Above: Will Thomas, clad in a feminine swimsuit, raises his hands in victory, standing just ahead of the women he defeated.
The New Female Oppression:
Transgenderism
On August the 18th, 1920, the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, thereby giving women in the U.S. the right to vote. The amendment declared “for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.”
It seems a bit counter-intuitive in 2022 to think that women were ever thought of as less than full citizens, but a few minutes of honest reflection would remind anyone that the world is a hard, broken place, and people face all kinds of oppression all the time.
In American history, women, Blacks, Asians, Irish, Indians, Catholics, and Jews have all faced oppression at one time or another. I'm sure I've left off some...
Oppression is a real thing. It is an evil thing. And no matter how much people might deny it, humanity will always find a subset of its own population to oppress and put down. It is a mark of sin in the world. Mankind sinning against itself.
Playing Dress Up…Literally
In our own modern day, there is a new form of oppression taking place, and it's largely going either unnoticed, or just plain being ignored…overlooked.
“This is not important. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
The modern ideology of Transgenderism is the newest form of human oppression in many ways, but specifically, it is the new form of female oppression.
True, beautiful femininity is fading away as a new engineered “masculine femininity" takes center stage; men shoving the actual females out of the way.
In a previous post, I highlighted two men who, claiming to be women, are oppressing women.
The first, a young man named Will Thomas, has claimed a transgender identity in his senior year at Penn State University where he had been competing on the men’s swim team. On the men’s team, he ranked 554th among the country's collegiate male swimmers. But now, having professed a transgender identify, the NCAA has allowed Thomas to compete against biological females, where he has become a “champion.”
ESPN ran an article yesterday highlighting Thomas for breaking two pool records held by an actual female, Miki Dahlke, at the 2022 Ivy League Women’s Swimming Championship.
So powerful is this ideological takeover that many, females included, are willingly and joyfully celebrating the fall of hard won female records at the hands of men…men claiming to be women.
Dahlke herself, whose record Thomas "broke," is quoted as saying, ""Records are made to be broken...I am a faster swimmer because of fast swimmers of the past, and the future of swimming will be faster because of the women at the top of the NCAA today....I signed the letter [of support] because I believe Lia [Will] should have the same opportunity to compete in a sport she loves just like any other woman in the NCAA," Dahlke said. "I think it's important to create a safe space for all athletes in sport.""
It is painfully obvious to everyone — Will Thomas, and Miki Dahlke included — that he is not a woman. It is pure silliness; fictitious; made up. It is a lie.
"The king is standing naked while everyone compliments his new clothing for fear of punishment."
Al Mohler summed it up with cutting clarity saying, “It's something so obvious that in order to deny it, you have to sell yourself, immerse yourself, delude yourself with an ideology that tells you, you can't trust your eyes, you can't trust a genetic test, you can't trust a physical exam. All you can trust is an ideology of gender nonconformity and a gender non-binary that is supposed to turn thousands of years of human experience, not to mention the wisdom of creation and the revelation of God, on its head.”
“…you can't trust your eyes, you can't trust a genetic test, you can't trust a physical exam. All you can trust is an ideology…”
-No matter what ESPN says, Will Thomas is not a hero, nor is he a champion. He’s a weak man who abuses and oppresses women. Shame on him. And shame on those who celebrate what he is doing.
But he is not new on the scene. Men have oppressed women since the beginning in a myriad of ways. This is just the latest example…but it will also continue, and take on new transgender forms. We must keep our eyes open…
True Manliness.
The only real way for men to keep themselves in check, not oppressing women, is by submitting to Jesus Christ in all things. As unpopular as it might be to make the statement in modern times, it is the responsibility of men to keep themselves from oppressing women.
It is clear biblical teaching that God created man and woman equal in dignity and worth, yet distinct from one another. Men are not women, and women are not men. In the creation story of Genesis 1, we read these words, “So God created man in His Own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (v. 27).
The very language of the creation account specifies that, not only are men and women distinct, but the original Hebrew language indicates that the differences between men and women are not differences of dignity and worth, but of sexuality and role.
We also see this reflected in the very bodies of men and women. Men and women look different, have different functions, and have different levels of muscle and hormones. When men present themselves as women, or women present themselves as men, rarely is anyone fooled. The genetic differences are just too strong.
Men are not women, and women are not men.
Men are to Lead and Protect
Throughout the Scriptures, God makes it clear that He intends men to take the headship role in life. Men are to lead and guide, especially in the marriage relationship and in the Church; but also, generally in life and culture.
That is not to say that women cannot lead or are inferior as persons. But it comes as no surprise to anyone that men, on the whole, tend to be stronger, more take charge, and are built more sturdily for hard work, etc. That’s the way God made the world to work.
There is a reason that we don’t send women into frontline military combat (although our country is now doing that as a part of this transgender insanity). There is a reason why the storyline in movies is always a man rescuing a “woman in distress.”
It’s the way God made the world.
But as part of God’s creation, men have a responsibility not only to not oppress women, but to see to it that they flourish. Throughout the Bible, we see God —the strongest and mightiest of Beings — caring for the weak and the downtrodden.
His strength is never an opportunity for personal gain, but an opportunity to serve, help, and protect the weak.
In the marriage relationship, the Bible instructs men (the physically stronger spouse) to sacrifice himself for the good of his wife, even going so far as to die for her if called upon (Eph. 5:25-33).
In Romans 15:1, the Apostle states, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
In James 1:27 we read, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…”
The Bible is just too clear: Real strength is seen in the strong submitting that strength for the good of another.
We see it most clearly in the cross of Jesus Christ, Who, …“though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
A Cultural Sobering
We need to be honest about the times in which we are living. Men are abusing women once again. They’re abusing women by claiming to be women, and then railroading them. It’s an old problem with new clothes.
While much can be said about how we got here —the rejection of biblical truth, the rise of feminism, postmodernity, etc. — it will suffice for now to acknowledge that it is happening.
You’ll notice no one is talking about women dominating men’s sports. That’s because women can’t compete with men. Women simply do not have the physicality to compete against men. So, the few that do venture into it go almost entirely unnoticed.
But on the other hand, when a man enters the arena of female sporting —like Will Thomas — he almost entirely dominates.
How would we feel if at a child’s sporting event, a parent decided to join the team because, “he/she identified as a child.” They would unfairly, and violently dominate. That is the insanity of the modern times.
If Will Thomas was serious about identifying as a woman (not that one can seriously do that), but if he was, and he seriously valued women’s rights and achievements, he would take a seat on the sidelines. He wouldn’t even think of abusing women the way that he is.
The reality is that Will Thomas is a broken man who needs Jesus Christ. He needs salvation from the sin that is distorting his heart and is leading him to seek fulfillment by calling himself a woman.
We Need Lionhearted Men
In his book, This Momentary Marriage, John Piper says being a husband involves being both lionhearted and lamblike. He writes,
“When a man joyfully bears the primary God-given responsibility for Christlike, servant leadership and provision and protection in the home — for the spiritual well-being of the family, for the discipline and education of the children, for the stewardship of the money, for the holding of a steady job, for the healing of discord — I have never met a wife who is sorry she married such a man. Because when God designs a thing (like marriage), He designs it for His glory and our good.” (pg. 92)
Real men, married or not, have lion-like strength and exercise it in lamb-like ways toward the weak.
The hope that our culture is seeking will not be found in a bunch of weak men calling themselves women. There is one hope, and His Name is Jesus Christ. And only He can lead in the path of Truth.
Only in Christ can men become the strong and mighty protectors of the weak that we are called to be.
Only in Christ can we see with clear eyes and full hearts. May it be so…