Josh Benner

Tag: transgender

  • Study finds that most people will not date transgender people

    photo-1545693315-85b6be26a3d6
    Psychology Today ran an article this week titled “Are trans people excluded from the world of dating?” by Karen L. Blair, a psychologist from St. Francis Xavier University.

    In the article, she sites a survey she helped conduct which sought the dating preferences of almost 1,000 people. Specifically, it sought if a person would date a cisgender man (a biological man who identifies as a man), cisgender woman, transgender man, transgender woman, or someone who does not identify with a specific gender. (more…)

  • North Carolina church hosts drag performance in opposition to LGBT policy

    A Methodist Church in North Carolina is protesting the recent vote within their denomination which kept traditional marriage the official policy of the UMC denomination. In response, Calvary United Methodist Church hosted “drag me to church,” which the church described as “a family friendly drag performance.”

    Calvary pastor Chris Agoranos said, “It brings such good and positive energy, which is really what we wanted this to be about,”

    This is blasphemy. (more…)

  • Best of 2018. #5 Parents allowing children to decide their gender: why?

    child-childrens-baby-children-s.jpg

    As 2018 comes to a close, I am sharing some of my top posts from this year. 

    A recent article from NBC talks about a Massachusetts family who are raising their twin boys without a gender. The idea behind this parenting philosophy is to allow the twins to decide for themselves when they’re older.

    In the story, the mother made the fair point about how we do have ways how we stereotype little boys and little girls that aren’t always helpful. Many raise girls to be prissy and “girlie,” while boys are raised to be tough and to not cry. These aren’t necessary aspects of masculinity and femininity, on that point, I agree. However to combat those stereotypes, we don’t need to raise children without gender. There are other, healthier approaches. (more…)

  • Dutch court rejects arguments of TransAge man

    photo-1534768654272-e97681c3a2c7.jpeg
    Emile Ratelband is a 69 year old man living in the Netherlands.

    Well…69 is what his records say. He’s actually 49. At least, he says he’s 49. Ratelband is transaged and identifies as a 49 year old. And he’s taken that to court. Recently, a Dutch court ruled against Ratelband’s claim to legally change his age.

    Part of his argument of desiring to be 49 was that it opens up more opportunities. “If I’m 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work,” Ratelband said.

    The court argued: “unlike the situation with respect to a change in registered name or gender, there are a variety of rights and duties related to age, such as the right to vote and the duty to attend school. If Mr Ratelband’s request was allowed, those age requirements would become meaningless.”

    That’s interesting. It would make age meaningless.

    Kind of like what is currently happening with gender in the west.

    I think anyone who reads about this, regardless of your beliefs on transgenderism, pretty quickly makes the logical jump between this and that. For opponents of transgenderism, the thinking is “this is equally wrong.” And for proponents, I think the position becomes defensive.

    I looked on social media. Many argue: “don’t even think about comparing this to transgenderism,” or treating it like it’s absolutely absurd that the two would be compared to each other.

    But why?

    Serious question: if a person can be a different gender because they believe they were born the wrong gender, how can someone who’s a certain age argue that they’re not actually that age? Or a person who identifies as transracial?

    Why is that any more intellectually incongruous?

    One is just as much a denial of reality as the other.

    But why is it that contemporary society allows it in one area: gender? Why is there a privilege given to transgenderism over transageism or transracilaism?

    All of these are attacks on reality. While people being transage or transracial are pretty rare (and therefore easily dismissed), transgenderism has gained traction. But it is still denying that which is an immutable characteristic of a person. A 69 year old is a 69 year old. Thinking he really ought to be 49 doesn’t make it so. But in the same way, man is a man and a woman is a woman. And a man is not a woman and a woman is not a man.

    But all of these issues of a person thinking that an immutable quality about themselves can be changed because of their beliefs are equally wrong.

    Being transage is just as valid as being transgender, which is to say that being transage is equally as invalid as being transgender. Your age is your age. Your gender is your gender.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram

  • New gender study suppressed because it doesn’t fit agenda

    pexels-photo-349494.jpeg
    I originally read about this story on the DailyWire.

    A recent article from a Brown University researcher named Lisa Littman was published on the subject of rapid-onset gender dysphoria. In short, there can be a social component to issues with gender identity.

    The article suggests the hypothesis that:

    friends and online sources could spread certain beliefs. Examples include the belief that non-specific symptoms such as feeling uncomfortable in their own skins or feeling like they don’t fit in — which could be a part of normal puberty or associated with trauma — should be perceived as gender dysphoria; the belief that the only path to happiness is transition; and the belief that anyone who disagrees with the teen is transphobic and should be cut out of their life.

    Brown University has pulled the study offline. In a statement from the Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, she said:

    Independent of the University’s removal of the article because of concerns about research methodology, the School of Public Health has heard from Brown community members expressing concerns that the conclusions of the study could be used to discredit efforts to support transgender youth and invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community.

    So the article has been removed because: “conclusions of the study could be used to discredit efforts to support transgender youth and invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community.”

    So we must therefore hide from research because it’s unpopular and doesn’t fit an agenda. The research results are unpopular and what is necessary is to proactively seek out studies that suggest the opposite findings.

    Truth should speak for itself. Truth is inherently worthy of being known. If truth is going to be suppressed because it might “discredit efforts to support transgender youth,” then there can be no honest discussion on the subject.

    Similar posts
    Colorado baker who refused to bake a same-sex wedding cake now has to defend himself for not baking a transgender cake

    Parents allowing children to decide their gender: why?

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram