I spent a good hour and a half discussing LGBT+, religion, and being open and accepting to everyone, to my nephew.
My nephew was super worried that I'd end up in hell.
I tried really hard not to say, 'Well, first off, I'd rule hell from my throne', but it wasn’t the time for sarcasm.
Apparently, he’s been worried ever since hearing from the alt-left aka Nazi religious motherfuckers on tv that ‘my kind’ would end up in hell. Along with other ‘christian’s and ‘Catholics’ spouting that homosexuality is a sin. He was more worried I wouldn’t get to join the family up in heaven. He was so stressed that his mom noticed and asked me to talk to him.
First off, my family knows I’m proudly bisexual. They love me and accept me, but I know my nieces and nephews are somewhat or in the dark about it. At least the babies, but the older ones overhear things from their mothers and aunts when they ask me how’s my dating life, or if I’m stilling seeing so-and-so person.
So, his mother before we carved turkey, pulled me aside, and asked me if I could talk to him the next day about his worries. I heard where he was coming from, he’s a kid, he loves our family, and he’s open to clarification.
Cut to to this morning where I pulled him into my room and we had a long chat about homosexuality in relation to the bible, the mysteries of ‘God’, only the higher beings above can judge me, and laying to rest the fact that when my time comes I’ll see them up in the sky.
I’m not religious, in fact, I’m a fallen off the wagon catholic, but I pointed him in the direction of several LGBT friendly churches for his mother and him to check out. Get him to see religion doesn’t and shouldn’t condemn a group of individual based on their sexual or attraction preference. There are LGBT in the religious community, and from the experiences I’ve had with the bible and others’ is this:
No ordinary human or book can judge my sexual preference as a bisexual woman because they do not have final say over my life. They are not the end all and be all being.
My nephew and I went back and forth over religion, toxic masculinity, World AIDS Day, Stonewall Riots, gender roles, and more religious questions that I referred him to LGBT+ friendly churches with minsters and priests to talk him more about it.
We talked about how my parents experienced my ‘coming out’ to them. How I came out to my nephew’s mothers, aunts, and his grandmother.
The most sweetest and painful part was talking about our uncle (who passed 5 years ago) and was the biggest supporter of my sexuality. Telling my nephew how my uncle stood up for my rights and letting people know to love and respect me because I am a person who has a mind, soul, and heart brought tears to our eyes.
By the end, he felt lighter and the look in his face wasn’t strained or afraid to look me in the eyes. He even laughed when I told him if I ever brought a woman home, that I’d make sure it was a woman who was into wrestling so they’d have something to bond over.
So, what I thought would be like a chill Turkey day ended up with talking about LGBT rights, specifically my bi rights and religion. Not a bad Turkey day at all.
