LGBT Community Identification Report

In today’s world most, if not all, religions are plagued by the same stigma - that they are unaccepting of LGBTQ people. Due to this stigma, people within the LGBTQ community are often quiet about their religious beliefs - they don’t attend services but practice their religion in private. This is out of fear that their religious community may reject or put them in danger. Religious leaders are beginning to address these fears, which has led to different reaffirming actions. Within this essay I will explore how in Reform and Orthodox Judaism transgender identities are being accepted and reaffirmed. This is an important step for religious communities to make, as many trans people, especially those who do not fit within the gender binary,

Any articles that speak on LGBTQ acceptance within Judaism focus heavily on gay and lesbian identities - transgender people are an afterthought. Although this is unfortunate, we can still benefit from this. By exploring articles dedicated to gay and lesbian Jewish acceptance, it creates a space where we can begin to understand how the different sects react to LGBTQ identities. In one of our class readings, Umansky writes, “Traditional Jewish attitudes towards homosexuality are rooted in the book of Leviticus. According to Lev. 18 : 22, it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man as he would lie with a woman,”. By taking this view into account, we can infer that Jewish attitudes towards transgender identities may be quite the same - although there has not been specific texts within the Hebrew Bible about trans people, this could be interpreted as meaning the same thing, had their actually been text written about them. Essentially, the lack of mention of trans people could mean the same thing as the mention of trans people and how God may view their identity as

More often than not those within the LGBTQ community find themsevles searching for a place to fit in. Churches, synagogues, and mosques are pillars of communities and thus are places that can be easily reachable for LGBTQ individuals. However, the lack of support these religious communities often have creates a problem. Both Reform and Orthodox synagogues are making strides in terms of creating a space open to transgender people. That being said, not all synagogues are accepting - many have a far way to go, in terms of their acceptance. It still remains, however, that the progress that is being made is detrimental to keeping transgender folks not only within religious communities such as Judaism, but also to keeping them safe. Transgender people face violence in their everyday lives - having a community to go back to that not only supports and loves you keeps these people alive. I as a transgender man am not religious, however, the family of my boyfriend is; being accepted and encouraged to join Jewish practices and traditions not only makes me feel welcomed but it makes me feel accepted for who I am. This is how all transgender individuals should