"NAVRATILOVA, IDENTITY POLITICS, AND INTERSECTIONALITY - IDEOLOGY OVER REALITY" - by John Stonestreet and Roberto Rivera , Breakpoint.org, February 27, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/02/breakpoint-navratilova-identity-politics-and-intersectionality/
Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest woman tennis players of all time. During her career, she won an astounding 59 Grand Slam titles. She’s in the Hall of Fame, but if there were a tennis Mt. Rushmore, she’d be on it. And if there were a gay Mount Rushmore, she’d be on that one too. She was one of the first world-class athletes to come out as gay, all the way back in 1981, long before it was common, much less fashionable, to do so.
Despite that resume, Athlete Ally, an LGBT athletic group, removed her from their advisory board and have publicly disassociated from her. Why? Because though she has long represented the “L” in the LGBT acronym, she offended the “T.”
In a recent column in the Times of London, Navratilova wrote that allowing male athletes who identify as transgender to compete against biological women is “insane.” This was not the first time she had expressed such an opinion. Last December, she found herself in hot water when she tweeted that “You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women . . . There must be some standards and having [male genitalia] and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”
The backlash was swift and harsh. In response, Navratilova said that she would take some time to research and rethink the issue. Her views were, in her words, “only strengthened.” As she wrote, “To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organization is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desires.”
Obviously, that wasn’t the sort of “rethinking” her critics expected. But then again, they weren’t really hoping she’d think. They were demanding ideological conformity.
At a deeper level, this story reveals our society’s embrace of a particularly unworkable variety of identity politics. There are many definitions of “identity politics,” but they all boil down to the idea that the only thing that matters, especially in politics, is the experience of oppression shared by all those who share some identifying marker—like race, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, etc. In the identity politics way of keeping score of cultural grievances, everyone’s experience of “oppression” is deemed equally valid and horrific, even if it isn’t.
Now, add to identity politics the idea of “intersectionality.” Intersectionality attempts to pile identities and their oppressive experiences on top of one another. Someone with multiple identity markers can claim degrees of intersectionality and therefore their own special kinds of oppression: For instance, a person might be an Afro-Latina lesbian female. Or a Filipino trans.
The fuzzy math at work here makes the possibility of conflict almost unlimited, an especially acute possibility in the growing acronym of LGBT. The only thing members of this coalition have in common is that they are not heterosexual.
A core tactic of transgender ideology has been to blur and deny any differences between the various letters in that acronym, all while hijacking the narrative of oppression. In the process, they deny all differences between women and men—from strength to traits to the very existence of sex and gender altogether.
Well, Martina Navratilova knows better. She understands the difference between the female body and the male body. She knows that there’s more to being a woman than simply identifying as one. But, saying it out loud makes her persona non grata. To be precise, she’s now known as a TERF, a “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” a name that is every bit as insane and unfair as allowing men to compete in women’s sports.
But this is where a hyper post-modern, feelings-and identity-driven worldview leads us: not to fairness. Not to overcoming oppression. Only to insanity.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES
"Martina Navratilova criticized for comments about trans women in sport" - James Masters | CNN.com | February 18, 2019; https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/18/tennis/martina-navratilova-trans-women-comments-spt-scli-intl/index.html
God and the Transgender Debate - Andrew Walker | Good Book Company | 2017; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/god-and-the-transgender-debate/andrew-walker/9781784981785/pd/981785?event=ESRCG
Andrew T. Walker’s "God and the Transgender Debate," offers an honest and clear representation of the Word of God, while lovingly exploring a real struggle that people face today. A struggle that does not have to end in despair and rejection, but a promise of hope and redemption that can be found in Christ and should be seen through the lives of his followers. In the various debates that are raging in our society and churches today, it is of utmost importance that God’s voice be heard, a God who is love even if it is expressed through the tough words that he speaks.
Walker explores how we as a society have gotten to where we are at today, as well as helps to define pertinent terms related to the transgender debate. He outlines what the Bible says regarding humanity and gender, focusing on the Creator/creature relationship and how God has defined His creation. This is expounded upon as Walker looks at what Jesus both said and did as he debated issues and interacted with people, and in all of it being love.
