There is a well-known fable where a king is groomed, pampered, and flattered that he is so special he deserves a set of special clothes. These clothes are special in that you have to be wise, learned, and a special kind of person to be able to see them. So, the tailor makes these invisible clothes for the king. Of course, the king and his advisers cannot see the clothes, because they don’t exist – but the pressure of the court, ensures that social engineering takes place, that everyone, including the king, says how beautiful they are and he sets out in public to display his new set of kingly robes. The crowd is remarking loudly how beautiful the clothes are and praising the king for his majestic robes.
A little boy yells out, “He is wearing no clothes.”
“Quiet,” the crowd tells the boy.
But he yells out more loudly, “He is wearing no clothes.”
The king hears the boy’s remark – he hears the truth – and says, “I am a fool, indeed, I am wearing no clothes, for I have been scammed.”
It’s a powerful fable. A story where government, and society get scammed, and yet the pressure is on to believe the scam. This story was first told over 300 years ago. It’s an ancient story. It’s a story that has a remarkable message for society today. There is no doubt that our modern society is a far cry from 300 years ago. It’s vastly different to where it was 50 years ago.
I have a farming background. Farmers are a pragmatic people. They have to be. They are normally straight shooters. Earthy. People who call a spade a spade. There is no room for airy fairy theories on the farm. What ever they do on the farm, it has to work.
Over the past few years I have been involved in many in-depth conversations around the topic of “Gender”. Today, some academics are trying to convince us that there are over 62 genders. It’s a theory with which I totally disagree. In their push to reengineer society, they are changing the terminology to fit in with their agenda – and in doing so, there is no real consistency of thought in what they are saying.
As a farmhand I have had to keep records. We keep records of the weather. Records of how much milk each cow is producing. We keep records of when each cow is mated, and with what bull. We keep records of when the cow calved and what the gender of what that calf is. I have never worked in the chicken industry. But friends who do, have worked with young chickens to determine their gender. Males go to one side. Females to another. The farm can be a brutal place – more often than not, a male animal is de-knackered. It’s converted from a bull, to a steer. Despite it no longer being able to breed, it’s still a male animal. It’s not made into a new gender.
Two of my biggest disputes with the social engineers is that they are totally confused about the historical context and meaning of terms, and that there is no consistency within their own train of thought. It’s my stance that in general there are two biological genders. Male, and Female. I can hear the detractors crying out now, “What about the hermaphrodites?” What about them, I answer back. Biologically, there is no record of a true hermaphrodite. Their “working” reproductive organs will be either male or female. A chromosome test will show what the true gender of the person is.
The social engineers say that Gender and Sex are totally different things, that ‘male’ and ‘female’ refers to the sex of the person, and not their gender. However, Sex has historically meant two things: 1) the gender of the person; 2) the action that takes place between people as they engage in sex. One is a noun, the other a verb. They say that sexuality refers to the biological sex of the person. In this, I completely disagree. Sexuality is not the gender of the person, it’s the action of the person.
For instance, Heterosexual refers to opposite genders being attracted to each other. Homosexual refers to same gendered people being attracted to each other. Bi-sexual refers to people who swing both ways. The sexual part of this label refers to their activity. It’s how they identify themselves, and it’s how society identifies people groups. It’s a verb, and not a noun. Transgender is another term that talks about gender being male or female. Biologically they claim they are born in the wrong biological body. So, they set about to transition to another gender. This is what Transgender means, “Transitioning to another gender.”
One of the major difficulties in discussing transgender-ism within a sociological framework is that gender terminology is not used within the confines of biological male and female genetics – rather it refers to behaviours, roles, codes of dress, etc. And these codes are enforced through social expectations. There is a huge disconnect, and inconsistency within the push for social re-engineering within the steps transgender people take to ‘transition’, That is to say, if gender is just a matter of performing a role and dressing for that role, and is thus completely disconnected from biological sex, why must one alter – or attempt to alter – one’s biology to fulfil one’s experience of the other gender.
I won’t argue against their belief. I have spoken with many transgendered and homosexual people. Their belief is powerful. They strongly identify as being another gender. Being another sex. they are strongly attracted to the same gender. And they may outwork this identity through their sexuality. Even if they do transition from male to female, or female to male – human intervention is needed. Surgery, and drugs are needed to counteract the biological formation of their bodies. Oestrogen, or Testosterone supplements, as well as Oestrogen, and Testosterone blockers are needed to be taken for a full transition to take place. Yet, biologically they are still male or female.
When it comes to gender, a consistency of terminology is needed. There are two genders: male and female. A male may identify as a female. A female may identify as a male. This is their identity. Identity is how we identify ourselves. Sexuality is what we do as a male or female, or what we do within the framework of our identity. A homosexual is a male. A lesbian a female. They are both attracted to the same gender. The same sex. (Gender and sex are a noun.) Then sexuality comes into play. Sexuality is what we do with our gender. Heterosexual, attracted to opposite sex / gender. Homosexual / Lesbian, attracted to same sex or gender. Bisexual swings both ways. A transgender identifies as the other gender.
And this is where there is a difference between gender, sexuality and identity. Identity is different to gender. Identity is different to sexuality. Yes, all three are interlinked. But all three are totally different from each other as well.
For the sake of consistency of language – for the constancy of terminology across sociological and scientific fields – stop the confusion of terminology. And use gender as a biological construct. Sexuality is the outworking of one’s biological construct. And identity is how we identify ourselves within the parameters of our biological gender and sexuality.
In the beginning of this article, I shared the fable of the Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s a powerful allegory regarding our modern society. In the story, society is forced to realign their sense of reality, to something that is false. They are caught up in a wave of powerful delusion that is forced upon them. While the fable is a fictional story – sadly, the current push to re-engineer society isn’t a fictional one. There is a very real tyranny being forced upon us. A delusional expectation for society to embrace falsehood. And in the same way, an innocent voice. A young, naive, uneducated voice called out, “He is wearing no clothes!” We need more voices to indeed call out, and not accept the false societal re-engineering that is being forced upon us.