(reprinted from the C.S. Lewis Institute @cslewisinstitute.org)
When
it comes to the topic of transgenderism, the popular perception is that
political progressives of all stripes are affirming, while Christians and those
with more traditional views oppose it. Christians in particular are frequently
labeled “transphobic,” the assumption being that their views are motivated by
hate, rather than a commitment to the well-being of their neighbor. However,
Christians are far from alone in their concerns about the transgender movement.
Many self-described secular voices also have serious reservations about the
aims of transgenderism. Consequently, the first portion of this article will
feature exclusively secular arguments against transgenderism. I will then
conclude by grounding human sexuality in biblical anthropology.
The Challenge of Science
First, we need
to introduce some important distinctions, beginning with science. The claim
that human sexuality is binary (male or female exclusively) is rooted in human
biology, giving us a classification that is a matter of basic anatomy. True,
there are some exceptions in morphology, hormonal expression, or genetic
makeup, but these cases are rare, and they represent a departure from a
normative biological makeup. This is why we refer to them as the exception
rather than the rule.
Although few
pro-trans advocates would dispute basic human anatomy, they generally make a
sharp distinction between gender and biology. Biology may be fixed, but gender,
so the argument goes, is a feeling or perception that one possesses of their
male/female identity. The term for the dissociation between one’s feelings and
one’s biological sex is known as gender dysphoria. The radical claim of
pro-trans advocates is that one’s perception of male/ femaleness, which is
fluid and subjective, can become a biological reality through the instrumental
application of medical science. In this sense, the sexual reassignment process,
which includes everything from hormone infusions, plastic surgery, and radical
invasive surgical procedures, is an attempt to rewrite the biological script.
While some may feel a profound disconnect between their feelings
and their biological sex, the scientific facts represent a stark challenge.
Consider one major factor: biological maleness and femaleness of any being
across species is not merely chromosomal, but gamete based. If you’re an egg
producer, you’re female. If you’re a sperm producer, you’re male. Since we
don’t have combinations of eggs and sperm, sex in mammals is binary. There are
no male and female combinations. While this may occur in certain types of
worms, snails, and other invertebrates, it’s not exhibited in mammals. So
biological sexuality is not something that can be rescripted. Whether you are a
secular person, Buddhist, Mormon, or Christian, the science still applies. If
you support science, the notion that sexuality is fluid and malleable
collapses.
Secular Opposition to Transgenderism
It may come as
a surprise that many of the most vocal critics of transgenderism include
medical professionals, journalists, whistleblowers, and the LGB community. None
of these are necessarily Christian. Rather, they represent a spectrum of
cultural and political views. Take Jamie Reed, for example. Jamie is married to
a trans man and identifies as a queer woman. She describes herself as
politically to the left of Bernie Sanders. In 2018, she became the case manager
for The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s
Hospital. The logic of this program was that if you could treat children before
they went through puberty and really took on masculine or feminine traits, it
would ensure a smoother transition; they would be happier as adults.
However, in
early 2023 Reed became a whistleblower because she came to recognize the
physical and psychological harm of transitioning minors who couldn’t possibly
grasp the radical and irreversible repercussions of such a procedure. She has
been speaking against the transitioning of minors for several years and even
started her own website, LGB Courage Coalition, which until recently was tagged
LGBT Courage Coalition. They have dropped the T because they no longer want to
align with it.
Another vocal
critic of this movement is Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press, a news
organization that seeks to be an unbiased alternative to mainstream media. The
Free Press has been vocal about the harms coming to minors who are being
transitioned instead of being treated for mental health problems. Once again,
the typical narrative that pits transgenderism exclusively against Christians
and other religious-minded people doesn’t hold water here. Weiss is a secular
person and a married lesbian, hardly a poster-child for traditionalism. And the
book that exposed the full harms of transitioning of minors, Irreversible
Damage, is by Abigail Shrier, a self-described progressive Jew.
The Christian View of Sex and Gender
The Christian stance that biology trumps any
gender feeling isn’t rooted in hate, but clarity. Consider these timely words
from Genesis 1:27:
So God created mankind in
his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created
them. (NIV)
Interestingly,
in this passage the word create or bara
in Hebrew means to shape or form. That is a physical description of our sex. In
other words, what makes us male or female is grounded in a material substance.
We are shaped or formed male and female. We are physically different from each
other and those differences are not limited solely to what we see externally,
but they go all the way down to our gametes. The immutable characteristics
cannot be changed by any amount of testosterone or estrogen supplements. When
God gives us passages like this in the Bible, they are meant to bring clarity
if we ever find ourselves confused.
My hope with this article has been to offer greater clarity on a
highly contested topic and to bolster courage for speaking into it with the
right balance of conviction and compassion. The challenge for those of us who
follow Jesus is to remember what it is like to live without the clarity of mind
that is given through a relationship with God. What seems obvious to Christians
may be so only because they are viewing things from this side of the salvation
experience. If we can stop momentarily to think of who we would be apart from
God’s transforming work in our lives, we can move away from fear, anger, and
confusion and toward a firm and compassionate response.
