In part one, I discussed the principles Black Lives Matters believes concerning transgenderism. I discussed the inherent flaw in the logic of internal self . In part 2 I will continue this discussion by examining another principle BLM adheres to.
We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.
What is cisgender privilege? We discovered in part one that gender is separate from biological sex and it is a combination of gender identity and gender expression. According to the people at Healthline.com, “The prefix “cis” means “on the same side as.” So while people who are transgender move “across” genders, people who are cisgender remain on the same side of the gender they were initially identified as at birth.”
To summarize, being cisgender means that your gender identity and gender expression align with your biological sex. Now, I don’t want to go into the details again why the whole concept of gender identity is wrong I’ll just refer your to part one. But for the sake of understanding BLM’s position it is best to use the proposed definitions.
So what does it mean to have cisgender privilege? I found this article from https://www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2011/11/list-of-cisgender-privileges/ that gives 30 plus examples of cisgender privilege. Below are a few examples I took from their list.
You can use public restrooms without fear of verbal abuse, physical intimidation, or arrest.
You can walk through the world and generally blend in, not being constantly stared or gawked at, whispered about, pointed at, or laughed at because of your gender expression.
You can flirt, engage in courtship, or form a relationship and not fear that your biological status may be cause for rejection or attack, nor will it cause your partner to question their sexual orientation.
Cisgender Privilege by all appearances is simply not receiving the reaction that is normally given to someone who is biologically one sex and is acting like another. If I am a man and I use the women’s locker room at a gym I would face aggression from women for being a man in the woman’s locker room. The lack of aggression I face while using the men’s locker room because I am a man is my Cisgender privilege. I imagine this would apply to all areas of life where I would be treated normally and a transgender person would not.
Going back to the stance of BLM, they are doing the work of dismantling cisgender privilege. To understand practically what this looks like I turned to the DC Area Educators For Social Justice. They have created a guide based upon the 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement for children and students from kindergarten to 2nd grade called 13 Guiding Principles for Young Children with in these principles they explain how to talk to children about these principles. For example, children should be taught, “Everybody has the right to choose their own gender by listening to their own heart and mind. Everyone gets to choose if they are a girl or a boy or both or neither or something else, and no one else gets to choose for them.”
An activity to help teach this principle encouraged role playing. They are thankfully benign enough, but the underlying message is not. “Students are playing different games and sports at recess. One girl really wants to play basketball, and so far only boys are playing. The boys tell her she can’t play. When she goes to complain to some of the girls, they tell her she can’t play with them either because they don’t want to play with a “tomboy.”’
When BLM wants to do the work of dismantling cisgender Privilege What type of message does BLM want to teach children? Disney taught us to follow our hearts. Now, BLM is going to teach our children that those same hearts define our gender, our sexuality and that its our choice.
Where does this lead? The current evidence of exactly what will happen where this ideology is taught is fairly conclusive. The result is bodily mutilation. Hormone therapy and genital reassignment surgery are all sterilized terms for bodily mutilation. The question we have to ask ourselves is, Do we really want our society to encourage every little girl who has ever picked up a toy sword to consider if she is in fact a boy? To stunt her growth into a woman and then chemically increasing her testosterone levels until she is old enough for a surgeons knife to permanently mutilate what God has made to form a pseudo-male appearance? All because she had done what countless children have done before her and grown up to be a happy woman?
I, personally, loved tea parties and if the dominate narrative of our society had been that by loving something that is feminine you must be a different. Then I would have been confused and unsure of what I was.
If this is the end goal of Black Lives Matter they will only propagate what they have disavowed. The more transgender ideology is taught, the more black children will be confused about their gender identity and choose irreversible actions. Pointing to cisgender privilege as the problem will only exacerbate the problem not solve it. Transgender people either need to be rebuked or healed not accepted and encouraged.
Transgenderism at its core is sexual and what we are beginning to see is that the sexual morality of the movement Black Lives Matter is not in line with the principles that will create and sustain a future that is both equitable and just for all people. Christians must consider what it will cost them if they ally with this organization.
THE MIND AND HEART 