Until about 15 minutes ago, few people had any confusion about how many genders there are, which restroom one should use, who should play in which sports category, or which of the two sexes could get pregnant. Of course, the reality is that the answers to those issues have not changed. But we increasingly find ourselves living in an unreal world, in which political ideology has trumped science and common sense, obfuscated clear issues, and blurred bright lines. The rise of gender (or transgender) ideology is one of the most important public policy issues in the U.S. today. And it has found itself at the front of the presidential campaign.
For example, as governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz has instituted a policy of putting feminine products dispensers in boys’ restrooms and locker rooms of Minnesota schools starting in elementary schools. His wife, Gwen Walz, recently defended this policy, saying that it “makes sense” and takes away “distractions” from education. With a breathtaking lack of ironic awareness, she has said that this is because Minnesota is “focused on learning,” and that students should not be “distracted by other things.” This is because “people” (not women) “were having trouble accessing feminine products,” Gwen Walz alleged.
Governor Walz’s bathroom policy
In defending this policy, Hillary Clinton praised Walz’s “compassionate and common-sense policy of providing free menstrual products” in boys’ restrooms, from grades 4 through 12. Both Gwen Walz and Hillary Clinton purposely obfuscate the point by disingenuously asking how anyone could object to making such products available. Of course, hardly anyone does object to making them available — for girls and women, and in girls’ and women’s restrooms and locker rooms.
Similarly, under Walz, the State of Minnesota has become a transgender ideological destination. Walz signed a law that permits Minnesota to take temporary jurisdiction of minor children from other states to perform mutilating surgery, against the wills of the children’s parents. It almost goes without saying that Minnesota requires girls’ athletics teams and conferences to permit boys to compete on girls’ teams or against girls. These policies are consistent with Vice President Kamala Harris’ own transgender ideological commitments. In a widely circulating Trump campaign ad, Harris is shown being interviewed by a man in a dress, declaring that she supports taxpayer funding of so-called gender-affirming care for prison inmates, including inmates who are in the U.S. in violation of immigration laws.
While not ignored, until recent weeks these issues have not been at the forefront in the presidential campaign. Immigration and abortion have been the two dominant public policy issues, with transgender issues being less prominent. But that has changed as the election has gotten closer and people are realizing how extreme — and absurd — gender ideology has become in the United States. Thus, in his usual blunt way, Donald Trump has said that states that force girls to compete against boys would lose federal education funding. “You just ban it,” Trump said. “You just don’t let it happen.”
The Catholic stance on transgender ideology
Neither this column nor Our Sunday Visitor endorses any political candidate. But, as Catholics writing for a Catholic audience, it is our responsibility to point out policy differences between the candidates so that Catholics can have a fully formed conscience when they vote. Highlighting the differences between the candidates is not for the purpose of trying to persuade the reader to vote for X candidate over Y. Rather, my purpose is to provide clear and accurate information about where each candidate stands on issues important to Catholics.
We must see this gender ideology as a direct assault not only on the people who are injured by the gruesome policies but also on the family more generally. As I wrote in my recent book, “Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America,” the family is the first “subsidiarity” society. That means that an assault on the integrity of the family is an assault on our collective lives together. Transgender policies are not neutral opportunities for people to live their lives as they wish. Rather, they are substantive and oppressive measures designed to confuse issues related to sexuality for the purpose of instantiating policies and agendas that will cause permanent and immeasurable harm to children and families. And as the ideology becomes more extreme, the policies become more dangerous. Transgender ideology has hijacked science and common sense. We must not let transgender policies hijack our schools and other public institutions.
