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Narrative Summary Interview with Stephanie Reed by Valara DeMornay

Stephanie Reed is a transgender woman living in Greene County, Missouri. Stephanie is a power lifter, aspiring body-builder, sociopolitical activist, public speaker, Scientologist woman. Stephanie’s journey with Scientology began around the mid-1990s in an attempt for self-betterment rather than a religious journey. The strong presence in Scientology in reference to self-help and self-improvement attracted Stephanie to join and work for the church of

Scientology. Stephanie ended up distancing herself from the church with a newly gained lease on life and joined the workforce as a successful employee. However, despite the benefits

Stephanie received from Scientology she was still very unhappy in her life. The counseling that the church provided her allowed her to recognize her feelings and confront them with an organized mindset and gave her the mental tools to deal with such a realization. However, the

World Professional Association of Transgender Healthcare, WPATH, at the time stated that to receive hormone replacement therapy a patient needed to undergo therapeutic/behavioral therapy to be diagnosed with gender identity disorder. GID, something the church of Scientology forbids.

Stephanie found herself at a crossroads, should she risk the quality of her life, or possibly her life, and not transition in an effort to avoid violating her faith, or would she transition and see what would come as a result of her relationship with the church? It was in 2010 that Stephanie decided to undergo gender transition with the strength and empowerment she received from

Scientology. Stephanie credits Scientology with the reason she was able to transition successfully, let alone transition at all.

The church of Scientology was established in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard and has a strong basis in fifties fundamentalism. The church of Scientology does not readily accept

LGBT individuals and has only given leeway to women’s equality due to the majority presence of women in the church’s staff. Stephanie has not returned to the church since her transition and she is expecting to face heavy penalties, a demand to de-transition, and even excommunication Missouri State University Spring 2016 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women 2 from the church when she returns. Despite the negative views she expects the church to have in reference to her gender identity she still believes in the church, holds their teachings in high regard, and wants to get in good standing with them to pave the way for future LGBT members who may not fight for equality.

Stephanie mentioned the negative portrayal of Scientology and Scientologists in the media. She believes this stems from a perceived right of the media to determine who and what is acceptable to be made fun of under the guise of reporting and Scientology has fallen victim to that because of the unusual behavior of the church. Stephanie stated that the many beneficial acts of the church of Scientology often go unreported, such as their highly successful drug rehabilitation program, Narconon, and their crisis volunteer work.

The benefits of Scientology, according to Stephanie, are within the church’s

Technologies, a type of teaching that provides members with betterment techniques and information. It is because of the immensely beneficial Technologies that the intense regulations, rules, and environment that the church perpetuates is tolerated by its members. Stephanie said that “the church sees being called ‘reasonable’ as an insult.” It is in this unwavering mindset of the church as an institution that Stephanie sees her appeals to Ethics as being a difficult, if not impossible, battle for her to win. She has also said that even if she does manage to win her case with the church her position as a member will be on unstable footing for the rest of her life.

Stephanie sees this as a worthy cause to take on because she believes in the slow but inevitable evolution of the church of Scientology to adapt a more equal mindset to mirror the views of today’s society.