–– Mark Christopher

Audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The past 10 years have seen an inordinate amount of time and energy spent by the media, politicians, and educators on promoting transgenderism or Gender Identity Disorder (GID). Transgenderism is defined as “a feeling that your biological/genetic/physiological gender does not match the gender you identify with and/or perceive yourself to be.” In other words, it is wholly based on a feeling. According to Statista two per cent of South Africans identify as being transgender, gender fluid, non-binary, or asexual. All new terms in this brave new world. 

One of the most concerning aspects of the new transgender phenomenon is that it has found a lodging place in the South African educational system. Various non-profit organisations from Europe and the USA have helped develop tools given to schools to indoctrinate South Africa’s youth and sow much biological as well as moral confusion on the matter. The latest promotion of transgenderism in the school system is what is called Early Childhood Development Toolkit. The ECD Toolkit is meant to train primary school teachers on how to “educate” lower-grade learners on the fluidity of gender apart from biological givens. 

Here is just a sample of what is contained in the 56-page ECD Toolkit: 

“Most of us have been raised with the idea that there are two sexes (male and female) and that they align with two genders (man and woman) … however, both sex and gender exist across a continuum of possibilities … Although many people in our society identify as men or women, there is a wider range of gender possibilities between and beyond the two … Some people do not fit into the traditional binary gender divide (boy/girl, man/woman) and identify as neither man nor woman, but somewhere in between. Some may also identify as a mix of man and woman.” 

A good friend of mine studied the ECD Toolkit and summarised its objectives as follows: 

• To normalise transgenderism and the idea of a continuum of gender and sex.
• To conflate this with protecting children from violence.
• To oppose gender stereotypes and role biases.
• To oppose toilet segregation by sex.
• To encourage children to explore gender non-conforming roles and discourage peers who make negative comments. 
• To question parents’ gender roles.
• To Teach teachers to persuade parents to accept the gender dysphoria of their child.
• To teach gender-inclusive language: e.g. avoid boy or girl etc. 

The sum of the ECD Toolkit equals complete nonsense that is rooted in philosophy and the social sciences, not empirical science. It amounts to a social engineering exercise at the expense of the next generation and to the detriment of the nation. Trangenderism is not an observable physical trait like hair, eye, or skin colour. Rather, transgenderism is a self-identified characteristic based on the subjectivity of the person in question. 

The whole notion of the transgender experiment was first promoted by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfield over 100 years ago. He contended that all humans are a mix of both male and female. Therefore, he claimed that gender is a continuum between male and female. In more recent times, existential philosopher, Michel Foucault, popularised the whole notion that gender is a social construct and separate from biological sex. As if the two are somehow mutually exclusive. 

For the believer in Christ, the Bible must be our starting point for evaluating transgenderism. Genesis 1:26-27 is a good place to begin. At the moment of creation, God’s pinnacle of creation is seen in image-bearing man. The terms “male” and “female” in the original Hebrew are very specific terms that designate two genders, not three, four, or more. Then in Genesis 1:31, God pronounced all that He had made, including the male and female, “very good”! 

In Genesis 2 we see the gender roles and gender distinction clearly outlined and culminating in Genesis 2:23-24. Yet, in the very next chapter of Genesis, we witness the fall of the man and woman into sin. The fall has touched every part of creation including the human body and mind. It is precisely at the point of the fall that transgender advocates neglect a serious discussion about the ramifications and impact of sin on the human mind and desires. Human nature is not basically neutral or good (Genesis 6:8; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2;1-3; Romans 3:9-19). Our broken and fallen desires can include ideas about gender that are inconsistent with God’s creational design of only two genders. When the biblical boundary of gender is distorted the idea of what it means to be uniquely human is disordered as well. 

Despite the fall, the New Testament reaffirms God’s creation ideal for only two genders and gender roles. In Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6, Jesus anchors his answer to the question about divorce and remarriage in Genesis 1:27 and 2:23. In so doing, He reaffirms creation as the standard of what it means to be male and female. The Apostle Paul does likewise in Ephesians 5:31-33 and Colossians 3:18-21 while Peter follows suit in 1 Peter 3:1-7. This all underscores the fact that God has never changed His mind or altered His design for what it means to be male and female contrary to what pseudo-science now says. 

What can parents do when their kids are exposed to the evils of gender-bending? 

1. Prepare your kids through discipleship. Teach them from Scripture what it means to be male and female and why this is important. 

2. Listen to your kids — know what they are being taught and who and what is influencing them at school as well as on social media.

3. Teach your kids that we cannot rightly understand ourselves until we first have an understanding of who God is and why He made us as we are. 

3. Teach your kids that the idea “I am the sum of my desires” is the wrong place to start to make decisions in life because we are all fallen creatures. 

4. Speak up when educators or other influencers seek to indoctrinate your child with gender-bending lies and falsehoods. 

5. Teach your children to “flee sexual immorality” of all kinds, including transgenderism (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). 

6. Point your children to Christ and His gospel with the understanding that new life in Christ leads to a transformed mind (Romans 12:2). And a transformed and renewed mind is the only real hope for anyone enslaved by the transgender mindset.