Be Unique

I’m writing this on the airplane on the way back from England. Over Christmas, I was at a major Jewish Studies conference in Birmingham UK. With around 2,000 people there, naturally there were quite a few trans people present.

At mealtimes or other times when we were chatting, we would compare notes as we got to know each other. Nearly every trans person I talked to was on the spectrum. This was no surprise to me. I had done previous research that showed very high correlation between Ashkenazic (Eastern European) Jewish identity, being trans and being on the spectrum.

What I found interesting was that there were a lot of other similar medical issues, such as fibromyalgia, digestive issues, etc. So why do trans people seem to have health issues at higher rates than the general population — or do we? These are questions that sociologists and medical researchers will need to look into, if they are interested.

What I can say is that I know a lot of trans folx are Intersex. If we already have non-normative DNA in our sexual assignment, what’s to say that we don’t also have non-normative DNA in other parts of our coding, which could result in some of these other issues?

Readers know that I’m a rabbi, and that’s where I turn for my inspiration. The ancient rabbis didn’t know anything about DNA, of course. But they did know about human variability.

In studying the creation of humanity, the ancient rabbis knew we were all unique. They said that while when a coin maker stamps coins from their single die, all the coins are identical, when God creates each human from the die of the Original Human, each person is different and unique! (Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5) They also said that the Original Human was Androginos (had penis and vulva) (Genesis Rabbah 8:1) or that the Original Human had two faces and God separated their body and closed the flesh of their backs (also Genesis Rabbah 8:1). This is like the Plato vision of the Soul Mate.

The point being that the ancient rabbis recognized that every human is unique, and that sex/gender is not binary. These are very radical concepts for people writing almost 2,000 years ago.

Now, if you’re going to say, “but wait a minute; if lots of trans folks are on the spectrum, or have fibro, or whatever, how does that make us unique?” And that’s probably a fair question. But, first off, remember that what I did was not in any way a scientific survey. It would be like seeing two women on the street and concluding that all humans are female! Secondly, there are likely plenty of trans folx who don’t have these characteristics. So, we cannot draw any scientific conclusions from them. These are the kinds of things that make scientists ask questions, not give them answers. I used to be a scientist and have done scientific research, but that’s out of my field now.

What I can say is that no matter what health conditions each one of us may have or not have, we are all unique, and that was the point that the rabbis in the first Midrash I cited were making. So – BE UNIQUE!

Peace,

Rona

Tags: featured, Transgender

Category: Transgender Body & Soul