Be honest now. How many of you reading this continue to accept and use terminology involving gender that promotes the false and extremely harmful ideology known more broadly as "transgenderism" even if you are rightly opposed to this ideology? The following reflections can help you recognize why using the favored terminology of "transgenderism" advocates should never be done, and also help you employ various means to counter this false terminology both in writing and in oral conversations.
The roots of the term gender come from the Latin genus, which means kind, or kind of thing. As such, one objective and legitimate application of the term ‘gender’ is the classification (kind of thing) of organisms based on their biological sex. This being so, everyone is a particular and non-changeable gender or kind of thing, which is either the biological male gender or the biological female gender.
Moreover, ever since at least the 15th century, the word 'gender' has been properly recognized and used as a synonym for the biological sexes.* As such, this rightful understanding of gender must not be surrendered to the “transgender” movement since they and their fellow travelers use their preferred yet still false definition of gender as a social construct and/or feelings a person has that may or may not coincide with their biological sex/gender to further promote their despicable agenda. It is also the case that the word 'gender' has been used as a grammatical term or category (even here the masculine gender often has a corresponding relationship with the male sex, while the feminine gender often has a corresponding relationship with the female sex) , BUT it is not limited to this usage, and so this false approach that wrongly separates biological sex from gender must also be avoided. We must always insist that gender and biological sex are synonymous to further demonstrate the folly of the "transgender" movement that proudly proclaims biological sex and gender are different.
Bottom Line: Male sex = Male gender. Female sex = Female Gender.
Many years ago the late, great Monsignor William Smith frequently advised that "all social engineering is preceded by verbal engineering." The more we give in to the use of such malevolent and false terminology used by "transgender" advocates (no matter how many doctors, psychologists, church leaders, and so on believe otherwise), the more we help to normalize the abuse of properly recognizing God's creative order of male and female.
*See https://www.etymonline.com/word/gender#etymonline_v_1349
In writing, always use quotation marks with "transgender," “trans,” “trannie,” LGB"T", etc. to signify that they are all faux terms since nobody can change their genders. In conversation, be sure to make it clear that the term is not accepted and won't be acknowledged for the same reason. Don't ever give in on this, even for so-called politeness reasons. Apply the same approach to the despicable, anti-freedom-of-speech insistence that people must deny objective reality and refer to other people by their “chosen pronouns” that do not coincide with their biological/gender realities.
Also, nobody can “transition from one sex to the other sex.” Nobody has ever “transitioned from one sex to the other sex,” nor is anybody in the process of “transitioning from one sex to the other sex.” Such is completely impossible, so all declarations proclaiming that this absurdity is real must also be vigorously resisted by making it crystal clear that the belief is merely an irrational fantasy that also attacks objective reality and God’s creative order. And, because nobody can “transition from one sex to the other sex,” it is also flat out stupid to wrongly praise some people for allegedly “de-transitioning from one sex back to their original sex” as if they had indeed “first transitioned from one sex to the other sex” and have subsequently worked at reducing or eliminating any mutilation and so on from their ill-conceived efforts to change what cannot be changed. These people can be praised and encouraged for recognizing the error of their initial efforts to try to change what cannot be changed, and also their efforts to try to undo any wrongheaded mutilation of their bodies, but in no way should this ever be looked upon rationally as actually “de-transitioning from one sex back to their original sex,” which is, again, simply impossible.
By the Bye:
People who claim that they are "transgender," and that they "transitioned" tell the rest of us ad nauseum that gender is not ultimately about or determined by biological sex characteristics, and the fact that gender has been rightly used as a synonym or meaning virtually the same thing as biological sex should no longer be done.
But if they really believe that their claims are true, then why do the vast majority of these mentally ill people go out of their ways (includes physically mutilating themselves in one form or another) to appear more like the biological sex that they insist has nothing to do with their declarations to be the opposite gender than what their biological sex actually reveals?
B. Michael Addison is a semi-retired college professor with a Master's Degree in Catholic Theology, a Master's Degree in Economics, and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Bioethics. He is a life-long Catholic who enjoys writing about all things Catholic as well as current events and the challenges of living Catholic Truth in an increasingly hostile secular world.
