In an April 2015 Diane Sawyer interview on 20/20, former Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner shocked the nation by coming out as a trans woman and took transgenderism from the tabloids to the front pages of Vanity Fair where “Caitlyn” Jenner was revealed. Since that announcement, transgenderism has skyrocketed into mainstream culture and has become a point of confusion and contention for legislatures, businesses, entertainers, athletes, parents, teachers, etc.
Much of the confusion and contention lies at the heart of transgenderism itself. The Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER) sought to provide clarity in the midst of the confusion by creating The Gender Unicorn. According to TSER, a person may be “assigned” a gender at birth (male or female), but as that person ages they should be allowed to select how they express themselves in terms of their gender identity and sexual orientation. The Gender Unicorn is a chart that helps people understand that a person can express their Gender Identity as either male or female (or other) which may then be expressed in traditional or non-traditional feminine or masculine mannerisms (or other ways). In addition, while a person may look one way on the outside and feel one way inside, they may be emotionally, physically or sexually attracted to either men or women or both (or other). To add to the confusion, the TSER website in its definitions list adds the following note:
Terms are always changing in the LGBTQ+ community. This list will be updated as often as possible to keep up with the rapid proliferation of queer and trans language.
What is not “always changing in the LGBTQ+ community” is the concept that “binary is bigotry.” The concept of male/female binary construct runs counter to the LGBTQ+ concept of reality. An assault to counter male/female binary concepts is being waged and the results have been substantial in a very short time. Already legislatures, businesses, and universities that restrict restrooms to male/female have felt the pressure to be more tolerant and inclusive. Schools are beginning to allow trans athletes to compete not based on their biology, but rather on their expressed preference. Social media sites allow for multiple choices as do some states for driver’s, marriage and birth licenses.
Many are confusing the women’s equality movement with transgenderism. For example, actress Emma Watson is the face and spokesperson for the HeForShe campaign. According to their website, “HeForShe is inviting people around the world to stand together to create a bold, visible force for gender equality. And it starts by taking action right now to create a gender equal world.” But a “gender equal” world that seeks advancement for women to the level of men is different from a world without gender. Notice the confusion in the statement from Emma Watson stating that she wants a world where gender is on a spectrum (sliding scale, not binary) but also wants one gender (women) to be given greater support and appreciation to move it closer in equality to the other gender (men).
The confusion created by gender equality morphing into gender identity is that women come out on the losing end every time. In his book, "When Harry Became Sally," author Ryan T. Anderson from The Heritage Foundation identifies five areas of primary concern with transgenderism in the culture today. Notice that in the first three of the five cases mentioned, it is women who are placed at risk and in the other two, both men and women share equally in the peril.
1. Privacy interests when men who identify as women can enter female-only spaces
2. Safety concerns when predators abuse gender-identity access policies
3. Equality concerns when biological males can compete against females in sports and other arenas where sex differences are relevant
4. Liberty interests when people are forced to speak or act in ways contrary to their best judgment and deeply held beliefs
5. Ideology concerns about confusing messages that schoolchildren receive when they are taught that gender is fluid, falls along a spectrum, and is essentially detached from bodily sex
Students in SLi this year will hear from a variety of individuals who are in positions where transgender ideology is seeking to influence. Scheduled at this time are the following:
- Executive of a local business who is currently dealing with transgender issues with employees
- Elected official who has dealt with bills that have been introduced to protect individuals from sharing private spaces with individuals of a different gender or sex
- Speech therapist who has seen co-workers help trans individuals learn to communicate differently to fit their new gender identity
- Surgeon who has had to deal with the complexities of trans surgery from a moral and ethical perspective
Students will be asked to select one5of the five categories of concern and create a possible scenario and solution to the problem presented. Some of the concerns facing our culture today include the following issues:
- What will happen to women’s athletics (Title IX) if men are allowed to compete as women? Is it fair that men are allowed to compete as women? What can be done to protect women’s athletics and women who are competing?
- What should our culture do to protect “private spaces” for people – bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms – what are the potential problems and solutions for each?
- How is transgender ideology different than other protected classes of people – race, age, etc. What are the important distinctions and how can people address these differences without facing threats of hate and bigotry?
- How should Christians respond when encountering a trans person? Should a Christian call a trans person by their desired name and pronoun or does that perpetuate and reinforce a harmful delusion? Should Christians refuse service or assistance to trans persons in different situations – and what might those situations be?
- How does transgender ideology differ from efforts toward equality for women?
