Sexuality Bias

For many young lesbians, knowing they are drawn to other girls and not boys like their childhood friends can be confusing.  Often made more confusing by a world that honors the traditional man and woman’s relationship while denying or discounting those who are gay, lesbian, or transgender. I find it mysterious that in this awakening age, we hold on tight to old ideals of prejudice and dislike for what we don’t understand. Everywhere there are differences in our looks, culture, and preferences but as a collective, we are intrinsically bound to our conditioned thinking dragged down from generation to generation in a package of repeat patterns. The rejection received by a young person with the awareness they are potentially gay or lesbian can be damaging as they come to terms with their sexuality and how different it might be from others in their peer group. So often the discovery becomes covert for fear of being excluded from their friendship circle or family beliefs. It is a tough time for anyone to find out they will not walk down the aisle in a traditional format and have to navigate this new life story with their disapproving parents. The fallout can be devastating if family members block their child’s intention to follow their gay nature due to religious or personal values. This leaves a child alone and confused with thoughts there might be something wrong with them. And that’s when doubt creeps in as a child determines their sexuality as a curse and begins the journey of denial or self-denigration.

‘A painful shift in perspective that sees kids detaching with drugs, alcohol, or self-harm’

They may still live at home under a roof of disfavor or living rough on the streets. So many kids are experiencing this double jeopardy implemented by parents who can’t deal with their diverse sexuality so kiss their son or daughter goodbye to stay in favor with their church or neighborhood friends. These kids are cast aside and often left to fend for themselves regardless of their age or gender. You can imagine the trauma a young girl might encounter if her mother or father shunned her new lesbian status and asked her to leave home. Where would she go? Hopefully, another family member would take her in with love and understanding or she could end up on the streets. An incredibly vulnerable place for any woman, let alone a girl who may be a teenager or even younger. It blows my mind that a child’s guardian could forsake their offspring in such a cold-hearted way but in saying that it shows very clearly how people’s belief systems can enable them to switch off their love for a child who is gay or lesbian. This is sadly a world we live in where people have free will to make choices that alienate loved ones because of their deepest values and beliefs. This is nothing new on Planet Earth as we continue to cast stones at those who stand out from the crowd. And that comes in the form of words like bigotry, racism, prejudice, sexism, and discrimination. The animosity that ensues has a knock-on effect that gathers momentum through hateful speech and the degradation of those ordained as the misfits of society for crimes of human contrast.

‘Our world keeps chugging out the same old rhetoric as people are defiled for their skin color, sexuality, and psychic gifts’

Until we appreciate each of us for our profound uniqueness it’s not likely to change any time soon. My role as a spiritual lesbian is to bridge the gap of un-surety as most ideals and beliefs are manifested from a place of fear and handed down thinking. When we fear our survival feels threatened and compounded by news feeds that enforce a person or group’s insecurity especially if disturbing images of cultural terrorism are splashed across media outlets. We then feel justified to judge or deny another human’s choices and dishonor them by categorizing who they are and what they might stand for as a mismatch we can’t comprehend or are unfamiliar with. Our segregation and separation are tearing our world apart while creating boundaries of incompatibility based on our programming. What is this? In a nutshell, our programming is the unique themes we gather like treasured collectibles throughout the course of our life that may be detrimental to our well-being. For example, our parents may have told us that gay people are dangerous so we tell ourselves a story that every gay or lesbian person is a threat to our peace or way of; life. This is how hate campaigns begin when kids are initiated by guardians into a school of inequity or bias. A child’s mind is like a sponge so when Mom or Dad tell Junior the gay couple living in their street is abnormal and an affront to God this kid could grow up to be a homophobic activist or gay basher. The seeds of hate are planted and what grows are the weeds of aversion plus a blatant loathing for gays.

Racism

‘The parents have literally trained their child to be a hater’

What follows is an adult with a conditioned pattern of suspicion for all humans that are not like them. So instead of promoting a unity concept so needed in this world. We have new recruits in the game of exclusion. This is how wars break out as factions of society combine to out the perpetrator and this can be people of differing religions, political views, and sexuality. The lines are drawn as divisions and each opposing group takes a stand of disparity. If this sounds like a familiar story it could be time to change how we walk our talk and what we feed the kids of our generation. As their parents, we have immense power to create peaceful pioneers or bandits of antagonism. Should we continue themes of disunity or be brave enough to set new standards of understanding, compassion, and love? If not we commit crimes of injustice against members of the human race who have taken a stand of uniqueness. For hundreds of years, our power has been given away by racist slurs and ridicule culminating in the character assassination of people different in their looks, culture, skin color, or sexuality. A crime instigated by the originators of this planet and often justified by the power of religious texts. For example, slavery was given a compelling case by words from the book of Genesis loosely describing Africans as heathens and thus bringing into law decrees that meant landowners could enslave black people and disallow mixed marriages between white and black folk. It appears mankind has many times used religion to enforce biased thinking as in the case of medieval Jews who practiced witchcraft. This blatant bending of societal laws and rationale has led us to a world of segregation and dislike for what we deem inferior.

