The Naked Journal
Thoughts, musings, and meanings behind NakedPastor Art.
The Naked Journal
The Best Way to Celebrate Pride Is to Be Yourself
Some of my greatest inspiration to be true to myself, to be and embrace my most authentic self, come from LGBTQIA+ people. With incredible and admirable courage, they desire and endeavour to be who they are, and that motivates me to do the same. Pride doesn’t start at a parade. It starts in the quiet moment you decide not to hide. Pride is refusing to wear the mask society requires you to wear in order to fit in. What Do You Want? is available for digital download. Authenticity is an act of courage For many, being yourself hasn’t been safe. It comes with risk: rejection, misunderstanding, even loss. So choosing honesty, even in small ways, is no small thing. Pride lives in those decisions. Pride lives in every step away from pretending and toward truth. It's about embracing the beauty of authenticity in others and ourselves. There’s no one right way to belongNot everyone celebrates loudly. Not everyone waves a flag. Some people are still figuring things out. Some are healing. Some are just surviving. Pride makes room for all of it. There’s no checklist for being “out enough” or “proud enough.” Being yourself, wherever you are, is enough. Your existence challenges the lieThe lie says you should be different to be loved. The lie demands that you be a certain way in order to fit into the prescribed box of so-called "love" that is being offered. The lie says that you have to edit yourself to belong. But every time you show up as you are, you disrupt that narrative. You remind others, sometimes quietly, sometimes powerfully, that authenticity is not something to apologize for. You can buy a print of You Don't Gotta Do Nuthin! You don’t have to perform Pride.You don’t have to prove anything. The best way to celebrate Pride is to be yourself. Not someday. Not when it’s easier. But in whatever way you can, right now, because celebrating pride is so important!
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Why Are Pride Celebrations Important?
The first time I attended a Pride Parade was several years ago in Dallas, Texas. I went with a church I was a guest speaker at that weekend. I had no idea what to expect. But what I experienced was an incredible sense of courage, joy, and community. I realized then that Pride isn’t just a party. It’s a protest. It’s a demonstration of unity in diversity. It’s a bold statement of courage to be our authentic selves. It was a joyful glimpse into what’s possible in this world. That's the reason I've put together a few pride cartoons to demonstrate just that! It's Always Pride Cartoon is available for digital download. Pride celebrations are important because: 1. Silence was never neutral For generations, LGBTQ+ people were told to hide… by culture, by family, and by the church. Pride is what happens when people refuse to disappear. It’s visibility as resistance. It says: we were always here, and we’re not going anywhere. Deal with it! Pride's a Sin is available for digital download. 2. Shame loses its power in the light Many of us were taught that who we are is wrong. Not just what we believed or how we lived… but who we are! I’m straight, but even I knew that I had to hide my truest self. Pride flips that script. For everyone! It’s not about arrogance. It’s about reclaiming dignity. What was once whispered in fear is now celebrated in the open. Shame depends on secrecy. Pride breaks that cycle. When you support NakedPastor, you get colouring pages like this one. 3. Belonging should never be conditional Too often, love has come with fine print: you’re welcome, but only if you change. Pride rejects that deal. It imagines a world where people don’t have to earn their right to exist, love, or belong. It believes that at a deep and fundamental we are all a part of the Oneness. A world where authenticity isn’t punished, but honoured. Love over dogma. Love over verses. Love is greater than all of that because it transcends it and subsumes everything in this world. Love Over Verses is available as a print, mug, sticker, and t-shirt. Pride matters because people matter! Until everyone is safe, seen, and celebrated, Pride will still be necessary. I've listed 10 inspiring quotes to celebrate pride, if you need some extra encouragement! And if you're looking for Pride Month gifts to show your support for an LGBTQ+ loved one, I have some ideas too!