With this foundation established, a discussion of how this should play out in life is highlighted. Here questions like: what does loving your neighbor really look like? How should one who has this struggle respond? How should the church respond? What should parents say when discussing with their children?
In a culture that is changing quickly, the church should be leading the way and not playing catch-up when it comes to speaking the truth in love, expressing compassion, and seeking justice. The church should be the safest place to talk about our struggles. Truth and love can only be effectively communicated within the confines of relationship. God and the Transgender Debate may not answer every question in this debate, but it provides a great place to start.------
---------------------------------
PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."
- Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan
------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
In March, Open Doors is focusing on rebuilding hope for the church in the Middle East. This month, we invite you to pray specific and informed prayers for believers in Iraq and Syria as
we remember our brothers and sisters in these extremely volatile areas.
March 5 | IRAQ - Thank God for the great gathering of youth in the city of Erbil. About 550 young people gathered to praise Jesus. Pray for Iraq’s Christian youth, that God would powerfully call them to be the country’s next generation of Christian leaders.
*Names changed to protect identities
"NAVRATILOVA, IDENTITY POLITICS, AND INTERSECTIONALITY - IDEOLOGY OVER REALITY" - by John Stonestreet and Roberto Rivera , Breakpoint.org, February 27, 2019; http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/02/breakpoint-navratilova-identity-politics-and-intersectionality/
Despite that resume, Athlete Ally, an LGBT athletic group, removed her from their advisory board and have publicly disassociated from her. Why? Because though she has long represented the “L” in the LGBT acronym, she offended the “T.”
The backlash was swift and harsh. In response, Navratilova said that she would take some time to research and rethink the issue. Her views were, in her words, “only strengthened.” As she wrote, “To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organization is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desires.”
Obviously, that wasn’t the sort of “rethinking” her critics expected. But then again, they weren’t really hoping she’d think. They were demanding ideological conformity.
At a deeper level, this story reveals our society’s embrace of a particularly unworkable variety of identity politics. There are many definitions of “identity politics,” but they all boil down to the idea that the only thing that matters, especially in politics, is the experience of oppression shared by all those who share some identifying marker—like race, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, etc. In the identity politics way of keeping score of cultural grievances, everyone’s experience of “oppression” is deemed equally valid and horrific, even if it isn’t.
Now, add to identity politics the idea of “intersectionality.” Intersectionality attempts to pile identities and their oppressive experiences on top of one another. Someone with multiple identity markers can claim degrees of intersectionality and therefore their own special kinds of oppression: For instance, a person might be an Afro-Latina lesbian female. Or a Filipino trans.
A core tactic of transgender ideology has been to blur and deny any differences between the various letters in that acronym, all while hijacking the narrative of oppression. In the process, they deny all differences between women and men—from strength to traits to the very existence of sex and gender altogether.
But this is where a hyper post-modern, feelings-and identity-driven worldview leads us: not to fairness. Not to overcoming oppression. Only to insanity.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES
Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest woman tennis players of all time. During her career, she won an astounding 59 Grand Slam titles. She’s in the Hall of Fame, but if there were a tennis Mt. Rushmore, she’d be on it. And if there were a gay Mount Rushmore, she’d be on that one too. She was one of the first world-class athletes to come out as gay, all the way back in 1981, long before it was common, much less fashionable, to do so.
Despite that resume, Athlete Ally, an LGBT athletic group, removed her from their advisory board and have publicly disassociated from her. Why? Because though she has long represented the “L” in the LGBT acronym, she offended the “T.”
In a recent column in the Times of London, Navratilova wrote that allowing male athletes who identify as transgender to compete against biological women is “insane.” This was not the first time she had expressed such an opinion. Last December, she found herself in hot water when she tweeted that “You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women . . . There must be some standards and having [male genitalia] and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”
The backlash was swift and harsh. In response, Navratilova said that she would take some time to research and rethink the issue. Her views were, in her words, “only strengthened.” As she wrote, “To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organization is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desires.”
