Being trans has been the greatest gift of my life
People are often surprised by that, especially these days. Their confusion not only illustrates their own transphobia, but also shows how little they really get it.
Being trans has been the greatest asset in my journey toward liberation and healing from all the ways capitalism and white supremacy malformed me.
When I finally let myself ask questions about my gender I began to understand just how much the norms of society were constructed to prevent any of us from investigating the expectations put upon us from before we are even born.
Asking questions about my gender, particularly what it means to live in this body and make steps to medically transition, gave me a more embodied understanding of how deep and interwoven norms of gender and race really are.
Once I began pulling the thread of questions around gender, I began to see that thread as one of many lies woven into the fabric of society. Those threads, we are told, keep us warm, safe from the dangers of otherness lurking outside our doors. Those threads don’t keep us warm as much as they keep us bound.
As I continue pulling the threads which have constrained me for so long, I find myself exposed in a way, literally baring my post-top-surgery chest, tearing up as I talk about the freedom of finally finding home in this body. I am exposed but unashamed, without fear of judgement. In this way, trans people really are tearing at the fabric of society. I say, let it be torn. We’ve all been suffocating far too long.
“In this way, trans people really are tearing at the fabric of society. I say, let it be torn. We’ve all been suffocating far too long. ”
If we are to heal from the deep wounds of white supremacy, we must have the courage to pull every thread that binds us. Yes, it will be awkward. We will see ourselves and one another in new and uncomfortable ways.
Yet, with every thread we break, may we breathe more deeply, and may we feel the sweetness of the breeze that’s been waiting for so long to blow against our tender, holy flesh.
Rev. Jess Cook, Coordinating Minister, Every Table
ey/em or they/them
Rev. Jess Cook is the pastor at Every Table, a new worshipping community in Richmond, VA. The mission of Every Table is to encounter the living abundance of God through embodied reconciliation. Every Table gathers every Sunday at 5pm in the chapel of Ginter Park Presbyterian Church. Learn more here.
Jess’s call is to help facilitate spaces where reconciliation is possible and where everyone is seen and honored in their fullness. Jess loves people, liturgy that means something, and spaces that invite us to bring our whole selves, whoever we are and wherever we come from. Jess lives with their kiddo, cat, and bearded dragon named Stubbs.
A native of East Texas and lifelong Presbyterian, Jess holds a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary, a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Baylor.
Jess was the first openly trans and non-binary person ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA).
Follow Jess on IG at @everytable804 and @revjesscook.