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5 Pride Month Gifts to Show Support for LGBQT+ Loved Ones
Pride is about celebration, affirmation, love, and solidarity. If you have a loved one who is celebrating Pride this month, you might want to show your support with a loving, affirming gift. Below are five Pride Month gifts for your queer friend. Affirming T-Shirts Encourage your loved one to wear their Pride on their chest with T-shirts that affirm their gender and sexual identity. There’s even a shirt to celebrate being an ally! Shop affirming t-shirts here. Prints for Pride Your loved one deserves a home full of art that celebrates their sexual and gender identity. My collection of LGBTQ+ prints celebrates the highs and makes light of the lows. It's a huge collection with something for everyone in the queer community! Shop prints for pride here. LGBTQ+ Mugs Morning coffee with a side of Pride? If your loved one isn’t ready to rock Pride gear in public, or doesn’t live in a community that would welcome LGBTQ+ bumper stickers, why not treat them to a mug that they can enjoy when they are home in their safe space? My Pride mugs are dishwasher safe and the perfect size for a heart-warming cup of joe. Shop LGBTQ+ mugs here. Original Art for Original People There can only be one original. Why not treat your one-of-a-kind loved one with a one-of-a-kind artwork? I also do commissions where you can request an artwork created specifically for your loved one.This is a really special way to show your support for your queer loved one’s journey. Shop original art here. Cartoon Subscription: Pride, all year long! With a cartoon subscription, your loved one can download as many Pride-related (and other!) NakedPastor artworks as they like. They can use these for phone backgrounds or they can print them at their local print shop to fill their home with affirmation and love. Get a subscription here. I hope one of these gifts resonates with your queer Christian loved one. Remember, Pride gifts are a great way to show your support. But the real meaning of Pride is love. The greatest gift you can give your loved one this Pride Month is your love and acceptance.
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Celebrating Living Authentically This Pride Month
LIVING AUTHENTICALLY People talk a lot about living authentically (including myself). But living authentically is a lot easier for some than it is for others, especially for LGBTQ+ people living in less accepting spaces and places. Less safe space. Dangerous spaces. For some, when they hear the words “live authentically,” all they’re hearing is “prepare to be ridiculed, persecuted, and even rejected - just for being you.” (Want a "Love Over Verses" print? Click on the image and it will take you there!) No matter how great the rewards may seem, they often don’t outweigh the impending rejection. Because it's easier to protect ourselves from rejection than it is to embrace uncertainty. Living on your own terms is a difficult balancing act. Balancing the desire to live your most authentic life while you walk the tightrope of external pressures. But there’s so much beauty in being unashamedly yourself. It’s hard at first but the lessons you learn and the joy you find is priceless. I’m not saying you need to come out and embrace and express your authentic self today. I know that it’s challenging to be real in a world that wants us to fit in and please everybody. But I want you to give yourself permission to start. I’m proud of you every day and you should be too. (Want a print of Sophia "Cave". Click on the image!) This is my drawing Sophia Cave and it is a reminder for you and me to be brave, even when it feels so hard.
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8 LGBTQIA Cartoons for Pride Month - Video
Why I draw LGBTQIA Cartoons I draw a cartoon every day and many of my cartoons, not just those drawn in June, reflect on the relationship between LGBTQIA people and the Church. I draw LGBTQIA cartoons all year round because I feel they represent the marginalized, the rejected, the ridiculed, the persecuted. This is where the battle is right now because it betrays a profound misunderstanding of what love is and what community is. It goes against the basic reality that we are all one and that we are all connected and that even though we are one, it is a multitude of diversities within that oneness. I like drawing cartoons that on the one-hand validate and encourage and affirm those who are marginalized, and the other-hand challenge those who do the marginalizing. That is why my cartoons arouse both hatred and gratitude. The marginalized are grateful they are being represented, defended, and that there are people working to make this world reflect the reality of oneness and love. But there are people who hate them because they think these people deserve to be rejected and excluded. That's why I do what I do! When people see a picture and absorb it under a second, it has a powerful impact. It's not like they can say, "Well I didn't read it" or "I don't agree with it". They have seen it with their eyes and it's no longer just a figment of the imagination. Where Jesus is loving a gay man or where a church is rejecting a gay person or a trans person. It exposes that hatred and that divisiveness that totally goes against what we know to be true - that we are all one and that we're all deeply connected at a fundamental level. I want these cartoons to help people see that they deserve to be seen, accepted, and loved everywhere and every day. And here are 8 LGBTQIA cartoons for Pride Month. 1. Swinging Transgender Lamb Digital Cartoon It takes two to play on the swing: the person who is swinging and the person who is pushing their friend to swing higher. This is true in life as well. In order to fly high and live life to the fullest, you need your support system to push you and make you smile. 