By Bob Topper
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
Religious conservatives waged a 50-year battle to deny the rights of gay and lesbian people, especially the right to marry. As the dominate force in the GOP, they coerced traditional Republicans to formally oppose same sex marriage, and make it a national political issue in the 1990’s. They also oppose the Equality Act which would extend federal protections to LGBTQ people nationwide. And at the state level, Republican legislators, as in Florida, passed “don’t say gay” laws targeting LBGTQ people.
But after the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which legalized same sex marriage, voters came to accept same sex unions and by 2025 Republican opposition to marriage equality declined to 41%. Disappointed, but undeterred, religious conservatives refocused their crusade to concentrate on people stressed by gender dysphoria, especially children, and so the historical anti-gay movement continued, supplanting or redirecting that animus.
Medical science has shown that, like same sex attraction, gender dysphoria is a natural variation of human sexuality. Over seven percent of the population identifies as gay, lesbian, or trans. Surely such diversity must have been intended. Yet religious conservatives are unable to reconcile faith with that reality. And, unable to defend their beliefs with rational arguments, they resort to the tactics and strategies they developed to deny the rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
One tactic is the strawman argument whereby they misrepresent, exaggerate, and distort a liberal position to create a version they can easily attack while dodging the underlying issue. The distortion also provides a means to scorn and ridicule those they perceive as opponents.
Consider for example their claims that liberals want children to transition and boys to compete in girls’ sports. Scorning people who held those views might be justifiable, but neither charge is true. No one advocates for children to change their sex. But educators and medical practitioners, bound by ethical standards, cannot ignore gender dysphoria. They must respond with sensitivity, even when politicians demand otherwise.
And regarding sports competition, we have recognized throughout history that, as a rule, men have an unfair advantage. Justice demanded separate categories for men and women sports. This partition recognized the clear biological differences that impact athletic performance. By establishing distinct categories, the system ensured that competition would be fair and that opportunities would be equally available to all participants, regardless of sex.
In 1972, Title Nine legislation supported this division by ensuring equal opportunity and resources for male and female athletes. The legislation’s intent was not to deny or ignore the existence of biological differences, but rather to affirm them and provide a structure that promoted equality and prevented discrimination based on sex. In 1972 no one anticipated that gender dysphoria would become an issue. But a few, very few, transgender girls seek to compete in women’s sports using Title Nine protections to support their petitions.
Like the conflict between science and religion this question of cross-sex competition is not new. Intersex competition in sports has been an issue in the Olympic Games since the 1930’s. The International Olympic Committee and other sports bodies have experimented with various methods of sex verification, including physical exams, chromosome tests, hormone level assessments, and DNA tests, but have not found a single, definitive test for competition.
Gender dysphoria is primarily a psychological/emotional phenomenon resulting from a mismatch between gender identity and assigned sex, while intersex conditions are physical/biological variations in sex characteristics. Both pose the same question; how can the sex of athletes be determined in the context of fair play? The fruitless 95-year effort by the International Olympic Committee shows that there are no easy answers.
Still, a few individuals on the extreme left believe social justice requires the elimination of the male-female partition in competitive sports. But given that less than three percent of the population identify as trans or intersex, how would that serve the common good?
Much more concerning is the position of the conservative Christian right who question the very legitimacy of gender dysphoria and condemn those who recognize and support this minority group. They rehash the arguments they used to question the legitimacy of homosexuality, and gay marriage. In states where Republican theocrats control their legislature, they write laws that regulate gender dysphoria treatment and public-school curriculum, to ensure alignment with their Christian views rather than evidence-based fact. This is a repeat of their anti-gay stance to deny same sex marriage. But matters of gender identity are for parents, doctors, and teachers to decide, not politicians.
The Christian fundamentalists are hopelessly out of step with modern times. What is more important, they endanger our future. Their resistance to scientific inquiry and fact-based decision making inhibits progress in the same way fear and ignorance obstructed progress before the Enlightenment. Dispensationalists, like Speaker Mike Johnson, who believe that we live in the end-times, are not concerned. But the rest of us must be. The end times have been wrongly predicted dozens, if not hundreds, of times in the past. The word for thinking this time will be different is insanity.
The Christian right needs to wake up. Science and education are not our enemies, but our hope. And just as they have softened their stance on marriage equality, they should soften their stance on gender dysphoria, not only because of medical science, but because it is the Christ-like and compassionate thing to do. And Christ’s message, “love thy neighbor,” was an appeal for diversity and inclusion.
Bob Topper, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a retired engineer.
