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The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2009
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2009
What does God think about folks who decide to have gender reassignment surgeries? What about folks who manipulate their gender via prescribed chemicals? Consequently, what are Christians to think about such practices?
This was just the subject of a conversation I overheard yesterday. In a post (I’m not going to link it) a Christian acquaintance went into a tirade on how “sick” and “perverse” it was that a father was having gender reassignment surgery. They argued that a “sex change” is an act of ingratitude and disrespect toward God. After all, if God has specifically and omnipotently designed each person then changing one’s divinely-designated gender may be understood as, ultimately, one’s dissatisfaction with God.
At the time I just wrote the points off as the ignorant ramblings of someone who hadn’t bothered to think through what they were arguing (something I am sure is often thought of me as well). Therefore I just let it go. Arguing with someone who is venting is pointless. So I let it go. Besides, the positive comments didn’t really reflect an environment ripe for constructive discussion.
Although, after much consideration, I think those points are seriously flawed. The idea that a sex-change surgery is an abomination is entirely based on the notion that an omnipotent God hand-made each one of us. Therefore, we are specifically designed by a loving creator. That argument works well in protests outside abortion clinics, but it is deeply flawed.
What about birth defects? What about stillborn babies?
I know a man who was born without an anus. Does that mean the surgeon spat in the face of God when he or she surgically created a anus? Of course not. We live in a world corrupted by sin. Unless we are willing to attribute the birth of every HIV positive baby, every brain-dead baby, or every crack-baby to God’s omnipotence, we cannot argue that every person is “woven together in their mother’s womb”. Even if one were to argue that HIV and crack-cocaine are not part of the biological process, one must still compensate for the fact that they affected the fetus while God was “weaving it together”. It is a futile to try to establish what is outside of an all-powerful God’s control.
If birth defects exist as a part of nature, why then is gender a non-negotiable? What about folks who are born hermaphroditic, born both male and female? Are you willing to tell them that God thinks they should not be allowed to ever get married? After all, if they have both sets of genitals then any partner is a homosexual partner. Yet still, what if their parents chose a gender for them at birth, and had the other gender removed? Is a sex-change later in life still an abomination even though it wasn’t God who chose their gender, but their parents and a doctor? A hard and fast rule about what God thinks of gender falls apart rather quickly when pressure is placed upon it.
I also realize that gender is not a birth defect for most individuals. Most folks receive a gender at birth and function well within that cultural and genetic role. However, there are many who do not as well.
Is it the job of the majority to establish the ethical norm and to enforce that norm over the minority?
A majority of the Church is right-handed. Will we make that an ethical issue as well? To label the minority wrong, based solely on its minority status, is to run the Christian Church by gang rule.
If God has a steadfast and knowable opinion on sex-changes, it cannot be found in one’s gender at birth. If we are to continue with such arguments we must also condemn cures for Type 1 diabetics, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and leprosy as well. We must tell them that God has chosen their cross to bear, and that they must bear it well. Treatments and cures are unnecessary. God, in all God’s omnipotence, has decided what’s best for them and they should just accept that.
It wouldn’t be the first time in the Christian Church. However, I still hold out hope that there are loving, thoughtful Christians reading this who will keep such things from happening in the future.
- Earl
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I think gender is in different category then defects. People are defined by gender, and should not be defined by defect.
Giles:
I’m not arguing that all gender is defective. It’s designed by God, in one shape or another.
Can you elaborate on how gender defines a person? Can also talk about how hermaphrodism defines a person as well?
Lastly, if gender does define a person, what if they’re born with parts that don’t match their chemical gender? After all, gender is a complex combination of body parts, chemicals and culture.
As always, thanks for commenting!
Well said as usual earl :)
earl, it might be helpful for you to distinguish between “sex” which is anatomical and “gender” which is social identification. the reasons that people pursue sex changes is that they gender identify in contrast to their anatomical sex. so there is definitely an argument to be made that in that case, their sex is a kind of birth defect.
however, i think the question of gender identification and socialization is relevant. it is interesting that children who gender identify with the opposite sex are overwhelmingly male. i am no psychologist, but this suggests to me that our male gender roles are particularly narrow and oppressive. there is more room (because we have fought tooth and nail for that space) in the female gender to encompass what used to be thought of as “male” behavior. but little boys who prefer pink or play with dolls or want long hair (i have one of these) are often chastised for their preferences.
thanks for bringing these things up earl.
