I first wrote about the issue of transgender in 2012 when it was still for many a marginal and irrelevant issue. Back then I said,

It is clear that governments are already legislating in their favour. Australia in this case is leading the way and others will surely follow suit. It seems that armed only with a vague notion of ‘rights’, western governments are, within the space of about 50 years, completely redrawing the legal basis of society. It is unlikely that anything Christians do will change this other than to lose bruising battle after bruising battle.

“There is no male or female”

And in 2015 I argued that one of the consequences of this cultural phenomenon would be a further marginalizing of the church

The strong cultural tides in this direction have not peaked or begun to ebb and we would be naive to think they have. There is something decidedly non-progressive and instead ‘shrill, censorious, unreal, demanding compliance, punishing dissent.’

Four observations about the transgender debate

Nothing has happened that would change my mind on those things. Although for the first time the voices of dissent from this seemingly unstoppable orthodoxy are beginning to be heard.

Transgender orthodoxy looks like this

Raising Baby Grey, a Gender-Neutral Child: “In this short film from Alex Mallis, we meet a Bronx couple who are raising their child Grey in a gender-neutral way until they make a decision for themselves. No single gender wardrobes or toy collections and they/them pronouns.”

One observation on the film. The parents of Grey are a transman and a woman, and in describing their childhood the transman says, something to the effect of, “I was never a very girly girl which is what my mother wanted.” It made me wonder what their experiences would have been if they hadn’t felt forced to accept gender stereotypes that we no longer hold. What if being a tomboy and climbing trees was perfectly compatible with being a girl?

It also looks like this: Elliot Page, ‘Juno’ star, shares transgender identity with the news of the latest celebrity transition. The culture seems headed in just one direction. Given that it’s worth taking time to think through the issues. As a follow up to Elliot Page I’d consider reading Stephen McAlpine’s Ellen Turns A New Page and Becket Cook’s Why Hollywood Praises Elliot Page (and Blacklists Me).

Dissent to this orthodoxy is costly. It can definitely cost you your job. And as JK Rowling found out, fame is no protection against the social media inferi.

The new dissenters

It’s important to note that dissenting voices are not just coming from the places society expected dissent to come from: religious right-wing types. Instead it’s come from women, gay people and some very famous liberals like the aforementioned JK Rowling.

This was mostly confined to internet squabbles and on furious rage from trans-activists but recently there have been some more significant developments. In October World Rugby bucked the trend and banned transwomen from the female game at an international level and then there was a court ruling in the UK about the use of puberty blockers.

It’s worth reading Debbie Hayton (herself transgender) on Why Keira Bell’s victory matters and this excellent article in The Economist: An English ruling on transgender teens could have global repercussions. It’s worth noting the sub-header to that article – “Worries grow over treatments that can leave children sterile” and pause to wonder how people have not been worried about that all along. I made the case in August that perhaps Christians should follow the example of Christian missionaries in China who laboured against foot-binding and that our focus should be “protecting young girls from practices that damage their physical integrity.”

A turning point?

It’s too early to say but there is perhaps room, as Andrew Bunt feels, for cautious optimism.

I think these developments also provide an encouragement for us to keep on holding fast to what the Bible teaches us about our identity as men and women. We are seeing the beginning of what may be a turning of the tide in cultural opinion on this topic. We are seeing evidence that the Bible’s call to us to live in line with our biological sex is actually the best thing for us, even if there are sometimes difficulties in this. We are seeing an increasing realisation that gender stereotypes are often not helpful, that our biological sex is unchanging and unchangeable, and that this gives us the freedom to be how we are without changing who we are.

The challenge we have to ask ourselves is which moment is more powerful. The cultural moment of a celebrity saying they’re trans or the legal ruling? In many ways the cultural moment could have the bigger and longer-lasting impact. But what the legal ruling does is legitimize the fact that there really hasn’t been anything close to a cultural debate about what transgender is or means. Slogans like ‘trans rights are human rights’ are powerful but vacuous and there needs to be a debate on what that actually means.

Christian responses

There are a number of ways to respond. The most important starting point is not to run away from the controversy. But what then?

1. There is the simple hold the line approach. Sharon James’ post Boys Cannot Be Girls is a good example of this.
2. There is the build the church approach. Carl Trueman illustrates this here: 4 Ways Christians Can Navigate Cultural Confusion around Gender in the Coming Decade
3. There is the think-tank approach and Dr Julie Maxwell gives a good illustration of that here: The transgender treatment of young people

Context is most likely to determine the approach any local church takes. Most churches for whom it is not a ‘live’ issue in their church community will, amongst all the other pressures of local church, likely adopt the first one.

If your church is in a university town or in a large urban area with a significant LGBTQ presence then a combination of 2 & 3 seems likely. You’ll need to be informed and think through the deeper issues at play and equip your church to respond both graciously and apologetically. You’ll also likely need to think through pastoral responses and have resources at hands for especially for families with vulnerable teenagers.

A few years ago in the light of same-sex marriage rulings throughout the western world, trans activists seem to be winning a blitzkrieg offensive and rapidly gained ground. Yet for the first time in a decade there has been a serious challenge to the prevailing assumptions. This is to be welcomed but it should not be expected to just disappear overnight. If anything the intensity is only likely to be ratcheted up further over the coming decade.