As society and culture move further and further away from the true north of my values, I can’t help but shake my head. There is noise in the culture that seems to say that people have the inherent right to self-identify. What?! Really?! I’m not referencing religious affiliation…political views…SEC football team preference…or other such positions people take. It appears that now…today…society is in the process of normalizing/enacting a person’s right to choose what gender they will be no matter what plumbing they have below their belt…or skirt. As it concerns human anatomy, I am a complete and utter sexist…just as people have been for millennia. If biology has assigned an identity to someone but one’s psychology disagrees, guess which is wrong…where does the pathology lie? In today’s enlightened atmosphere biology loses the argument. So how is the problem solved? Today I am learning that science and medicine say it is possible to “reassign” one’s anatomy to conform to their psychosis…I mean their psychology…sorry.

Okay, so what if…what if some dude has decided that he isn’t really a man. At the core of his being he knows he’s a woman. He has all the procedures…surgeries…takes all the drugs and hormones to make what his heart and mind says is true about him real. He looks in the mirror and yes, he looks exactly like the person he believes he is. Does he now seek the services of a gynecologist…for the proper care of his new lady business? I suppose it depends on how much he believes in his new identity. What if…what if again…and I know it’s a stretch but what if our newly minted female does get an appointment with a lady bits clinician? As the new patient lies on her back…legs in the stirrups…the doctor’s head lamp exploring her nether area, I can’t help but wonder how that conversation goes. Again I suppose it depends on the doctor. The doctor is in business to make money so I guess this office visit can be considered an easy $200. Why? Maybe because THE PATIENT ISN’T REALLY A WOMAN no matter what anyone thinks. I wonder how much insurance pays for such a visit. I remember when the job function of a board certified clinician was to diagnose, treat, and hopefully heal their patients. I guess now there are some who have found a moral and ethical way to accommodate illness and not attempt to cure it.

I realize my previously mentioned scenario is outrageous. Most people who have gender reassignment do not have their private parts done. It’s not proven very effective…yet. Most potential candidates are not willing to risk that part of them until science and technique catch up. Do I have to explain the irony here?! I also realize that I totally botched my pronoun selections in my fictitious example…oh well.

I guess at the end of the day as it concerns people with GID (gender identity disorder), I’m content to say “you do you” and go about my business. I have been made aware however, that’s not enough. As a polite member of society I must change what pronouns I use in reference to them. So far I’m not seeing a lot of traction on that new rule among the few people who dare to enter my orbit. It’s hard enough watching people delude themselves. It’s a bit much to also ask me to participate in the delusion.

When I was born there was no such thing as a gender reveal party. That’s because it was nearly impossible to tell what a person was before they were born. When my own children were preparing themselves for their first breath we had the ultrasound machine. The marvels of technology made it possible to barely see that my daughter was a girl. A few years later when it was my son’s turn to be scanned we weren’t so lucky. The nurse said, “He doesn’t want his picture taken.” In the moment I didn’t realize that would always be true. I had to find out what he was the old fashioned way. When my children began to have babies, I found out about the gender reveal party. Ultrasound scans are now made into crystal clear 3D images. Amniotic fluid is tested to check on the health of the baby. The gender of the baby is revealed as part of such tests. If the soon to be parents are planning a gender reveal party, they ask their medical practitioners to keep the information safe in an envelope until the party. It seems like fun…at least to me. It was fun.

But no, I was later informed by a progressive social justice crusading do-gooder that gender can only be revealed after it is chosen by the child. To reveal it prematurely is child abuse. Wait?! What?! Evidently every person has the inherent right to choose their gender…how they will be identified. I wondered if I aided and abetted child abusers the previous weekend! At this point I should have walked away…but I never do. I explained that nothing has actually been revealed to the child yet so the little party may prove to be harmless. When people wish to adhere to this…this information…how do they do it? I was instructed in ways parents can achieve gender neutrality during that critical time. It was exhausting. As this conversation was concluding my instructor in these mad arts asked me what the gender reveal party revealed. No way I was falling for that trick.

I believe people are free to self-identify within certain established boundaries. When people venture beyond traditional boundaries, “to each his own but that ain’t mine.” My head starts to hurt when I have to surrender my opinion and participate in the insanity of someone else. When is it enough and who decides?

I suppose if there’s someone who is self-existent…uncreated…I guess that person can say, “I am whoever I say I am.” Exodus 3