Keeps on Winning

Recently, Rachel McKinnon has been dominating women’s cycling. The 37 year old Canadian set a new world record in qualifying for the 35-39 year age group in the 200 meter sprint, then went on to defend the title in the finals.

But her rise to champion status has not been without controversy. In fact, many of her competitors are fighting mad. You see, Rachel was born Rhys McKinnon, a man, and has undergone procedures to lower his testosterone to a level that allows her/him to compete in women’s cycling. Rachel justifies her competition as a woman by saying that critics have “an irrational fear of trans women.” She/he goes on, “By preventing trans women from competing or requiring them to take medication, you’re denying their human rights.” “All my medical records say female. My doctor treats me as a female person, my racing license says female, but people who oppose my existence still want to think of me as male. … So, if we want to say, that I believe you’re a woman for all of society, except of this massive central part that is sport, then that is not fair.”

So what is it? Is Rachel a man or a woman? It is a fascinating debate going on these days. There seems to be an entire segment of the population that literally doesn’t know how to distinguish a man from a woman. In fact, recently the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), a legal nonprofit, tweeted, “TRANS MEN ARE MEN.” Their statement included an explanation that “There’s no one way to be a man.” They stated further, “Men who get their periods are men. Men who get pregnant and give birth are men.”

One problem with this in sports is that, regardless of the testosterone level, the muscle mass of individuals born male is simply larger than that of those born female. They have an advantage that doesn’t go away, even when testosterone is suppressed.

But the problem goes way beyond simple outward physiological matters. A person born male is still male, even if surgically given breasts and a womb. And a person born female is still female, even if surgically given a penis. No amount of surgery or hormone therapy changes a person’s DNA.

The real problem with this, though, has nothing to do with people’s feelings about themselves, the medical treatments they undergo, or their attempt to redefine words to make them mean something they don’t actually mean. This issue deals specifically with what is real vs. what is not real.

Those who attempt to redefine sexuality in this way base their attempts on a worldview philosophy that doesn’t acknowledge the existence of objective morality. The entire effort related to transgenderism is simply another attempt to normalize homosexuality in society. Those trying to redefine sexuality in this way are simply trying to blur the lines of sexual morality in ways that give them an excuse to express their sexual preferences without being deemed immoral.

But to do it, they also have to dismiss science – which they are willing to do in order to satisfy their sexual preferences. As mentioned above, no surgery or hormone therapy changes a person’s DNA. One born a male will be male after treatments, and one born female will be female. The assertion of beliefs based on a different worldview platform do not change reality.

If we really want to deal with truth, there is only one way to look at it. Men are men, and women are women. They are born one or the other, and nothing can change that. Those who dispute that are wrong as a matter of science, and they deny the very core of their human identity. It is a matter of objective reality, not of personal preference. People are not male or female based on personal desire or feelings, they are what they are based on their biological sex at birth – and that will not change.