We’re All Trans Now

With the support of our major institutions, from the media to Hollywood, corporate America, and now the medical establishment, wokeness is on the march. And the gender issue is at the tip of the woke spear. By Aaron Kliegman In the good old days, the great culture war between left and right was over whether we should say “merry Christmas” or “happy holidays.” Liberals wanted retail cashiers to be more politically correct around holiday time when greeting customers. Conservatives warned of the “War on Christmas.” This back-and-forth wouldn’t even be deemed a cultural skirmish by today’s standards. Indeed, we now have “Drag Queen Story Hour,” in which men dressed as women read to children at public libraries. This strange event is held across the country, not just in woke cities like New York and San Francisco. We also now have TV shows aimed at young children promoting the concept of malleable gender identity — the idea that anyone can self-identify as male, female, or neither. Just last week, “Muppet Babies,” which is meant for children as young as three, showed one of its animated male characters wishing to wear a dress and become a princess — and then having his wish granted and becoming a female. The left has put the trans issue at the center of its culture war and is targeting kids. That’s certainly shocking. Even more shocking is the American Medical Association (AMA) announcing recently that biological sex should be removed from all birth certificates. Apparently, pre-school age isn’t young enough. According to a resolution from the AMA, the organization will “advocate for the removal of sex as a legal designation on the public portion of the birth certificate and that it be visible for medical and statistical use only.” A recent report by the AMA on the resolution says that gender must be removed “to protect individual privacy and to prevent discrimination.” AMA Board Chair-Elect Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, elaborated on this point. “Designating sex on birth certificates as male or female, and making that information available on the public portion, perpetuates a view that sex designation is permanent and fails to recognize the medical spectrum of gender identity,” she said. “This type of categorization system also risks stifling an individual’s self-expression and self-identification and contributes to marginalization and minoritization.” Yet 48 states and the District of Columbia already allow people to amend their listed sex on their birth certificate to reflect their individual gender identities. If someone is trans, there’s nothing stopping them from changing the designation on their birth certificate from male to female or vice versa. Why, then, is the AMA’s resolution even necessary? One reason the AMA board cites in its report is that only 10 states allow for a gender-neutral designation — typically “X” — on a birth certificate. In other words, the AMA, a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students — supposed medical experts — is explicitly endorsing the notion that gender is a social construct, not a biological reality. It’s unclear what a designation of “X” on a birth certificate actually means, medically or biologically. If all medical professionals were to embrace the AMA’s position, the logical outcome would be a fundamental reversal of how our society views gender. The AMA has already supported efforts to provide children under the age of 18 with “gender affirming” medical treatment. But even then, the idea was that we’d assume babies were their biological sex until they were old enough to choose their own gender. Now, the AMA wants every American parent to assume instead that their child might be trans straight from the womb. Some people in the medical community are expressing concern about the AMA’s announcement. One such person is Robert Jackson, an MD from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. “We as physicians need to report things accurately," Jackson told WebMD Health News. "All through medical school, residency, and specialty training we were supposed to delegate all of the physical findings of the patient we're taking care of. I think when the child is born, they do have physical characteristics either male or female and I think that probably should be on the public record.” If someone gets older and wants to change their gender and update their birth certificate accordingly, that’s one thing. But eliminating sex distinctions from the very beginning of life ignores the most basic science — indeed, a fundamental, objective truth of biological life. With the support of our major institutions, from the media to Hollywood, corporate America, and now the medical establishment, wokeness is on the march. And the gender issue is at the tip of the woke spear. The far left is succeeding in its “long march through the institutions,” a patient but nonetheless hostile takeover of the West’s cultural institutions. Remember, the left won the War on Christmas. Corporations now say “happy holidays,” as do most people. That may seem insignificant now, but the point is the left is insidiously winning the culture war. Whether it prevails on the current battleground remains an open question, but what’s certain is the stakes are now so much greater. Newt hosts monthly virtual events in which he discusses news of the day and why it matters to you and your community. 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