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| A persons's sex is present in every cell of the body. Photo: Source |
The consequences can be horrific as, even in teenagers, breasts can be amputated, and male genitalia mutilated either surgically or chemically. The use of drugs on young people has a permanent effect in reshaping their body. Shamefully, medical professionals are capitulating to the activists, such is the cultural dysfunction abroad in society.
In the past decade our culture has seen growing acceptance of the claim that a person’s biological sex and personal identity have no necessary connection. That is, human identity is self-defined and becomes the choice of the individual. People reckon that they can be anything they want to be, no matter the reality of their case.
Kids learn that it’s possible to change one’s sex despite the reality that each person is born as a male or female. They are led to believe sex is an option, not a fact of nature. Yes, some individuals are born with ambiguous genitalia, and some individuals do feel they are in the wrong body. However, these cases are very few. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, gender dysphoria prevalence in the US accounts for 0.005–0.014% of the population for biological males and 0.002–0.003% for biological females.
“Gender dysphoria” is a psychological condition in which a biological male or female comes to feel that his or her emotional and/or psychological identity does not match his or her biological sex and “experiences clinically significant distress” as a result (American Psychiatric Association 2013).
Document on the Christian response
From this point I want to quote extensively from a document issued last month titled "A Catechesis on the Human Person and Gender Ideology". It was compiled for the Catholic bishop of Arlington, Virginia, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, to call for charity and compassion for those who are genuinely affected by gender dysphoria or by those with physical complications with genitalia. He also wanted to speak truth to the ideologies that are causing widespread cultural upheaval.
The first point made is this:
"To be a human person means to be a unity of body and soul from the moment of conception. Thus, the body reveals not only the soul, but the person; the person, as a unity of body and soul, acts through the body. Thus, each person’s body, given by God from the moment of conception, is neither foreign nor a burden, but an integral part of the person."
Second, and in keeping with the authoritative witness of Scripture (cf. Gen 1:27), the human person is created male or female. The human soul is created to animate and be embodied by one particular, specifically male or female, body. A person’s sex is an immutable biological reality, determined at conception. The sexed body reveals God’s design not only for each individual person, but also for all human beings, by “establishing us in a relationship with other living beings.”[Laudato Sí, no. 155]
"Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others. Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity."[ Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2332-2333.]
In this way, the document cites the "human ecology" that is binding on each person. “The human being, too, has a nature that they must respect and that they cannot manipulate at will.”[LS, no. 155] This is the reality with which we find ourselves. For example, we cannot neglect our body without the consequence of poor health; we cannot expect our body to do what it is not made to do, for example, survive extreme heat or cold.
Third, the differences between man and woman are ordered towards their complementary union in marriage. Indeed, the differences between man and woman, male and female, are unintelligible apart from such a union.
"Man and woman were made 'for each other' — not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be 'helpmate' to the other, for they are equal as persons ('bone of my bones ...') and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage, God unites them in such a way that, by forming 'one flesh,' they can transmit human life: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.' By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents co-operate in a unique way in the Creator's work." [CCC no. 372]
"Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out." [CCC no. 2333]
Sexual difference is at the heart of family life. Children need, and have a right to, a father and a mother.
What of a person with atypical interests?
Each person is called to accept their body in the same way we accept that we have certain talents or that we don't have wished for traits. This is so, too, for sexual identity:
It is important to note that there may be a variety of ways in which a person may express his or her sexual identity as male or female, according to the norms and practices of a particular time or culture. Moreover, a person may have atypical interests, but this does not change the person’s sexual identity as either male or female.
Speaking to cases of gender dysphoria, the document says:
From a theological perspective, the experience of this interior conflict is not sinful in itself but must be understood as a disorder reflecting the broader disharmony caused by original sin. It is a particularly painful experience of the wounds we all suffer as a result of original sin. Every individual experiencing this condition should be treated with respect, justice, and charity.
