“If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m short-changing myself.” –Zanele Muholi, South African activist and artist.
The 21st century is filled with scientifically remarkable advancements and innovations that helped shape the world we have today, and the people who are affected by this are full of the fruits of its harvest. However, despite the many revolutionary discoveries we had to date, there seems to be one thing that is progressing backward: blatant discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
What are we but a speck in the grand scheme of the universe? Who are we but the species Homo sapiens, which is said to be “fully human,”; but what qualities does being “fully human” even mean? Looking back at the first century of the Roman Empire, the views and responses of the Romans towards homosexuality should be something we should consider exploring, especially now that it is relevant in the understanding of how humans behave toward homosexuality. In the context of how the Romans’ social structure is formed through its unrestricted sexuality and ceaseless blurring of gender roles, we can learn that homosexual behavior was omnipresent in their society which is prevalent in all levels of society.
Uncover the complex institutions that formed the views of homosexuality in the first century of the ancient Roman Empire’s intimate master-slave dynamic by reading the historical fiction book series “Jacobus: A Eunuch’s Faith” written by Paul Trittin. Live through the eyes of Jacobus, who is dubbed by the Greeks as a “natural eunuch,” experiences his struggles as he navigates his life the way he intends it to be in a setting where equality and human rights are non-existent. Follow his journey as he rediscovers himself through his lovers and through him, we should be reminded that in all walks of life, we must be humble and grateful for what we have because everyone has their own complications to deal with. Let us be reminded that love should never mean having to live in fear.
About the Author: Paul Trittin was born in 1946 in Southern California and is now living in Carson Valley, Nevada. He attended Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California, and is a chairman of Tweener Ministries that sponsors the International Competitions for High School students to write or illustrate children’s books with their scholarships paid.
Paul Trittin was a closeted gay Christian from pre-puberty to 2009. Together with his husband, Rev. Dr. Marvin Baker, they formed the Gay Christian Fellowship, which actively promotes unity and compassion between the religious and gay communities. This organization aims to focus on the need to revitalize religious groups to accept the existence of the “modern-day eunuch” or gay and that being such a person is not a sin.