A lot of folks in the religious world don’t know quite what to do with the trans movement. The holy writings of the monotheistic religions have nothing that directly address transsexuality, so it’s been a rough go for many clergy. However, Pope Francis has made some strong statements, which journalists seem to have forgotten.
When in doubt, religious authorities have likened it to homosexuality -– about which there is plenty of commentary in biblical writings and the Quran — but the shoe doesn’t completely fit. Nevertheless, media coverage has engaged transexuals as another sexual minority about whom traditional religious believers will eventually see the light and change their doctrines.
What’s ignored are deep questions on the nature of the creation and male- and femaleness being at the basis of one’s being, as opposed to the current “assigned at birth” term that implies that sex is more a social construct than a biological fact. DNA? That isn’t relevant for many.
If you’re going to write a story on religion and the gender wars, you need the theological chops to understand that for the major world religions the division of humanity into two sexes: male and female, goes to the beginning of creation and how this is a non-negotiable for several religions.
A story in the Washington Post that ran several weeks ago — “Transgender or devoutly Christian? An Iowa teen refuses to choose” — ignores that fact and debates about it. It’s also appropriate to ask: Is this a “news story,” a work of “analysis” or an editorial that openly argues one point of view, while ignoring others?
It is about an 18-year-old girl who now calls herself “Sid,” and presents as a boy. As the story opens, Sid and her family are listening to a sermon on YouTube.
People misgendered Sid at work, and teenagers posted mean comments on the TikTok page where he lip-syncs to “Pumped Up Kicks” and other pop songs. Even some of his fellow Christians were becoming more intolerant. Nearly 70 percent of White evangelicals think society has gone too far in accepting trans people, according to data the Pew Research Center released in the summer. That’s up from 61 percent five years ago.
“But Jesus was determined,” the pastor said. “He loves these people that will end up rejecting him. … Let’s have a prayer, shall we?”
Sid closed his eyes. He knew people thought you couldn’t be both Christian and trans, but as the country grew more divided, he found himself growing deeper in his faith. Maybe, he thought, he could do what Jesus had. He could move forward bravely in the face of danger, refuse to stop loving and spread a message of hope.
The story continues in that vein, chronicling the brave teenager who decides she’s trans at the age of 12.
Her family joins a Methodist church a year later. This is where the topic of sexuality, scripture and Christian tradition is openly addressed.
Occasionally, someone at church described homosexuality as a sin, but Sid’s parents didn’t agree with them. The Highs are the kind of Christians who dig into etymologies and Greek translations, and the longer they studied Leviticus and Corinthians, the more they believed that translators had misinterpreted words to turn scriptures into weapons.
That’s a pretty big dig at Jewish and Christian scholars whose knowledge of Hebrew and Greek is no doubt far greater than that of Sid’s parents. At this point, the reporter might have tried calling some of those scholars (they are easy to find if you try a journalistic tool known as ProfNet).
Once again, journalists would find a wide variety of viewpoints out there. The journalism goal here, of course, is letting readers know — while being accurate and fair — what scholars and believers in these various camps think and the evidence that they cite. It’s complex.
But this kind of informed input might have damaged the locked-tight narrative in this lengthy piece on the six-year journey of a teen who gradually learns that God loves her/him no matter what, including a nasty female Methodist pastor who suggests Sid might be heading for hell.
I want to insert here that this kid seems to be an amazing person who has risen above her detractors and has taken on the thankless task of being true to a faith whose practitioners have often rejected her. This post isn’t a critique about Sid or her/his journey..
What I have a problem with is propaganda disguised as journalism. Again: Is this a news story or not? It is possible to cover both sides of this debate, as did today’s National Post story on how Canadian schools are helping students go trans without their parents’ knowledge. Yes, you read that right.
As for the Washington Post story, I kept on reading it until one sentence stopped me cold.
The deeper Sid grew in his faith, the more he realized he’d been right about himself at 12. God had given him a boy soul, and if he wanted to live an honest life, he had to come out again.
Sid has autism, and sometimes it feels easier to lay his thoughts out in writing, so he worked his message out on Google Docs one afternoon in March 2021. He was 17.
Wait! Sid has autism?
Did the reporter have a clue about that important factoid? Autistic kids are three to six times as likely to struggle with gender dysphoria than neurotypical kids.
Autism -– and I have a daughter whose many diagnoses include that condition -– is a major brain dysfunction. If the brain is not recognizing certain sensory patterns, experiences major lapses in memory function, is not able to express empathy and has massive deficits in many other areas, just maybe that affects their sense of being fully male or female?
I’ve been more and more aware of how the medical establishment and various activists have been more than willing to exploit these kids’ feelings of not belonging, loneliness and inability to recognize social cues into a sudden diagnosis of being transgender. Crisis magazine has a piece on how such kids are targeted and rushed into pediatric gender clinics, especially in states like Washington, where I live, where the age of consent is a shockingly low 13 years.
(Another personal note: I have overheard another teen trying to recruit my daughter into calling herself by a boy’s name and wearing boy’s clothes so she could feel better about herself, so I’m not making this stuff up.)
Another publication writing about Sid said he’s epileptic, so a lot of health issues are going on here. Epileptic and autistic: Do you think these brain dysfunctions just might have some bearing on the issue?
The article goes on to chronicle Sid’s journey and metamorphosis into a trans activist and founder of a Christian trans TikTok group.
There is no input from another growing group — detransitioners. That’s the social-media term for people who transitioned as teens, then deeply regret it years later. You can find these folks on Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, etc. For starters, turn to 4thWaveNow.
But back to the basics. There’s no meaningful comment from any expert out there on Christianity and trans dogma. The writer, a lesbian who had zero critical distance from her subject, should have run her piece past one of the paper’s religion-beat specialists. Why? See this passage describing Sid’s bedroom:
His bookshelf held a mix of Jane Austen, “Heartstopper” and “The Gospel of Judas,” an ancient text that suggests Judas was not a villain, but rather Jesus’ chosen disciple.
Well, that’s stretching it. The “Gospel of Judas” was a gnostic text written centuries after the real Judas died. This text was condemned by early church fathers as being pure fiction.
Was the aim of the story to show that one could be trans and Christian? Despite Sid’s run-ins with various trolls and the Methodist minister, is there any major figure in American Christianity who is saying that isn’t so? Was the reporter trying to create a debate where there is none?
Speaking of journalism, columnist Rod Dreher thrashed the Post for not assigning a more objective reporter to the story and for having its editors asleep at the wheel.
I wish I could say I expected better journalism from a paper of the status of the Washington Post. Notably, Casey Parks is not on the religion beat at the Post, but is on the "social issues team." That's probably part of the problem. Still, as an actual professional news organization, was there not an editor who said, "Say, Casey, we should have a comment from the accused pastor, or at least be able to say that she declined to comment"? Was there not an editor who said, "Say, Casey, are you sure that this story adequately explains what Christianity teaches?" Something. Anything. Anything but this propaganda. Or maybe this is what you get when you have a newsroom full of people who all think alike.
The Post piece ran on the front page, immediately after Christmas. Casey Parks has done many fine stories about people who deserved to have stories written about them.
But in this case, some critical distance was essential, and on that end, the editors of the Washington Post dramatically failed.
IMAGES: The first photo is drawn from BelovedArise.org, while the main photo at the top of the full post is a screen shot from Sid High’s TikTok page.