Beyond the Binary: Queer Visibility in Pride Month—And All Year

Maxwell Kuzma

Today’s post is from Maxwell Kuzma (he/him), a transgender man, lifelong Catholic, and a writer who lives on a farm in rural Ohio. He writes and speaks about affirming the dignity of LGBTQ+ people in all areas of life, but particularly within the Catholic Church. To read Maxwell’s previous Bondings 2.0 posts, click here. To view New Ways Ministry’s webinar on Dignitas Infinita for which he was a panelist, click here. 

From the moment we are born, people in our lives immediately begin categorizing us especially by gender, sorting us into a binary system that determines much about our quality of life, opportunities, and even our legal rights.

Yet, this immediate sorting is not based on any intuitive, deep truth about our unique and individual selves. Rather, it is designed to ensure the gendered systems in place continue to function.

When I was born, the doctors decided to assign me female. They didn’t know how hollow that decision would ring for me as I grew and developed. Most people—my family, teachers, and fellow Catholics—were very invested in my performance of this role as female. And I tried, unsuccessfully, to carve out a way to be happy in this role. I thought that if I could just wear the clothes I wanted, or work in the career I wanted, I would no longer feel limited by this assigned role. But that feeling of incongruence was stronger than all my attempts to play the part of woman.

Some theologians and church leaders, such as Pope John Paul II and his “Theology of the Body,” have argued that a binary sorting of humanity is God’s divine intention, due to both supernatural grace and physical function. But the physical reality that human beings do not fit this two-option system means the binary fails to respect the God who creates diversity. In fact, such a division imposes limits on God. We are created in the image of a God who is not confined to male or female.

My faith became much more powerful and real when I embraced my identity as a transgender man and began transitioning. I had been a lifelong Catholic, but suddenly I understood the joy of living as my true self and the way my unique gifts could flourish as I worked to share my God-given talents with the community.

At the time, the conservative Catholics who made up my social, professional, and personal spheres were not pleased. They disliked that I’d stopped playing the role of woman I’d been assigned. In their view, an openly LGBTQ person was either a martyr or a villain. If such a person used the right words–“same sex attracted” rather than “gay”–and constantly discussed their chastity and celibacy, that person could be labeled a martyr. However, if an LGBTQ person dared to be true to the way God made them, they would become a villain. The conservatives demanded a tidy binary that is not a primary value for the Holy Spirit who moves in unexpected, wild ways.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Washington, D.C.

As LGBTQ communities worldwide celebrate Pride this June, we glimpse the beautiful diversity of God’s creation in the myriad styles of gender expression. For example, someone you know may choose to come out as bisexual, revealing a truth about their inner life that was previously hidden.

Many LGBTQ people are effectively invisible. Within that invisible world, a wide variety of situations and experiences exist. For example, some transgender people who pass as their true gender can participate in their churches with others thinking they are a cisgender person. Similarly, queer people whose partners who may not be Catholic, sometimes participate in church by themselves, rendering their relationship invisible to others in the community.

Invisibility should not be necessary for LGBTQ people to participate in communities of faith, which should be places where diversity is celebrated. During Pride, but also year round, faith communities have the opportunity to show unconditional love through their support and affirmation of all. Sorting into two binary categories may seem simpler, but that is simply not the reality of the fullness of God’s creation. No person is simply a martyr or a villain. And not every person is simply male or female according to society’s script. This is why queer visibility is so essential.

When LGBTQ people are asked to hide our true selves, the whole community suffers. We shouldn’t have to hide our lamp under the bushel basket to make others more comfortable—after all, hiding the light also means hiding our unique gifts and talents.

This Pride Month and every month, let us celebrate the diversity of God’s people and affirm the beauty and dignity of the LGBTQ folks in our own communities by making queer visibility a value we embrace and a goal for which we strive.

—Maxwell Kuzma (he/him), June 28, 2024