Genderlessness

Some of the bizarre findings and conclusions in the court decision overturning California’s marriage amendment, Proposition 8, present the concept of gender as unimportant in family life and society. Finding number 70 reads: “The gender of a child’s parent is not a factor in the child’s adjustment.” The judge also concludes, “...the evidence shows beyond any doubt that parents’ genders are irrelevant to children’s development outcomes.” The truth is the evidence does not prove that. In fact a brochure published by the American Psychological Association that was entered into evidence in the case stated twice, “Few studies are available regarding the children of gay fathers.”

The opinion also refers to society’s “antiquated and discredited notions of gender.” It says that Proposition 8 writes into the California state constitution “gender restriction that the evidence shows to be nothing more than an artifact of a foregone notion that men and women figure fulfill different roles in civic life.” Gender: an artifact? This judge should take a biology class. The opinion then hits us with: “Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage.”

Most of us think that changes the very definition of marriage. But, in his critique of the ruling, Princeton scholar Matthew Franck says the judge is trying to get away with simply discarding gender as a component in marriage since our understanding of it is “evolving.”

Perhaps this reasoning will be repudiated in the higher courts. We can only hope and pray so. But that won’t erase these ideas from the culture. There is a movement to deny gender. A recent Newsweek asks the question, “Are We Facing a Genderless Future?” According to the magazine, there are people who have tried the whole transgender thing (hormones, surgery, the works) and have found they are not comfortable in their new gender either. They’re sort of ambiguous about their gender. In March, Australia allowed, Nora May-Welby, an immigrant from Scotland, to declare genderlessness. The government later backtracked and the case is on appeal.

Here at home, universities and liberals in Congress are mainstreaming transsexuality as just another orientation. But it’s still considered a pathology that sometimes warrants insurance coverage for sex change surgery. The American Psychiatric Association will publish its next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 2013. It is actually considering dropping the diagnosis of gender identity disorder, which is now used to classify people who do not identify with their biological gender. There’s a proposal to instead use the term “gender incongruence” and only apply it to a person who is distressed over their gender confusion. All other “expressions of gender variance” would be considered normal. Some scientists see gender as a continuum with people expressing theirs as male, female, ‘in-between’ or ‘otherwise.’

This gives new meaning to Paul’s words to the Romans describing those who “exchanged the truth about God for a lie.” They not only ignore natural law, but the truth: “male and female He created them.”