‘The division of races has also encouraged exclusion as humanity takes a superior stance with nationality while stockpiling various cultures into boxes of species contrast’

From here we can see how easy it is to create apartheid and labeling of people who we conceive as somehow lower in status. And this includes people who endorse same-sex relationships as a birthright and choice. You see over time we have converted the denial of humanity as a collective of discriminatory ideals. And how we protest when outed on a flippant comment or phrase pertaining to a person’s culture origin or ethnic group. Globally we have stamped each other with titles of discernment but the irony is we are all human although the advent of class structure is another disempowering ideal we have formulated to place people on pedestals of better or worse than us. An example is the homeless guy who is looked down upon and discredited for his place in our world while the guy that drives by in his Ferrari is seen as heroic for his climb in status and affluence. It would seem our world is on the brink of mass separation as we lose touch with our inner selves and those all around us. It’s a journey of illusion prompted by the conditioned thinking we hold onto like a dear friend or false lover. And with this thinking, our relationships lack closeness as intimacy is declined in favor of lustful sex making partnerships an arena of complex emotions. Lesbian relationships don’t get off the hook here as we share the same patterns that keep coming up to highlight our past wounds. It’s a circle of habitual actions and intentions that keep shining their dark light on romantic interactions whether they be same-sex or straight. And as long as we keep repeating the same old stuff our lives stay trapped in a cycle of unhealed trauma. The same goes for our repressed thinking about our worldly neighbors. The way they look, talk or act is still a thorn in the side of humanity.

‘We can’t accept others’ differences and continue to post prejudiced words on social media or social gatherings as the racist messages of our forefathers carried down’

I am lesbian and blessed to embrace all people regardless of their unliked difference in the world. I also see the bigger picture of an intelligent species that lost its way on the path to unity. Can we find new eyes to see? I believe so but it takes a turnaround and wanting to share our world in a state of open acceptance. This means opening our arms to each other with forgiveness for the misdeeds of the past and the cruel intentions sent to people who were somehow so different we could not find it in our hearts to love. Whatever your belief systems are in regard to a creator we are all of the same genetic code and therefore brothers and sisters of a universal family that can prosper if we are willing to let go of old programs that have taught us to judge harshly the difference in others. At the core of us is intellect and the ability to discern ideals that may well be past their ‘use by date’ especially if it is making our world chaotic and separatist. When you think we live on a precarious planet in the cosmos it puts our vulnerable lives in perspective and promotes a desire for allegiance to each other as a race that can rise above the shields we put up from learned thinking that may not even be ours. But instead an idea our ancestors determined in a time of mass integration as people could move more freely around the world with the advent of various transportation. This led to secular thinking that some people in faraway places were somehow different and more lowly in status.

Unity

‘From here the message of prejudice began to form and has settled in as a common way of interpreting those we deem unequal regardless of our growth in what some may refer to as ‘brain power’

Over time our cognitive skills have evolved as humans are a constant work in progress and so capable of seeing into the far reaches of their minds for answers to intricate problems. Our ongoing survival was a contributing factor to our intelligence evolution as were social interaction and adaptation to our surroundings creating a sharing of ideas and innovations. We can go deeper than this by adding the ability to fathom the meaning of our existence and how it came to pass. There are many theories and all are potentially valid as we use our awareness to decipher our creation through religion, spirituality, and big bang concepts. The journey to appreciating higher consciousness takes us to places of increased intellect as we become semi-enlightened to invisible realms and our ability to see beyond the conscious into the unconscious world. (A psychic explanation of our galactic origins) And as our external world showcases the “shadow bias’ we turn inwardly to the truth of our cosmic unity. And this is what we are and need to embrace if we have any chance of living beside our neighbors without prejudice. That means feeling a sense of comradery, peace, and indeed comfort in the presence of people we have been trained to believe are evil, menial, or a freak of nature. Harsh words they may seem but at the core of all racism, bigotry, apartheid, or religious contempt is usually fear. And that is fear of the unknown or dissimilar. A plague in this world that has people at war with each other and the idea we must hate or turn our backs on anyone who is not worthy of the human-wolf pack. A tightly-knit group that sticks together with its stance of dishonor. One might liken the homophobic (for example) to someone having an allergic reaction to gays, lesbians, and transgenders while a racist soul might have an aversion to the color of their skin. Through the eyes of bigotry, there is separation from anyone who doesn’t conform to an individual’s intolerant view and this has been the norm for eons as we engage in slander of another person’s right to be different. This is a standard theme on Planet Earth where unity is disgraced with division and detachment from anything that feels dissimilar to our current state of thinking. The answer is to cross a bridge of acceptance we are unique in our beliefs and how we perceive each other.  So why not look beyond the dispute of difference and instead into the hearts of all souls who walk this earth? The alliance would be powerful as we lay down arms in favor of forgiveness and empathy. Our children will thank us for it and our bravery to let bygones be bygones from a prejudiced past as we boldly move toward a future of enlightened togetherness. Thereby creating a family of affection for every man woman and child who inhabits our earthly home. Let’s put a dent in the masquerade of disunity and leave footprints of universal harmony. We can change the world by changing ourselves.

‘It is a shadow curse of human bias that keeps us trapped in this ancient programming and prevents unity on a planet so in need of it’

Author ~ Linda E Cole (The Divine Feminine)