Check out this op-ed by Zachary Pullin. He reaffirms the idea that, sometimes, one must leave their country and culture to discover himself or herself.
My past indicates that I am capable of embracing pride in my identity. While serving in the Peace Corps, I led a secret LGBTQ youth group in Orange Walk, Belize, a majority Catholic community. One of our biggest projects was painting a peace and equality mural, a large rainbow with words of love and acceptance inscribed within each color. This large expression of pride was incendiary; local preachers condemned my group and numerous threats were made on my life and job as a volunteer. As a safety precaution, I was rushed by Peace Corps to Belmopan, the capital.
During this time, I was forced to process what it meant to be gay. What it meant to be true to who I was. I looked for comfort and clarity, searching out places of acceptance and affirmation, finding that one of the greatest pieces of that fabric of my identity was found in the history of Two Spirit people. I was compelled to reexamine the moment my family discussed our lesbian relative.
Culturally, the term Two Spirit has been generally accepted as those with a special gift – being in and of two worlds at once, both physical and spiritual world. They were keepers of ancient traditional stories of creation, development and healing, and best possessed the four traits of our culture: warrior, nurturer, scholar, and community activist.
No comments:
Post a Comment