dysphoria Archives - Messenger to the Thoughtful

Thank you for your desire for thoughtful reflection. My aim is the renewal of civil and insightful conversation in the public square. My life has been shaped by positive examples of women and men fiercely debating important issues without personal insults. I have been influenced as well by historical analysis of three centuries of political, religious, and social diversity within a framework of mutual respect. As mentioned in my first letter, America’s founding affirmations of freedom of religion and redress, assembly and speech are a positive historical influence.

The polarization of the public square has intensified in the past quarter century, not only among political activists, but in matters of moral, religious, and social concern. While a silent percentage of any society simply wakes up each day aiming for a better life for their families, the chattering classes take the air out the room with competing ideologies and narratives that celebrate activism and subjectivity, not the relentless pursuit of truth. Among much of the Western elites, we see a “post-Truth” ethos that eschews objectivity and promotes particular visions of what is best for humankind.

These currents are especially present when we look at being human and male and female identity. In Letter #2, some foundations for identity and purpose were presented. These are offered as starting foci for dignity and mutual respect, not theocratic coercion. Seeing each person as a divine image-bearer and of equal worth is essential for a free society. Honoring biological distinctions while not imposing oppressive limitations and stereotypes is also important for peacefulness in a pluralistic society.

There are three points of contention concerning identity that matter for human flourishing. Drawing on both ancient wisdom and modern empirical data, we can offer clarity in the confusion and reflection over reaction.

Principle 1: Our humanness can unite men and women, who share more in common that we realize. Men and women have diverse personalities and temperaments, skill sets and passions, gifts and competencies that make our world better when used well. While biological differences are real and influence fields of work, shared affections and interests can help friendship and mutual respect flourish. Young women that love mathematics and science do not need to be redirected to other humanities. Young men of sensitive temperaments do not need to be coerced into machismo molds.

Principle #2: Men and women are different, and sexual identity is fixed at birth. The small percentage of biological intersex anomalies do not change this overall rule. Persons who struggle with real body dysphoria deserve love, respect, and excellent psychological care so they become comfortable in their designed identity. If someone has believed the deceptive social contagion of gender fluidity and has engaged in chemical or surgical alteration of their bodies, they need counsel and compassion.

Principle #3: Gender “constructs” have become a mask for harmful self-invention and anarchistic confusion of empirical reality. Biological sex is a given. Social roles for male and female vary with cultures and deserve evaluation. Gender radicals argue for a distinction between the “sex assigned at birth” and chosen gender identity. While civic freedom allows for people to believe all kinds of things, it does not demand that thoughtful people agree with defiance of biological reality. If a biological male chooses to say he is female (a “trans woman”), he can do so but should not expect that all will agree. No amount of chemistry, surgery, or role adjustment change biological reality. The few studies exploring brain activity in trans people do not account for the commonalities of male and female or the fact that brains are altered by behaviors.

Until 10-15 years ago, biological sex was assumed, while sexual attractions varied, with a small percentage of women and men being same or both-sex attracted. Gender studies were focused on liberating all people toward a just and tolerant future. After gay marriage was enshrined in US law in 2015, gender activism metastasized and suddenly we have scores of identities and defining male and female is considered oppressive. In our next essay, we will look at the ideological roots of this anarchy.

What does this mean for positive public discourse and a civil society? Two thoughts are helpful here. First, there is no place for bullying or personal denigration of any person. This does not mean that we simply accept any affirmation of identity or allow children to receive treatments in defiance of parents. Toleration is living with our differences, not being coerced into celebrating a view contrary to one’s deepest beliefs. Second, “follow the science” must be liberated from its ideological straitjackets. Real empirical research in relentless pursuit of the truth deserves celebration.

I have written often about two of the crises afflicting our world. The first is anthropology: the meaning of being human, and within this, being male and female. The second is epistemology: the nature of knowing and the search for truth. We are in a moment where elites are demanding new definitions of humanness and upending any objective assessments of biological sex.

As a historian, I teach my students that many challenges and trends we think are new are really old ideas and practices dressed up in new clothing. Sexual license, sex role reversals in pagan worship and parties, and questioning moral traditions are all found in a variety of ancient civilizations.

But today’s gender anarchy is unprecedented in a couple of ways. One, we are living in the first moment of global history where relationships that do not produce the next generation are given equal standing in law and society. Homosexual behaviors and relationships are not new; however, the notion that they are equal to marriage is brand new. I am not advocating for intolerance or “going back to the good old days.” Permitting adults to organize their lives in a variety of ways is part of a pluralistic world. But toleration is not celebration and deeply held moral and religious convictions must not be ignored. Two, the metastasizing of genders is brand new and the idea that one can simply change their gender and/or sex is subverting biological reality, social convention, and the created order.

It is interesting that those who reject their biological sex and affirm one of a hundred new identities are called, “courageous” while those that leave the anarchy for their biological identity and choose heterosexual normativity are called, “brainwashed.”

What lies beneath this inverted and perverted thinking is a narcissistic and solipsistic ideology that makes each individual their own deity. Ironically, the young people “rebelling” against “cisgender normativity” are in fact conformists to social media contagion. Objective truth is thrown out the window. Centuries of evolutionary biology and scientific research are tossed aside and obscure studies from academic echo chambers are cited as evidence of a gender or sexual spectrum.

When I was pursuing my education (at two centers of radical thinking: the University of California at Santa Cruz and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA), “gender as a social construction” meant that we should not stereotype boys and girls, women and men, and make sure that all people have access and opportunity. Questioning traditional roles of men and women in society was NOT repudiating biological sex or promoting mutilation of minors. The most radical gay activists (with a few exceptions) of the 1970s-2000s did not deny their maleness or femaleness…they argued for the right to follow their attractions. For decades I have worked with all people of conscience to make a way for women and men of all cultures, classes, and lifestyles to have equal opportunities.

All this progress is being subverted by gender anarchists bent on destroying any objective truth about the human condition. Thoughtful people must NOT be insensitive to true body dysphoria and the deep emotional needs of emerging adults. There is no place for bullying and being unkind to anyone. We must, however, truly follow the science, the wisdom of the ages, and common sense and reaffirm that:

Most people are biologically male or biologically female.
Men and women have more in common that what is disparate, so there is a spectrum of personalities and proclivities, while each person remains male or female.
We must not allow any medical procedures on minors that alter chemistry or permanently destroy healthy body parts.
We must expand and improve psychiatric care for those struggling in their bodies.
We must reaffirm the parental authority vis a vis the educational systems, social media, and other pressures calling for children to reject their essential identity.
Adults have the right to order their lives and relationships in a variety of ways free from fear.
Disagreement on ideas and moral choices is not intolerance, and the deeply held ethical and religious beliefs of billions of people must be considered as we aim for a free and virtuous society.

Let’s walk in kindness, love, and the pursuit of truth in the company of friends

Category Archives: dysphoria

Letter from Exile #3: Being Human, Part 2

What Lies Beneath, Part Three: Being Human