” it is interesting that children who gender identify with the opposite sex are overwhelmingly male”
Do you have a reference for this because as for as I know this is not true. I think there is perhaps more visibility because of the stigmas related to femininity in boys, but i don’t know that that correlates to a huge difference in actual numbers. Girls are allowed to be masculine when younger, but being masculine is a little bit different than saying, “Mom, I’m a boy.”
And I’d just like to point out that not every person whose gender ID does not match their anatomical sex feels that that makes them “defective”. Some may appreciate the experience that being differently gendered has given them. The problem with the “birth defect” mentality is that it then becomes something to be “fixed” or prevented (like when Mohler said he’d be for giving pregnant women hormone patches if it would prevent homosexuality). I guess that’s the catch 22 of biology though, if it’s genetic then it’s not so much about “choosing to live a perverse lifestyle”, but then we start getting aborted before our “defects” can manifest themselves.
I think I got a little off there. Good post.
@Bryne: good distinction. I had hoped that I could sidestep it. Obviously, that wasn’t helpful for clarity.
@Alex: I cringed at equating gender identity to a birth defect while editing. It definitely starts the conversation towards eugenics, and that’s not a good place to go.
However, I can’t find a way to think of changing one’s sex outside of “fixing”. If it’s not a person attempting to correct something out-of-whack, how else can one understand it?
My understanding of human nature is that we’re constantly pursuing a balance, a peace. Besides trying to find equilibrium, why would someone pursue a sex-change?
Coupla thoughts.
I would say there are a number of ways of seeking equilibrium without saying an aspect of a person is defective, although I guess I really don’t like that word used in reference to people who fall on the ends of the bell curve in any regard (is that what makes me a bleeding heart?) But besides that, I put “fixing” in quotes because I think there is a difference between a person deciding how to best walk their journey with integrity and someone else imposing a “fix” on someone else to make themselves more comfortable. ( I love Exodus “We only seek to change those who WANT to change”,while that is true, the majority of their work is to try really hard at getting people to the place where they want to change even to the detriment of their own psyche).
For me there is another aspect as well, I’m not SORRY that I was born anatomically (outside my brain anyway) female. I value “the way God made me” if you will, it wasn’t “a mistake”. That “way” just happens to be transgender. I would not change my experiences for anything, but to go foward I needed to address the dissonance between my brain (I used brain, not mind intentionally) and my body. I just personally value the way my brain is wired more than I care about society’s obsession with sex and gender roles and the related taboos. I’m not a “crush the binary into oblivion” advocate, but society is pretty hung up on that stuff (which at many points in history and our survival as a species was needed, but I think it’s less useful now). Transition is physically not really any more extreme than the way many people modify their bodies. I certainly think it’s a lot less radical than other alternatives that have been proposed to me. Yes, God’s grace is sufficient, but I guarrantee that if Paul had a pair of tweezers, he’d stop praying and pull the damn thorn out.
end rant :)
I posted a comment already from my iPhone, and apparently it didn’t work.
But basically, I wonder if the gender/sex dichotomy is valid or not. That’s a modern distinction, and if it’s not true, it makes this conversation a little different. Also, if gender and sex could be mismatched, and the Bible seems to seek to change the heart and soul of a person as opposed to externals, why would that not apply here? Why would the sex need to be changed instead of the….well, whatever the hell part of a person gender is located within.
Anyway, just a few initial thoughts. Otherwise, I agree that the “knit together in my mother’s womb” verse is too easily thrown around, and it takes fallenness out of the equation for most people. So, good point on that.
Alan
The brain is a physical organ just like the genitals. It’s not as simple as a heart/mind/ soul thing.
The terminology may be new, but many ancient societies across the world recognize (or created) more than two genders. Even the Bible talks about eunichs which had a different societal function than either males or females. That’s just one example.
[...] The Wanderings of a Theological Vagabond » Blog Archive » Thoughts on God and Sex-Changes . [...]
[...] a wonderfully thoughtful post about God and Transgenderism. The original blogger, Earl writes at The Wanderings of a Theological Vagabond, and he is a real pleasure to read. Check it [...]
