Welcome back to Wednesday Wisdom! As a slight departure from my typical blog posts, below is an op-ed I wrote in reaction to “Lia” Thomas winning the 500y Freestyle at the NCAA tournament in mid-March.
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“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
March Madness didn’t only apply to college basketball this year.
In the month of March, we saw the desecration of the female race: The “Woman” of the Year is a man, the top women’s swimmer in the NCAA is a man, and we heard countless stories of men, pretending to be women, assaulting girls in public spaces once deemed “safe” for my gender.
Where will it all end. . . no more track titles, gold ribbons, or swimming metals awarded to females in women’s sports? Essentially, it could be the conclusion to women’s rights. All those civil liberties women fought so hard to secure—equal funding and equal opportunity—will have been for nothing.
Have we seen the last female Miss America? That, as my husband quipped, will be an ugly day in our country.
As I watch this craziness escalate, I wonder, why I have remained silent to this point? But many like me have been shamed into believing that we need to be tolerant and to accept everyone, regardless of how illogical and outrageous their actions are.
As woman—particularly as a believer in Jesus Christ—I need to say that there is a limit to my tolerance.
God established the natural order at Creation: He created us male and female; made marriage between one man and one woman in a committed, exclusive relationship; and designed the family unit for our protection. When the maker of the Universe warns against deviating from the plan, what He’s really saying is “don’t do it—this will hurt you.” And, as we’ve seen, this could hurt others, too.
We have been told that as good Christians we need not only to allow but to embrace every new lifestyle choice as being equal with the standard set at the beginning of human history. We’ve played nice as long as we could, but we’re reached our limit.
Where the “natural” ends, chaos begins. Always. Historically, this chaos has provided the perfect cover for the stronger to exploit the weaker in every society.
I recognize now that I can respect an individual without having to like their choices. As I’ve written in a segment called “The Truth about Love,”[1] I can acknowledge someone’s expression of individuality without buying into their distortion of reality.
So, no, men cannot have a menstrual period, get pregnant, or nurse a baby. Imagining they can is insanity. And when men pretending to be women enter our bathrooms, locker rooms, and cabins to assault our sisters, daughters, and friends, you’ve overplayed your hand.
We’re done with this game of attempting to normalize things which are not normal. As a woman, I’m saying no. No, I will no longer tolerate you pretending to be us to compete for our records, titles, jobs, and even our boyfriends.
And enough already with adding the word “trans” to make you something you are not. A trans woman is not a woman. All of the surgeries and hormone treatments in the world cannot make a man into a woman—it can only make him sterile.
Pretending to be a woman does not make you one any more than working at McDonald’s makes you a hamburger. You know this, I know this, we all know this.
Please stop culturally appropriating the word “woman.”
In fairness, I don’t blame Will Thomas for trying to game the system. After all, he ranked 32nd in the nation according the Wall Street Journal when he competed against other men. I blame the NCAA for making the standard so low that Thomas can have all of the parts he was born with, and still compete as a woman! (Actually, I’m glad he did not castrate himself—talk about unnatural.)
Even Caitlyn Jenner recognizes that men are not women. According to a recent interview with Sean Hannity, Jenner refrains from competing in the women’s bracket for golf tournaments because it’s not fair to women.
Although Jenner also colors outside the lines, I admire Caitlyn’s restraint to not burn down the entire system for the rest of us identifying as women who were born this way.
I stand with Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan, and Brooke Forde—the real winners at the NCAA tournament last month. I stand with strong, intelligent, accomplished women everywhere who deserve to be recognized as the Woman of the Year.
Please don’t misunderstand, I am not against men. In fact, I love men because you’re different than us. I love the fact that my husband is bigger, stronger, and a much better protector than I could ever be.
If men and women were the same, one of us would be unnecessary. This is how we feel when you try to become us when it’s convenient for you. You are making being a woman obsolete. That is the effect of your actions, regardless of how you feel.
I’m short, my message to men wanting to identify as women in order to exploit those smaller and weaker than you? You are being a bully and we can’t tolerate it any longer. We value you as a human being created in the image of God and agree to co-exist but… stay in your lane.
[1] Travis, A., 2020. Through the Lens of Love & Truth: A Look at Christian Conservatism in America. Pittsburgh, PA: Fusion Leadership Group, p.32.
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