Making Sense of the #Transgender Debate

About this sermon

The transgender discussion is pretty heated these days with arguments about change rooms, healthcare, athletics, and the military drawing everyone in and it has, unfortunately, become extremely political. The reason I think that’s unfortunate, is because the first casualty of political debate tends to be the truth. It gets spun and manipulated until it fits into a neatly packaged doctrine that has very little to do with the original issue and the people affected by it and everything to do with furthering an agenda and securing votes. This makes me feel sorry for the people who identify as transgender or one of its various subsets because understanding yourself and your well being depends on accurate information. This is especially true when it comes to our health. I think we’d all like to go to a doctor or an expert and find out what we need to know to be happy and healthy, but when political figures and groups hijack a topic like this, the stream of information gets flooded with ideological fallacies. Knowing and understanding ourselves, I think, is intrinsic to our well being and I’d hate to be in a position where getting the information I need can only be accessed once it’s been processed through a political and media spin cycle. So let me start by saying that if you are somebody who feels like you might be or are transgender, be skeptical of the various voices that insist they are on your side, especially the political ones. I’d also like to offer some suggestions about how you can scrutinize the various factions that are competing for your trust. If someone is taking a position on this topic, ask yourself if they have anything to gain by your support. Does it mean more votes for them, does it mean more sales, does it mean that your voice will be added to theirs which, in turn, gives them more authority or influence? Are they perhaps just going along with trends and appealing to a need to be popular? Are there any voices who simply seem to be motivated by the truth even if it costs them hardship? There’s probably a lot to be said for the scientific information that predates the political coopting of this topic because it would have benefited from the strength of objective research that isn’t pressured by government funding to fit a political narrative. That’s why I’d carry more than a grain of salt for new voices and “studies” that are introduced now that there is so much misinformation. I’d also pay close attention to those voices that are logically and morally consistent and I’d like to focus on one example where I don’t think some voices have been very consistent and that’s with the gender pronouns side of this debate. There are some very imperious voices, as we saw in the University of Toronto controversy, that insist that people should be called by whatever gender pronoun they prefer but are then far too quick to label anyone that doesn’t comply with those demands as intolerant, transphobic, or bigoted. Think about that for a second. How can they, in one breath say that compassion requires us to call people what they want to be called and then in the next breath use such disparaging language to describe people who adopt different conclusions? How can they maintain such a glaring moral and logical contradiction and still expect to be treated as credible? These are the kinds of voices that I would be skeptical of. My sense is that they seem to be hijacking this issue and using the people that it affects to silence political opponents and I would invite anyone who is paying attention to this topic to not let yourself be used in that way. Lastly, can I just say that if you are someone who feels uncomfortable in your own skin. Don’t rush to do anything drastic. Studies have shown that the majority of people who experience gender dysphoria at a young age, do not continue to experience after they go through puberty. Also, everyone experiences insecurities. Growing up, I didn’t want to have red hair and freckles but I wasn’t about to take dangerous steps to alter my outward appearance to fit my internal desires. Twitter: https://twitter.com/briankeepsworth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brianholdsworthmedia Business: https://www.holdsworthdesign.com