In a disturbing book that celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender agenda, a transgender woman is promoting the chronicles of her transition from father to mother.
Jennifer Finney Boylan, the father-turned-mother of two boys, describes her journey in the just-released Stuck in the Middle With You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders. She’s getting plenty of mainstream media attention for her work. She has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, The Today Show and Rock Center With Brian Williams on NBC. The liberal media is essentially positioning her as a Father Knows Best who has wit and wisdom for today’s parents. She may indeed have wit and wisdom, but it saddens me to see her exploited by the LGBT agenda.
Although Boylan is thrilled about the march toward equality for gays and lesbians, she’s not satisfied because, as she told Reuters, “the giddiness around marriage equality can sometimes overshadow the fact that transgender people are really suffering in this country and are vulnerable to violence and suicide. … It’s important for people to remember that for transgender people, the fight for equality is a long way off.”
Transgender Suicide Risks Are Real
The risk of harassment and suicide among transgender people is well documented—and it’s heartbreaking. According to a Case Western Reserve University study, 36 percent of LGBT undergrad students have experienced harassment within the past year. That harassment usually comes in the form of derogatory remarks (89 percent).
More disturbing, two out of every three transgender individuals have considered suicide, according to a study conducted by Ryan J. Testa of the Center for LGBTQ Evidence-Based Applied Research. (By comparison, the suicide rate of the general population ranges from between 6 percent and 12 percent.) And 26.3 percent of trans women and 30.4 percent of trans men reported a history of suicide attempts.
But I submit to you that celebrating the transgender lifestyle isn’t the answer to end transgender suicidal thoughts—or suicide attempts. And Sy Rogers agrees with me. I know because I once heard Rogers speak at a church. He has been open with his struggles as a transsexual in order to set other captives free, and his story touched my heart—and touches the hearts of many transsexuals seeking deliverance from the suicidal thoughts that torment them.
Rogers explains, “It wasn’t that my parents didn’t love me, but a series of tragic circumstances deprived me of a normal childhood. I was born the only child of a disintegrating middle-class couple. Due to my mother’s alcoholism, she was often incapable of nurturing and protecting me. As a result, I was sexually molested at age three by a man who was a ‘friend’ of the family. Although the molestation didn’t make me a homosexual, it left me deeply confused, fearful of men, and imprinted with a powerful, perverted knowledge of sexuality.”
Rogers goes on to discuss how he lived a double life. He was active in church, school and Boy Scouts. He played football and went out for track and the swim team. But he felt like a failure as a boy and begged God to change him into a woman. He later joined the military, where he says some men sought him out for secret encounters. Eventually, he decided to take the plunge—to set out on the journey to surgically become a woman.
Encountering His Deliverer
Ultimately, it was an encounter with God that delivered Rogers from the transsexual lifestyle. He never had the sexual reassignment surgery. And although he admits he continued to struggle in many respects after handing his life over to God, he is today happily married to a beautiful woman, and God is using him mightily to speak the truth in love about the bondage of gender identity issues.
“In over a decade of living this challenging yet satisfying new life, I’ve had a unique opportunity to travel the world and minister to the sexually broken,” he says. “I have met many hundreds—if not thousands—of men and women who have overcome various sexual disorders. Many more are ‘in process of recovery’—a phrase I believe accurately describes God’s ongoing triumph in the lives of those reconciled to Him. As has often been said, ‘God gets glory out of the process—not just the end result.’ Becoming a Christian is just the beginning!”
So, Mrs. Boylan, with all due respect to you and with an acknowledgment that transgender people are suffering in this country and are vulnerable to violence and suicide, it’s important for you to know that fighting for transgender equality is not the answer—and Jesus will help you gain victory over the fight for your true identity in Christ, if you’ll let Him. He loves you. He loves transgenders, cross-dressers and others who are struggling with gender identity issues. I encourage you and any others struggling with these issues to read Rogers’ whole story, and I pray the Lord will speak to your heart.
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@
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