I was thinking about icons the other day, how we have images that we produce to put across a message about heroism, or beauty, or any other ideal. I remember being fascinated by church stained glass heroes, saints, and their stories; Joan of Arc – Transman Extraordinaire, St. Francis of Assisi – Original Hippie, St. Anthony – Mr. Find it. I wanted to do one about people who just are, despite the rhetoric that exists to relegate us to the fringes; people so comfortable in themselves that it makes it impossible to buy into the idea that we’re freaks.
Emmanuel-Howard Park United Church in Toronto, Canada, devoted one of their stained glass windows to the late Toby Dancer, a trans member of their congregation, who served as their music director. The minister at that church, Cheri DiNovo, has since been elected to the Ontario Legislature and is proposing a bill called Toby’s Act to have gender identity added to the Ontario Human Rights Act.
WOAH. That’s awesome!