What is new in our times, however, is the growing cultural acceptance of the erroneous claim that some people, including children and adolescents, are “in” the “wrong body” and therefore must undergo “gender transition,” either to relieve distress or as an expression of personal autonomy. Sometimes this involves psycho-social changes: The person asserts a new identity, reinforced by a different name, pronouns, and wardrobe. At other times it involves a medical or surgical change: The person seeks chemical or surgical interventions that alter the body’s function and appearance and even impair or destroy otherwise healthy reproductive organs.
At its core, this belief in a “transgender” identity rejects the significance of the sexed body and seeks cultural, medical, and legal validation of the person’s self-defined identity—an approach called “gender affirmation.” Culturally, these claims have brought challenges to law, medicine, education, business, and religious freedom.
This next part contains the crux of the issue, describing why what we see happening in society so distressing:
We know from biology that a person’s sex is genetically determined at conception and present in every cell of the body. Because the body tells us about ourselves, our biological sex does in fact indicate our inalienable identity as male or female. Thus, so-called “transitioning” might change a person’s appearance and physical traits (hormones, breasts, genitalia, etc.) but does not in fact change the truth of the person’s identity as male or female, a truth reflected in every cell of the body. Indeed, no amount of “masculinizing” or “feminizing” hormones or surgery can make a man into a woman, or a woman into a man.
Speaking the truth in love
How should a Christian relate to a person struggling with gender dysphoria? "A disciple of Christ desires to love all people and to seek their good actively", but also, in love, to speak the truth.
The claim to “be transgender” or the desire to seek “transition” rests on a mistaken view of the human person, rejects the body as a gift from God, and leads to grave harm. To affirm someone in an identity at odds with biological sex or to affirm a person’s desired “transition” is to mislead that person. It involves speaking and interacting with that person in an untruthful manner. Although the law of gradualness might prompt us to discern the best time to communicate the fullness of the truth, in no circumstances can we confirm a person in error.
Indeed, there is ample evidence that “gender affirmation” not only does not resolve a person’s struggles but also can in fact exacerbate them. The acceptance and/or approval of a person’s claimed transgender identity is particularly dangerous in the case of children, whose psychological development is both delicate and incomplete. First and foremost, a child needs to know the truth: He or she has been created male or female, forever. Affirming a child’s distorted self-perception or supporting a child’s desire to “be” someone other than the person (male or female) God created, gravely misleads and confuses the child about “who” he or she is.
In addition, “gender-affirming” medical or surgical interventions cause significant, even irreparable, bodily harm to children and adolescents. These include the use of puberty blockers (in effect, chemical castration) to arrest the natural psychological and physical development of a healthy child, cross-sex hormones to induce the development of opposite-sex, secondary sex characteristics, and surgery to remove an adolescent’s healthy breasts, organs, and/or genitals. These kinds of interventions involve serious mutilations of the human body, and are morally unacceptable.
Although some advocates justify “gender affirmation” as necessary to reduce the risk of suicide, such measures appear to offer only temporary psychological relief, and suicidal risks remain significantly elevated following gender-transitioning measures.[*]
Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to claims that “gender transition” will resolve their difficulties. Long-term studies show “higher rates of mortality, suicidal behavior and psychiatric morbidity in gender-transitioned individuals compared to the general population.”[**] In addition, studies show that children and adolescents diagnosed with gender dysphoria have high rates of comorbid mental health disorders, such as depression or anxiety, are three to four times more likely to be on the autism spectrum, and are more likely to have suffered from adverse childhood events, including unresolved loss or trauma or abuse.[***] Psychotherapeutic treatments that incorporate “ongoing therapeutic work ... to address unresolved trauma and loss, the maintenance of subjective well-being, and the development of the self,” along with established treatments addressing suicidal ideation are appropriate interventions.[****] Gender transition is not the solution.
Indeed, to disregard or withhold information about the harms of pursuing “transition” or about the benefits of alternative, psychotherapeutic treatments constitutes a failure in both justice and charity.
