Answer by Diane Eager
Consider this: If a militant transgender promoter was murdered and can no longer promote their claimed sexuality, DNA tests on any cell in their body will reveal that they never were a male who could be a female, or vice versa. Gender is definitely biological. It is not a cultural construct imposed on people. It is built into our bodies at conception, and nothing that happens afterward by accident or deliberate interference will change it.
It will help in answering this question to go back to the creation of human gender, where we are told: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) and then in verse 31 the Creator declares this state to be “very good.”
This specific statement about male and female at creation indicates gender matters to God. Furthermore, in Genesis 2 we are told how God made them male and female – by two related acts of creation. Adam, the first man, was made from raw materials (“dust of the ground”); Eve, the first woman, was made from tissue taken from Adam which is why the Bible also regards male and female as “one flesh.” So from the start, gender was built into our biology, and God liked it that way.
For all succeeding generations down to you and I, gender has been determined by two chromosomes (collections of genes) named X and Y. Males have one X and one Y chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes.
The way gender is inherited is as follows:
When reproductive cells, i.e. male sperm and female ova (egg cells), are formed in the father and mother, the pairs of chromosomes in a normal cell are split up. This means each male sperm will have either one X or one Y, and each ovum will have one X.
The gender of any offspring is determined at conception, when a sperm cell from the father unites with an ovum from the mother. If the sperm carries an X chromosome, this will combine with the mother’s X, and the resulting offspring will be female. If the sperm carries a Y chromosome the resulting offspring will have the XY combination, and be male. This means the new human life being formed is male or female right from the very beginning of life, and will remain so for the rest of his or her life, as all the cells in the body are derived from this first cell.
Maleness and femaleness are embedded in every cell in every tissue of the body, not just the reproductive organs. Therefore, there is no such thing as a sex change. Interfering with the body organs by surgery, drugs or hormone treatment will not change the chromosomes. It will only deform the body and usually renders it incapable of reproduction. Therefore, any attempts to defy what God created will not work, and even more seriously will provably displease the God who made human beings distinctly male or female.
Why say that? We know the Creator God has revealed Himself as One who disapproves of any attempts to blur the sexes, or pretend them to be the opposite. This is seen in the Law of Moses given to a society which could not even pretend to give people a sex change except in their attire. Therefore, we read the following God given instruction: “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.” Deuteronomy 22:5
This does not mean men and women can never wear the same kinds of clothes, e.g. jeans and t-shirts, where it is appropriate. In Old Testament days the outermost garment was a cloak that was similar for both sexes, but the similar garments were constructed so people were clearly identifiable as male or female. So this rule does mean your outward appearance should be either male or female, according to your body gender, and other people should be able to see what you are. Furthermore, it means no-one should deceive others by dressing in the opposite way in order to claim they can go to the opposite sex toilet because they think they are a different sex, or demand the right to intrude into facilities provided for the privacy of the other sex, e.g. bathrooms, changing rooms, etc.
Our society is currently being bombarded by claims about sexuality made by two loud lobby groups. One group, the homosexuals, are claiming their behaviour is caused by genes and cannot be changed, even though no such genes ever have been found. The other group, the transsexuals, are claiming they can be whatever sex they choose, in spite of the fact that gender is clearly determined by genes. It is interesting that the atheistic secular media is prepared to promote both lobby groups despite the glaring contradiction.
What about people struggling with “gender confusion”?
There are two issues here – one of people with improperly formed reproductive organs, and one of people who have normal male or female bodies but believe they should be the other sex.
Occasionally babies are born with improperly formed reproductive organs which happens as a result of something going wrong during embryonic development, just as can happen with other body structures, e.g. cleft palate, club foot, hole in the heart, etc. People with improperly formed reproductive organs may need surgical and/or hormone treatments, and these may not succeed in making them fully fertile males or females when they grow into adult life. However, the aim should be to help them be as close to their genetic potential as is medically possible. In general, these people are not the ones claiming to be transgender.
Those people who have normal body organs but believe they should be the other gender should be helped to be what their body, and therefore their genetics, indicates they are. Genetic tests for gender are widely available, and can be easily done. The overall principle should be to help people in a gracious, supportive way to be what their genetics indicate they are, and therefore, what their Creator wants them to be.
Our society has become a case of “Everyone does what is right in their own eyes” as was also recorded in the book of Judges 21:25. However, as in the times of the Judges, the result is chaos and confusion. Being deceived into believing you can be whatever you choose in defiance of God’s instructions has been a source of sin and judgement many times in the history of man. The bottom line truth here is that only by living according to the Creator’s design and instructions can anyone find true fulfilment in life.
Related questions:
ADAM & EVE: Who were Adam and Eve? Answer here.
EVE: If Eve was made from Adam’s rib, shouldn’t she be a clone of Adam with a Y Chromosome? Answer here.
NIPPLES: If God created man, why do men have nipples? Surely this is a wasteful way to create. Answer here.
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