Why we oppose the normalization of transgenderism

By Bryan Fischer

Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"

The Scriptures tell us that one of the consequences for a nation that turns its back on God is "confusion of mind" (Deuteronomy 28:28). Nowhere is this more evident than in the tragic case of transgenderism.

Having accepted the lies of "that old deluder Satan" that they are trapped inside the body of the wrong gender, many resort to hormone therapy and even sex reassignment surgery in a vain, dangerous and enormously destructive effort to obliterate their true sexual identity.

In the civil code God gave to Moses on the mount, the normalization of transgenderism was flatly forbidden. "A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 22:5).

Why would God be so insistent that his people not allow themselves to become so disordered in mind and soul that they begin to think of themselves and present themselves as members of the opposite sex?

Is it because God hates transgenders? Do we oppose the normalization of transgenderism because we hate transgendered individuals? Absolutely not. We flatly and unequivocally oppose the normalization of transgenderism because it destroys people. We do not oppose transgenderism because we hate people. We oppose it because we love them.

We do not want to see anyone's life ravaged by the pathologies that accompany this disorder of the mind and soul.

Until 2012, the American Psychiatric Association classified transgenderism as a "gender identity disorder." It has since relabeled it "gender dysphoria" in an effort to soften the stigma that properly should attach itself to this problematic lifestyle choice.

But "dysphoria" means "a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction," indicating changing terminology does not nothing to change a heart and a life wracked with a profound inner disturbance.

Most Americans are blithely and blindly unaware of the mental, psychological and emotional devastation transgenderism wreaks on those who get trapped into this lifestyle. But the results are tragic.

Transgender regret is now a sad and sorrowful reality in our cultural landscape. A survey conducted in 2010 by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force – neither of them members of the vast rightwing conspiracy – revealed the heartbreaking reality that a staggering 41 percent of transgendered American have attempted suicide. This is a rate more than 25 times higher than the population at large.

Social research has revealed that 65% of all those who undergo cosmetic surgery live to regret it. How much higher must that figure be for those who have undergone genital mutilation?

The homosexual lobby itself knows that there is something wrong with transgenderism. The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association – again, not a part of the evangelical pro-family movement – lists a number of pathologies that are so common among transgenders that the GLMA warns the transgender community about them.

Among these pathologies are an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, sexually transmitted diseases (they are at four times the risk of HIV/AIDS as the general population, for instance), substance abuse, depression and obesity. In other words, transgenderism is an enormously risky and unhealthy lifestyle.

Stella Morabito has written a sobering column at the Federalist exposing the buried truth about the striking numbers of transgenders who regret going through sex reassignment surgery, finding in the end it didn't make them happier or more well-adjusted at all but left them instead shattered and broken in mind and body.

Some of the most prominent transgenders in our culture have expressed such profound regret. Well-known transgender Alan Finch of Australia said this:

"[T]ranssexualism was invented by psychiatrists. . . .You fundamentally can't change sex ... the surgery doesn't alter you genetically. It's genital mutilation...It's all been a terrible misadventure. I've never been a woman, just Alan . . . the analogy I use about giving surgery to someone desperate to change sex is it's a bit like offering liposuction to an anorexic."

Tennis champion Renee Richards was perhaps the most famous transgender of our time, undergoing sexual mutilation surgery in the 1970s. But in 1999, in Tennis Magazine, she said the following:

"I know deep down that I'm a second-class woman...As far as being fulfilled as a woman, I'm not as fulfilled as I dreamed of being. I get a lot of letters from people who are considering having this operation...and I discourage them all."

Mike Penner, a sportswriter for the LA Times, famously outed himself in 2007 as a transgendered individual and overnight became Christine Daniels. He then transitioned back to becoming a male in 2008 and finally killed himself in 2009.

So do we vigorously resist the normalization of transgenderism because we hate people? Hardly. It's the other way round. We resist it because we love people. We don't want to see anyone wind up profoundly regretting something they cannot undo and ending their own lives as a result.

God knew what he was doing when he assigned each of us our gender at the moment of conception. And he stands ready to help any willing individual come to a place of resolution and acceptance of the gender God assigned him at the moment of conception. "Confusion of mind" can, with God's help, become clarity of mind.

(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)

© Bryan Fischer