Our world is so mixed up. We live in a day and age where things that once were so cut and dried are now hot topics of debate.
One case in point is the definition of a woman (female). In today’s culture people are trying to define what shouldn’t need to be defined.
The Bible defined it quite clearly in Genesis 2:4-25. God made man and woman. He did not create a third “person” and say this individual can choose his/her gender. You simply won’t find it in Scripture because God had a plan and transgender was not in it.
Earlier this year, when Supreme Court nominee (now judge) Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn to define the word, “woman,” Jackson’s response was, “I’m not a biologist.” Of course, some folks applauded Jackson’s answer, but even some scientists admitted that answer was “misleading.”
USA Today reported, “Scientists, gender law scholars and philosophers of biology said Jackson’s response was commendable, though perhaps misleading. It’s useful, they say, that Jackson suggested science could help answer Blackburn’s question, but they note that a competent biologist would not be able to offer a definitive answer either.
Scientists agree there is no sufficient way to clearly define what makes someone a woman, and with billions of women on the planet, “there is much variation.”
Even Merriam-Webster Dictionary has jumped into the fray, according to The National Review. The Review reported July 19 that “in order to appease woke activists, the dictionary publisher has added a secondary definition of “female” that defines the term as “having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.”
The key term here is “gender identity,” which demonstrates that Merriam-Webster maintains that gender is not directly connected to sex. A female is a woman. Trans-identifying males are not female. However, according to trans activists, men can be women.
The writer of the Review article opined, “The insanity continues. The Left understands the importance of controlling language. Once one controls language, one can shift the culture to one’s will. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight until a major cultural shift takes place that dispels the commonly held misconception that men can turn into women and vice versa.”
We don’t need biologists or dictionaries to define “woman.” God defined it in the beginning and it has served us well for centuries.
Sadly, the people who are being hurt and ignored in this cultural travesty are the women themselves.
Culture is changing the rules. The New York Post reported July 25, “A federal judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked the Biden administration from enforcing directives that would allow transgender students and workers to use bathrooms and locker rooms and play for sports teams that correspond to their gender identity.”
Judge Charles Atchley Jr., of the Eastern District of Tennessee, ruled in favor of 20 Republican state attorney generals who sued last August, arguing that the federal directives would make it impossible for states to enforce their own rules about transgender athletes participating in girls’ sports or accessing bathrooms.”
Finally, someone is displaying some common sense. Biological males do not need to be in women’s restrooms or be allowed to compete on women’s athletic teams.
How can men competing against women be “fair?” It can’t. Enough said.
Stephanie Steele is a sophomore softball player at a private Christian college in East Tennessee. Stephanie also is a strong believer and member of First Baptist Church, Dandridge, who serves on the summer staff at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center in Newport.
She opposes transgender athletes playing women’s sports because of her religious beliefs and convictions and also because it creates an unfair advantage for the male who is playing on a women’s team.
During a recent conversation she noted that she would be extremely upset if she was informed that a transgender male was taking her scholarship and spot on the team. She added that she has worked hard throughout her life to earn an athletic scholarship
Stephanie also observed that women would have a disadvantage playing against men because in most cases they would be bigger, stronger and faster. “It would be hard for us (women) to go compete against men. It’s easier for a guy to play against women.”
Stephanie is 100 percent correct on all counts. Young adult women have a lot to deal with as they graduate high school and move onto the next stage of college and working toward a career. For decades, our government has strived for fairness for women in the work place. It may not be what it should be, but women have more opportunities to succeed than ever before.
Ironically, the same government that provided those opportunities is now lobbying for an issue that could deprive women who participate in athletics the opportunity to play the sport they love.
The answer to this cultural problem is simple. Unfortunately, the world is looking for answers in “all the wrong places.” Try the Bible. The real answers are there. B&R