ATSS: Randi Robertson, “Discovering Who We Are: Relationships & Gender Identity”
26 June 2024 |
We humans have always sought to explain our place on this earth and within the cosmos. We look for explanations of how and why we exist, attempting to create reason and stability. The ongoing evolution of societies is relatively easy to document, but even over each of our short lifetimes we experience change. Some changes we like, and some we don’t, but generation by generation societies evolve: nations, cultures, theologies, and religions rise and decline. Indeed, what is considered moral and what is not, is and always has been a moving target.
The 21st-century world is and will be different from all those that came before it, and that can’t help but include the Seventh-day Adventist subculture. Part of this ever-changing phenomena is our knowledge and understanding of human relationships. Over the past few hundred years our understanding of human sexuality, gender, genetics, and how they interact within each of us as unique individuals has grown exponentially. We have come to recognize that in regard to sexuality, gender, and genetics, “sex” is not binary but continuums. Although there has been recognition of variations in these areas for many millennia and across virtually all cultures and people groups, how we understand them today has led to western societies’ becoming much more accepting of these realities.
Today and for the past 20 to 30 years, those who are not at the two poles of gender—hetero male and hetero female—have come to be called the LGBTQI+ community. This collection of variations is not monolithic. The developmental dynamics that cause or facilitate these various characteristics in individuals is also varied. The commonality that seems to carry across these groups is the fact that each of the groups exists along the continuums of development of whom one is attracted to, biological and genetic identity (XX, XY, XXY, etc.) of an individual, and the gender one perceives oneself to be. The coalescing of these groups under the umbrella of LGBTQI+ has more to do with the similar marginalization that these group share and experience, and the understanding that there is value in the larger community as a collective, rather than as individual communities.
My emerging understanding of who I am started early in life, somewhere between the age of six and nine years old. I spent considerable energy over the next 20 to 30 years sorting out the information (science, religion/theology, social and social science, relational, etc.) that impacted my self-perception. At some point in my late 20s to early 30s, I came to understand that I was a transgender person. My engagement with and in the LGBTQI+ community began as someone seeking to explain to myself who or what I was and am. This seeking started in reading academic articles, reading books, books on human sexuality, stories of LGBTQI+ people and their personal journeys, and studying scripture.
As the internet developed and evolved, starting in the early 1990s I began engaging in online forums and sought out resources as they emerged. Finally, for the past nearly 15 years I have participated openly as an ally and finally as an “out” transgender woman. Over the past ten years, I have been an active voice within the Seventh-day Adventist community. To that end, while I was a faculty member at Andrews University, I was a sponsor of the LGBTQI+ student group. (At the time it was officially not a campus student group but was acknowledged and supported by administration.) I have presented at a North American (NAD) Division Symposium on transgender people. I have presented to pastoral teams at major NAD university churches, and my spouse and I regularly participate in an Adventist congregation today.
I have deep multigenerational ties to this church community. I participate not for the doctrinal correctness of the church, but because the community of my life is so deeply tied to this subculture. One of the important things I have learned over the past 10 to 15 years is the truth that the stories we tell each other, the histories that we write, all come with a point of view, and with lots of baggage.
Christianity needs to take a close look at its baggage. Although Christianity has brought significant good to the world, we must look at the refuse of our two-thousand-year run and realize that we have some serious problems which stay in place because those in power manipulate the narratives of history, theology, and philosophy, and in so doing have manipulated the narrative of Jesus of Nazareth to create control, oppression, and marginalization. From the fringe of society and the fringe of the Christian subculture the view is very different than from the primary narrative that emerged in 4th century C.E. as the Roman empire took control of the Christian movement, and Christianity became a tool of power for the powerful of societies.
In the ATSS seminar I will look at my experience of moving from the highest privileged class of society and the church, to a highly marginalized member of both.
Teacher:
Randi Robertson is a transgender woman, retired United States Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant Colonel and pilot. She lives on Florida’s Space Coast along with her spouse of 40 years and their three cats. They have two adult children who live nearby and with whom they enjoy spending time. After retiring from the USAF she spent four years as an Associate Professor of Aviation and Program Development at Andrews University. Since that time she has worked as a pilot and instructor for JetBlue Airlines. In her spare time she works as an advocate for civil rights and as an advocate for LGBTQI+ people in communities of faith, including the Adventist community. Her work extends to include efforts that engage in the national dialog and advance diversity and civil rights within her profession.
Moderator:
Cherri-Ann Farquharson is a sustainable energy professional who fuses her passion for the Caribbean with the opportunity to inspire the next generation through projects and programs centered on renewable energy and energy efficiency. She is a fourth-generation Adventist who grew up in Montego-Bay, Jamaica.
How to join:
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84293283335
Passcode: ADVENTIST
ATSS starting time depends on where you are. If you’re on the west coast of the United States, it’ll be 10:30 AM. On the east coast, 1:30 PM. Times in Europe, Africa, and elsewhere will vary with local time changes. Please double-check the correct time where you live.
The class is intended to last about 2 hours, though the conversation often continues to 4 PM (Eastern time).
About our class:
- The AT Sabbath Seminar is intended to be a courteous forum.
- Stick to the topic in both comments and chat discussion.
- Make your comments and questions short—don’t dominate.
- Keep your microphones muted unless you are called upon to make your comment or ask your question.
- Indicate your interest in speaking by raising your electronic hand.
- Please use your name when you sign in, so we know who we’re addressing.
We look forward to getting acquainted with you!
YouTube channel:
You can see all of our previous ATSS recordings here.
Coming up:
- Loren Seibold & Jonathan Butler