How parents can handle the matter
The document gives this advice:
In addition to your good example and teaching, raising your children also requires vigilance against dangerous ideas and influences. This means the close monitoring of what your children receive via the internet and social media. Transgender ideology is being celebrated, promoted, and pushed out over all social media platforms and even children’s programming. Much of your good work and witness can be undone quickly by a child’s unsupervised or unrestricted internet access.
Another strong source of misinformation about the nature of the person, and the meaning of the body is, regrettably, the public education system. Our region’s public schools provide an excellent education in many regards. However, many also aggressively promote a false understanding of the human person in their advocacy of gender ideology. Current policies compel the use of chosen names and/or pronouns. Staff in many schools are required to affirm a child’s declared “gender identity” and facilitate a child’s “transition,” even in the absence of parental notice or permission. Parents with children in public school must, therefore, discuss specific Catholic teaching on these issues with their children and be even more vigilant and vocal against this false and harmful ideology.
The Church extends her pastoral care especially to those parents whose children suffer gender dysphoria or feel distress over their God-given identity as male or female. Parents in such situations experience a profound sorrow as they witness their children’s suffering. Their sorrow is deepened if their children pursue “gender affirming” therapy, a harmful and life-altering path. Parents are encouraged to find strength and wisdom through the grace of the sacraments, and to seek pastoral support in the parish or diocese.
In difficult circumstances, parents are often tempted to think—or are made to feel—that their Catholic faith is at odds with what is good for their child. In fact, authentic love for their children is always aligned with the truth. In the case of gender dysphoria, this means recognizing that happiness and peace will not be found in rejecting the truth of the human person and the human body. Thus parents must resist simplistic solutions presented by advocates of gender ideology and strive to discover and address the real reasons for their children’s pain and unhappiness.
They should seek out trustworthy clinicians for sound counsel. Meeting with other parents who have been through similar trials also can be a source of strength and support. Under no circumstances should parents seek “gender-affirming” therapy for their children, as it is fundamentally incompatible with the truth of the human person. They should not seek, encourage, or approve any counseling or medical procedures that would confirm mistaken understandings of human sexuality and identity, or lead to (often irreversible) bodily mutilation. Trusting God, parents need to be confident that a child’s ultimate happiness lies in accepting the body as God’s gift and discovering his or her true identity as a son or daughter of God.
Go on in the document, as linked above, to read the warm advice to those actually struggling with gender dysphoria.
To conclude, it's imperative that we give full weight in how we read cultural movements in our society to those endowed with the moral authority, drawn from God's guidance, yes, but also from the observation of humankind going back to the roots of Western civilisation. The moral weakness of the medical profession in this matter is indicative of how fickle the leaders of society can be, and how false their guidance in certain circumstances.
[] See this resource: Sex Change Regret: https://sexchangeregret.com/.
[*] Hruz PW. Deficiencies in Scientific Evidence for Medical Management of Gender Dysphoria. The Linacre Quarterly. 2020;87(1):34-42.
[**] d’Abrera, J., et al. (2020). Informed consent and childhood gender dysphoria: emerging complexities in diagnosis and treatment. Australasian Psychiatry, 28 (5), 536-538. doi:10.1177/1039856220928863.
Bränström, R., & Pachankis, J. (2020). Toward Rigorous Methodologies for Strengthening Causal Inference in the Association Between Gender-Affirming Care and Transgender Individuals’ Mental Health: Response to Letters. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(8), 769-772.
[***] Kozlowska, K., et al. G. (2021). Australian children and adolescents with gender dysphoria: Clinical presentations and challenges experienced by a multidisciplinary team and gender service. Human Systems: Therapy, Culture, and Attachments, 0(0).
[****] Giovanardi, G., Vitelli, R., Maggiora Vergano, C., Fortunato, A., Chianura, L., Lingiardi, V., & Speranza, A. (2018). Attachment Patterns and Complex Trauma in a Sample of Adults Diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(60). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00060.
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