“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” – Genesis 1:27

I have lived long enough on this Earth to witness the gradual decline of Western culture, but lately the pace of decline has accelerated. This is easily noticed by even casual observers, seen through any number of trends and individual events, both grand and seemingly insignificant.

The growing influence of the transgender lifestyle provides an example, particularly in the last year or two, though the movement has had its role models and followers for many years. Anyone remember Klinger from the long-ago television program MASH? In the 70s, the oddball character of Klinger was good for a few chuckles, but the humor evaporated some time ago.

Consider the following example from Sunday, July 9, 2023. The person on the left, whose name is Rikkie Valerie Kolle is a man who has transitioned and now identifies as female. This person won the Miss Netherlands contest. The feminine young woman on the right is Nathalie Mogbelzada from Amsterdam. She was first runner-up!

Beauty contests are supposed to be based on more than good looks, so let’s focus on more than the photos. Personality, grace, charm, intelligence, and the ability to conduct oneself with class and dignity are also given consideration, at least in theory. These pageants are decided by a panel of (presumedly) impartial judges using subjective evaluation. How did the panel arrive at their decision? What basis did they use? In this pageant, it’s hard to tell.

The next question is addressed to young unattached men (real men). Which one of the above persons would you prefer to spend a nice evening with? And for you who are parents, which one of the above would you prefer your single twenty-something son to bring home for a polite introduction and pleasant conversation?

As they say, “But wait – there’s more!” Let’s take a glance at the following photo from a ‘beauty contest’ that took place in Derry, New Hampshire in November, 2022. The person up front in the red dress was declared the winner. His name is Brian Ngyuen, and he is a biological male. What has caused Western culture to diverge into such odd thinking? Why is this tolerated?

Turning our attention to the world of sports, most of us have heard of the controversy surrounding Will Thomas (he calls himself Lia) who decided to compete in women’s collegiate swim competitions. Also, due to his transition, he was given full access to women’s locker rooms, creating an uncomfortable situation for the female athletes he competed against.

The NCAA is to be faulted and criticized for allowing these indignities to be foisted upon women athletes. It’s bad enough that women who have dedicated themselves to excellence in the sport of their choice, many of whom having trained their entire lives, end up losing a major event to a man. But they are also forced into uncomfortable locker room situations as well. This is wrong and there is no possible excuse for the injustice.

Riley Gaines, who has competed against Thomas has chosen to channel the indignities she has endured into sounding forth a clearly articulated message, attempting to protect and restore the fairness and integrity of women’s sports. Her words must be carefully considered, for the rights and respectability of women’s athletic competition is at risk. Her stance has been costly, even resulting in verbal and physical abuse when she spoke about these matters at the University of San Francisco earlier this spring.

There is no logical reason to allow men to compete against women at any level because of the clear and unfair advantage they almost always have. In addition, women should never be forced into the utter humiliation of having to share their privacy and the comfort of a female-only locker room with men who are pretending to be something they are not.

Whether it’s beauty pageants or athletic competitions, allowing men to compete against women based on misguided self-perception is simply wrong. Basic common sense tells us this, but a portion of our society has apparently lost the ability to weigh these matters logically. Instead, many have come to rely on feelings and emotions which often are very poor guides.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has been roundly criticized for pretending to be Native American. Rachel Dolezol lost her professional position for pretending to be African American. Yet today we have men who pretend to be women and society accepts this as normal. Perhaps worst of all, you and I are expected to pretend right along with them. Let’s stop pretending, shall we?

© Jeffery J. Michaels / Plain English Publications 2023
(Quotations allowed with attribution to this blog)