Tonight I went with 2 Jewish social workers to cook and have dinner with a group of homeless teenagers. I thought the mingling could be awkward, but the kids seemed hungrier for attention and conversation than they were for Swedish meatballs. The two kids who hung out past dinner to chat had both been kicked out and disowned by their families when they announced they were gay. The boy eagerly ran to his dorm to change and show off his playboy bunny costume complete with heels and blonde wig. Later he wanted me to admire the quality of his $200 sweatpants bought with money he gets when wealthy relatives die, despite the fact that he hasn’t seen his parents in 3 years. The girl shared her thoughts on being pan-sexual (where gender doesn’t exist and only personality attracts) and got her box of poetry, mementoes and photos to show off.
I’ve had gay friends before and a summer roommate who was bi. It’s just a new thing to be talking with teenagers who don’t believe in gender and are transsexual. I feel caught between my social worker friends who were cheering on the blurring of all lines and my xian friends who would want me to convert the kids immediately out of their damaged identities. My theology and pragmatism don’t reconcile here.
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