I sometimes wonder what future generations will make of the modern West here in the early decades of the 21st century. I sometimes wonder what they will think of us when they discover that one of the defining questions of our age is also one of the most straightforward: What is a woman? Yet an answer to that question seems to be elusive, opaque, and fraught with peril. The “wrong” answer to that question can identify you as a dogmatist or a bigot. The “wrong” answer to that question can cause you to be alienated from your family, fired from your job, or cast out of polite society altogether.
I’m thankful that many concerned authors have stepped into the fray to clarify the confusion and provide compelling answers to the questions. Among them is Katie McCoy and her book To Be a Woman: The Confusion Over Female Identity and How Christians Can Respond. She is right, I think, to focus on female identity because in the end, it is women and girls who stand to suffer from this confusion more than men and boys. And she is right to focus on female identity because if we can establish a stable basis for a woman’s identity, many of the related issues and debates should be quickly and satisfactorily resolved.
McCoy begins by pointing out some of the difficulties and contradictions young ladies face today. “If young women express disdain for their weight, shape, or skin tone, society tells them not to change themselves, but to accept who they are in the name of body positivity. The message is: you shouldn’t feel shame about your body. You should fully embrace it as it is. But when those same young women express disdain for their biological sex, society tells them the opposite—rather than hear they should accept and embrace their bodies, they are flooded with suggestions to change themselves through medical and surgical alterations … all in the name of self-acceptance. Self-harm is the new self-care.”
Gender dysphoria was once a rare condition that was treated in such a way as to bring the mind into harmony with the body. But today it has become exceedingly common and is treated in such a way as to bring the body into harmony with the mind. The condition is unevenly distributed between the sexes so it is much more common among women than men and is especially prevalent among young women. It is predominantly young women—teens and even preteens—who are determining they are actually the opposite gender and that for the sake of being true to themselves, they should make a transition.
McCoy believes that to address transgenderism we first need to address identity. To that end, she considers five different spheres that shape and form female identity: theological, biological, relational, philosophical, and social. These can also be expressed as who women are in relation to God, what makes women who they are, where gender identity is expressed, why social views of gender have degenerated so badly, and how confusion over identity has become so prevalent.
Throughout the book’s seven chapters, McCoy works her way through these spheres in reverse order and builds upon a three-part framework: First, she unapologetically holds to a Christian worldview and examines this issue through a biblical lens. Second, she believes that a woman is an adult human female and that a girl is a prepubescent human female. Though such statements were once incontrovertible and may seem unremarkable to some, today they must be explicitly stated and are considered nothing less than scandalous. Third, she believes that “gender dysphoria is a psychological condition, one that deserves compassion and expert care to overcome.” Yet true compassion and care do not involve adopting a new identity but rather accepting one’s body and adjusting the inner self to embrace the outer. Throughout her work, she drives toward this main idea: “Female identity is socially guided, philosophically formed, relationally confirmed, biologically grounded, and theologically bestowed.”
One strength of McCoy’s work is in ensuring that as we consider transgenderism we do not focus solely on the professors, philosophers, and ideologues who push this gender ideology on society. As much as such leading figures need to be addressed, we must not overlook the victims who have become caught up in it and who suffer a terrible cost from it. “As we consider the beliefs and practices within gender ideology, we must never forget the human beings affected by it,” she says. And rightly so. Because the tragic reality is that “a generation of girls are manifesting their pain through transgender identities, while those charged with their care neglect the sources of their mental suffering.” They are being harmed by the ideology and harmed even worse by the supposed cures.
Another strength is her conviction that the Bible offers the wisdom, guidance, and answers that can help those who are caught up in gender ideology. It is the Christian’s love for God and, therefore, the Christian’s love for our fellow man, that motivates us to stand firmly opposed to gender ideology and firmly committed to biblical truth. “Because we love God, we love what God loves—people. And for the sake of people, we speak out against ideas and practices that harm them.” And we can do this with confidence and boldness when we believe that God’s word is infallible and sufficient.
I am thankful for McCoy’s work and the strong response it offers to the cruel and dehumanizing ideology that has swept through the modern West. As she says, “Gender ideology has invaded and overwhelmed our social consciousness and our culture like a tyrant. It has become a cultural dictator that demands allegiance and controls through fear. And it has plundered what is immeasurably priceless—countless women (and men) created to know and reflect their Creator.” This book will help Christians better understand and better respond to one of the most pressing issues of our time. And even better, it will help them show compassion and bring healing to those who have been swept up in it.
