Unintended Consequences

Just a thought here. As we all know, the "conservative" SCOTUS voted recently to redefine "sex" without any consensus from science or any regard for the original intent of the use of the term it referenced when it decided that "sex" meant "sexual orientation, gender identity, and transgender status." It was hailed as a victory for the LGBT alphabet soup. But did anyone notice that it put an end to the LGBT alphabet soup?

Consider. "L" - "lesbian: woman who is sexually attracted to other women." "G" - "gay: presumably a reference to men who are attracted to other men." (Presumably because most of the dictionaries defined "lesbian" as a "gay woman." It has always been confusing to me, since "gay" has meant "same-sex attraction" but is apparently only/sometimes a reference only to the male version. Odd. But, I digress.) "B" - "bisexual: sexually attracted to both men and women." (Historically this category has been totally underrepresented by the LGBT alphabet soup since no one has yet to pass a law to help out the "B" version of that list.) There we have it. Oh, and the "T" -- let's not forget the "T." That would be "transgender: a person whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had at birth." All clear enough ... you'd think. Except now SCOTUS has made "gender identity" a protected definition of "sex." The fundamental tenet of "gender identity" is that binary gender does not exist.

Oh, now, hang on. That would, by definition, delete the "lesbian," "gay," and "bisexual" categories because all of them assume binary gender. There is for instance, no category for a female who is attracted to a "two-spirits" (one of the vast array of "gender identity" categories available). If a homosexual male finds himself attracted to a gender fluid (another of those grand categories), is he a homosexual? If the prefix "homo" means "the same" and "hetero" means "different," wouldn't that make him a heterosexual? Doesn't the denial of binary gender and the embrace of fluid gender of any sort make all of these LGB categories undefinable?

But wait! Transgender is a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were born with. "Born with" is a biologically defined gender (and there are only two). The reason a woman who believes she's a man or a man who believes he's a woman can come to that conclusion is because they recognize binary gender categories. No biological male undergoes chemical and surgical alterations to become a genderflux (still another category of "gender identity" on the market). He becomes a binary gender female.

Face it. We all know it. There are two genders. Only two. They are present at birth. They are measurable -- XX or XY. Like it or not, these scientific facts make categories like "lesbian" or "gay" or even "transgender" possible. If we deny these facts, we nullify them all. So SCOTUS has bought the anti-science insanity and, in an attempt to protect the downtrodden, has officially erased them. Oh, don't worry. We're a valiant society. We won't let facts and science and logic bother us. We'll keep a brave face and move forward, protecting men who want to be allowed into the women's bathrooms and changing rooms and sports teams because they "identify as female" while we undefine "female." It's just one of those endearing quirks of ours. (Go ahead. Pat yourselves on the back for that.)