2. LGBTQ Bicycle Cartoon Life is a journey – you’re learning who you are, who you love, who you want to be one day. And for many, the journey is hard and lonely. In this cartoon, Jesus and a rainbow sheep are riding a bicycle made for two. The sheep isn’t alone and they couldn’t be more happy! 3. Rough Times in a Rough Bar Cartoon I’ve heard so many stories about LGBTQIA people getting harassed in bars. In this cartoon, the LGBTQIA sheep sits with Jesus. They’re just trying to enjoy their drinks but the white sheep won’t leave them alone. Normally in this situation, the LGBTQIA person feels outnumbered and alone. However, Jesus is there with him through every second of it. 4. Invite Into Our Lives Cartoon People spend a long time considering whether or not to include LGBTQIA people. When in reality, queer people were never given a choice. Despite their hated and violence, LGBTQIA people have accepted and welcomed the straights into their lives. Do you see the irony? 5. Images of Christ Collage Print This collage combines 16 Images of Christ to capture the idea that there are many interpretations and reconciliations of Christ. From Christ as a woman to Christ as a refugee, the Images of Christ celebrate diversity, empathy, and inclusion. 6. Only God Can Judge Cartoon What happens when the megachurches lose sight of God? In this cartoon, the church is fully aware that God is not around but offers to pass judgment on the LGBTQIA sheep anyway. This cartoon points out that the types of churches that caste out and discriminate are the same churches that have lost sight of God. 7. Yay Yay We're Here to Stay Trans Cartoon Despite all of the hatefulness and danger to trans people in the world at the moment, these trans sheep are stopping to celebrate the ground they’ve gained. They aren’t there yet but every time a trans person is addressed with their proper pronouns and treated with the same dignity given to everybody else, the trans community gets to take a step toward inclusion and equality. 8. Jesus Skates with the LGBTQ Sheep Cartoon Blades of Glory takes on a new meaning in this cartoon where an LGBTQIA sheep holds Jesus in the air. It's full of movement and life and togetherness. Skating alone is no fun but, thanks to the discriminatory world we live in, some people have no choice. However, this sheep has found a friend who is always there to make them feel seen, accepted and loved. I believe everyone belongs. That's what these cartoons are about, and it's the message I'll keep drawing every day. If you're with me and want a small reminder grab one of my LGBTQ+ decals .
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Protect Trans Kids Drawing
Trans lives matter and for that reason I am committed to making art that celebrates and uplifts trans people. Art that speaks up against the culture that fosters fear, hate, violence, and cruelty against the trans community. This is my cartoon, Protect Trans Kids. The message is simple. Protect trans kids. Like any kid. Like all kids. Protect trans kids. If you like this cartoon you'll love this blog post, 3 Wholesome and Affirming Trans Cartoons
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Honoring LGBTQIA+ Stories in Art
Sexy Sunday and Pride Month combine to bring you this cartoon. Many LGBTQIA friends and followers requested representation in my Sexy Sunday cartoons But I was reluctant because I feel their intimate sexual lives is NOT my lane. I see so many people, businesses, and institutions take advantage of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I will not participate in that. Exploiting, for example, gay- or trans- or bi- or whatever- sex for profit or popularity is vulgar and cruel, and I refuse to play that game. The fetishization of the private sex lives of my LGBTQIA+ friends is not cool. Also... and I will be vulnerable here... I was sexually assaulted by an older teenager when I was a kid, and also by an older man when I was a teenager. So imagery of men enjoying sex together is something I don't want to imagine or draw. I wish it wasn't so, because it is a perfectly valid expression of genuine love. But there it is. For me. For now. I'm working on it. All that being said, my friends persuaded me that they trusted me and urged me to draw some for them. Here it is, with two women. I personally know many people who have experienced this. You? Related Blog Posts Breaking Free from Purity Culture5 Ways Puriture Culture Can Affect Your Sex Life3 Helpful Resources for LGBTQ+ People Navigating Religion
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Trans Rights Cartoon - I Just Want to Live Trans Sheep
The threats against the trans community are increasing. So many people with limitless privileges want to take away the right of trans people even to just live their own lives. So many people want more and more blessings.Trans people living under the threat of harm, death, and extinction just want to live. I drew this cartoon, I Just Want to Live Trans Sheep, to illustrate this. Trans lives matter and for that reason I am committed to making art that celebrates and uplifts trans people. If you are trans I hope that you find comfort and healing in my work and that they remind you of just how important and loved you are.
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Wholesome Trans Cartoon
Another new original trans cartoon in celebration of #transawarenessweek ... Some of the bravest and most compassionate and justice-oriented people I know are transgender. I'm honored to know and love them and to be known and loved by them. This wholesome trans cartoon is available as a digital download and the original artwork is available.
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