We have reached the tipping point on the gender issue. If I had known that electing a trans-identifying man to Congress would so definitively advance the discussion of safety and privacy in women-only spaces, I might have donated to the campaign myself. For over a decade now, women have been speaking out about the problem of men who believe they are women seeking “refuge” in our bathrooms, locker rooms, college dorms, prison cells, and even sometimes our beds.
The pressure has grown as more and more Americans were confronted by the very real demands required by the “inclusion” of “gender diverse” people on their terms. Schools and sports teams have wrestled with whether, when, and how to accommodate the demands of transgender activists while ensuring the safety, privacy, and sanity of those folks unwilling to play along with pretending a person can change his or her sex.
The Biden-Harris administration was remarkable for shattering norms in this regard. In addition to appointing openly transsexual men to roles in the administration and hosting them for media appearances at the White House, President Biden creepily assured transgender students that he “had their backs.”
On the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the Biden-Harris Department of Education released a sweeping rewrite of the policy that refused to acknowledge biological differences between men and women — while advancing the cause of gender ideology. The staggering scope of the proposed radical rule was met with greater backlash. The rule is now enjoined in 26 states nationwide as court cases proceed. We can be confident that the new folks in charge at DOE will waste no time in withdrawing this rule and offering common-sense protections for all students — and especially women and girls.
Then-candidate Trump and his campaign saw the backlash and heard thunderous applause from the crowds during rally speeches promising an end to the gender madness in our schools and medicine.
But in deep blue Delaware, political operative, former Obama official, and friend of Beau Biden, Sarah (formerly Tim) McBride campaigned for Congress and won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. And now we get to the action. Where would Representative McBride exercise and shower after those workouts? Which bathroom will he slip into during long sessions? And who decides these questions?
As the battle of the schoolhouse rose to the People’s House, South Carolina’s Nancy Mace (R) tried to lay down the law, literally. She wrote a bill that defined sex as male and female and protected sex-specific facilities for men and women in federal buildings.
Then, earlier this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) declared that under his leadership, men would be men, and women would be women. Representative McBride wisely agreed to follow these rules and sought to change the subject. Women across the country let out a cheer. After many years of fighting to preserve female-only spaces, this marks a turning point in the “transgender” march through the institutions. The work of ensuring these protections for women everywhere will continue, but now we have a wind at our back.
Women know we need men to protect us and honor each other’s needs for privacy. I’m grateful that Johnson handled this situation so quickly, setting an example for others to follow. I look forward to leadership from President Trump and appointees like Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon, who I expect to use government power to protect women and children from the radical demands of gender ideology.
And the church will need to attend to the needs of those wounded by the very real consequences of crazy ideas like boys can become girls or vice versa. We have much to do! Let’s thank God for our victories along the way and continue to advance His Kingdom!
Meg Kilgannon is Senior Fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council.