Bingo Allison, a biological male and “non-binary” vicar in the Church of England, has shared experiences of coming out as “gender-queer.”
Allison, who “uses they/them pronouns” and works in Liverpool, is the Church of England’s first openly nonbinary priest.
The vicar is also autistic and dyspraxic, according to The Daily Mail.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological condition that affects social communication, interaction, and behavior, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with ASD may have difficulty with social communication and interaction, display repetitive or restricted behaviors and interests, and exhibit unusual ways of learning, moving, or paying attention.
Dyspraxia, also known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), is a condition that affects physical coordination, according to the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS). Individuals with dyspraxia may have difficulty with tasks and movements that are typically expected for their age and may appear clumsy in their movements.
Allison had a “moment of revelation” while reading the Old Testament’s book of Genesis, Dail Mail reports. “There’s space in God’s creation for change and transformation, just because you’re created one way doesn’t mean that you can’t live another,” Allison reflected.
Allison’s wife initially found the news “difficult,” as she had married what she thought was a straight man. The vicar’s children, who were taught about trans people before Allison came out, have been “lovely” about the revelation.
Allison had previously trained to become a priest in Durham and found that the Church of England was “open” to the cleric’s coming out, though some people Allison worked with found it “difficult.”
The priest is now vocal about left-wing gender issues, using social media to post selfies with captions saying Jesus “loves sparkly eyeshadow.”
