States Constitution says, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.”
Personal autonomy, “Liberty,” is a fundamental Right and bodily autonomy is at its core.
One of the things that has made America strong is that we unite in times of great oppression and suffering. We work together to end injustice and persecution.
We are at the Hatred Tipping Point. We need to be vigilant against hatred in all forms. We need to truly unite under the banner “E Pluribus Unum,” “Out of many, one.” That does not mean assimilation or homogenization of our cultures. It does not mean we must all believe the same things or always agree.
It is no longer enough to coexist. Our relationship to each other, and the life and systems around us, must reach a state of symbiosis. We must nurture, support, and care for one another. If we don’t, it will be the death of us all.
“E Pluribus Unum” means that there is room for everyone, a place where we all belong, have agency and are valued for our differences, not in spite of them. “Out of many, one” means that we are many cultures and beliefs, and yet we, together, form one nation.
We have learned many lessons from the past, from our victories and failures at home and abroad. We must take those lessons to heart and carry them into the future. We must learn from them and grow into better people—more caring, compassionate, and kind. We must grow into a better nation with a focus on creating true equity for all.
We must recognize and value each individual’s unique talents, attributes, and perspectives. We must also acknowledge each others needs and help each other through difficult days and challenging situations.
“E Pluribus Unum” means we are a community that protects one another, cares for each other, and provides an environment where each of us can thrive, whatever that means to us.
“Out of many, one” does not mean we are all the same or that we hate the same people. It means we are family; we are in this together, and we all belong.
Now, the real work begins.
“Out of many, one.”
~ elr
Revised 6/22/2025
Image: ID 73336328 © Jacob_ BK | Dreamstime.com