Thanks for your thoughtful piece. The numbers are pretty close to 50/50 on male to female vs. female to male, by the way. Our culture is shocked when men transition fo female because of cultural conditioning that makes it far more visible. I strongly suggest anyone interested in this topic read Julia Serano’s fine book: Whipping Girl,/i>.
How does god fit into this? I feel god intended me to go through this. I feel at peace with god. I also feel that god doesn’t want me to judge others and that it’s not my place to make assumptions or condemn others.
What you do is between god and yourself. and what I do is between god and me. When people argue that my god is better then your god, where will that get us?
Finally, someone who articulates, echoes, and corroborates my own thoughts exactly. Indeed, I tell everyone that God created only our original two ancestors. All of us are “re-creations” or otherwise stated “reproductions” of the first two who procreated and thus produced “copies” of themselves with varying characteristics for the sake of uniqueness. Were we original creations of God, who is incapable of creating imperfect creatures, we would all have been born “perfect” and by deduction there would have been no need for the savior. God commanded them to populate the earth via procreation. Gender incongruence, like other biological birth defects which must be described as none other than diabolical, are derived from sin contamination that entered God’s original perfect creation. It is no more or less than this.
Delphi
@divadarya: Thanks for commenting!
@kyras: For me, God fits into nearly everything (since I’m 1) a religious person and 2) a theologian-wannabe. However, this post was prompted by my frustration with a particular type of contemporary christian thought.
Unfortunately, religion is often used to trump others and impose our perspective on them (because it’s not our opinion, it’s GOD’S). I too agree that such attempts are futile and selfish.
Just to clarify, my post was not necessarily to give an over-arching theological analysis of sex-changes or LGBT issues. Instead, I was countering a particular argument (successfully and unsuccessfully). Your experience of God was never intended to be questioned or disqualified. That would be inappropriate.
@Delphi: Thanks for commenting! I too think that while God is undoubtedly overseeing the whole of creation, God is not particularly overseeing the creation of each life.
You’ll have to forgive me, but your comment begs the question of what happens to gender in heaven (assuming one believes in an after-life)? If humankind was originally created with 2 genders and sin is culpable for the derivatives thereof, what will gender look like after the removal of sin? 1 gender? 2? I don’t have any answers to this question, but I would feel remiss if I didn’t point it out.
Thanks for the thoughtful post and comments. In case anyone’s interested, TransEpiscopal (transgender Episcopalians/Anglicans and our friends) has a blog with a number of theological reflections: blog.transepiscopal.com. The posts go back about three years now, and the most recent are from TE members’ experiences at the Episcopal Church’s triennial General Convention, where several trans-positive resolutions were passed.
I would almost be tempted to say gender is defined by the person, not the other way around. Like Bryne said, it’s a social identification, but male and female are not. They are simply two separate physical compositions which are often mushed and pushed and compressed and pulled apart by society. Since we live in a time where we have the problem of physical and psychological conflicts (whether they are sinful or not) and the solution of scientific restructuring of the human body, there is a new conflict. On the one hand it makes sense for what one perceives as wrong to be corrected, as in the case of a sex change. However, there is also the question of why one would have the perception of wrongness.
This is different from a commonly accepted “defect.” In those cases the problem is clear, it is a physical conflict. If one is born with both sets of genitals, then a choice must be made. So people make the best (or preferred) choice in that situation. But you could argue that we might as well leave them as both. We know there’s a conflict of parts, so we pick one of the other. Why can’t we just pick both? Because the conflict is obvious, and we resolve it.
But in the case of a relatively if not perfectly normal person, the conflict is purely psychological. Without stating “right” and “wrong” it’s clear that the conflict is not a physical one, since the body is simply 1 sex. So, in the case of a physical defect, one doesn’t state that picking male or female is wrong, because there’s a physical conflict. Why when the conflict psychological would one offer a physical solution? If someone decides they are not meant to be male, but have a fully male composition, doesn’t it make more sense to resolve the conflict of the mind within the mind? God creates people, and people create conflict. It doesn’t make sense to modify physically what is “defective” mentally.
When I say defective, I don’t mean that insultingly, or that people who are conflicted psychologically OR physically with their sex are defective people. I just mean that problems have solutions and it’s unwise to assume that because some conflicts are resolved with physical modification, doesn’t mean that psychological conflicts are resolved the same way