Obviously, that wasn’t the sort of “rethinking” her critics expected. But then again, they weren’t really hoping she’d think. They were demanding ideological conformity.
At a deeper level, this story reveals our society’s embrace of a particularly unworkable variety of identity politics. There are many definitions of “identity politics,” but they all boil down to the idea that the only thing that matters, especially in politics, is the experience of oppression shared by all those who share some identifying marker—like race, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, etc. In the identity politics way of keeping score of cultural grievances, everyone’s experience of “oppression” is deemed equally valid and horrific, even if it isn’t.
Now, add to identity politics the idea of “intersectionality.” Intersectionality attempts to pile identities and their oppressive experiences on top of one another. Someone with multiple identity markers can claim degrees of intersectionality and therefore their own special kinds of oppression: For instance, a person might be an Afro-Latina lesbian female. Or a Filipino trans.
The fuzzy math at work here makes the possibility of conflict almost unlimited, an especially acute possibility in the growing acronym of LGBT. The only thing members of this coalition have in common is that they are not heterosexual.
A core tactic of transgender ideology has been to blur and deny any differences between the various letters in that acronym, all while hijacking the narrative of oppression. In the process, they deny all differences between women and men—from strength to traits to the very existence of sex and gender altogether.
Well, Martina Navratilova knows better. She understands the difference between the female body and the male body. She knows that there’s more to being a woman than simply identifying as one. But, saying it out loud makes her persona non grata. To be precise, she’s now known as a TERF, a “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” a name that is every bit as insane and unfair as allowing men to compete in women’s sports.
But this is where a hyper post-modern, feelings-and identity-driven worldview leads us: not to fairness. Not to overcoming oppression. Only to insanity.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
RESOURCES
"Martina Navratilova criticized for comments about trans women in sport" - James Masters | CNN.com | February 18, 2019; https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/18/tennis/martina-navratilova-trans-women-comments-spt-scli-intl/index.html
God and the Transgender Debate - Andrew Walker | Good Book Company | 2017; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/god-and-the-transgender-debate/andrew-walker/9781784981785/pd/981785?event=ESRCG
Andrew T. Walker’s "God and the Transgender Debate," offers an honest and clear representation of the Word of God, while lovingly exploring a real struggle that people face today. A struggle that does not have to end in despair and rejection, but a promise of hope and redemption that can be found in Christ and should be seen through the lives of his followers. In the various debates that are raging in our society and churches today, it is of utmost importance that God’s voice be heard, a God who is love even if it is expressed through the tough words that he speaks.
Walker explores how we as a society have gotten to where we are at today, as well as helps to define pertinent terms related to the transgender debate. He outlines what the Bible says regarding humanity and gender, focusing on the Creator/creature relationship and how God has defined His creation. This is expounded upon as Walker looks at what Jesus both said and did as he debated issues and interacted with people, and in all of it being love.
With this foundation established, a discussion of how this should play out in life is highlighted. Here questions like: what does loving your neighbor really look like? How should one who has this struggle respond? How should the church respond? What should parents say when discussing with their children?
In a culture that is changing quickly, the church should be leading the way and not playing catch-up when it comes to speaking the truth in love, expressing compassion, and seeking justice. The church should be the safest place to talk about our struggles. Truth and love can only be effectively communicated within the confines of relationship. God and the Transgender Debate may not answer every question in this debate, but it provides a great place to start.------
---------------------------------
|
PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."
- Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan
------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
In March, Open Doors is focusing on rebuilding hope for the church in the Middle East. This month, we invite you to pray specific and informed prayers for believers in Iraq and Syria as
we remember our brothers and sisters in these extremely volatile areas.
March 5 | IRAQ - Thank God for the great gathering of youth in the city of Erbil. About 550 young people gathered to praise Jesus. Pray for Iraq’s Christian youth, that God would powerfully call them to be the country’s next generation of Christian leaders.
*Names changed to protect identities |
I think Navratilova is concerned that a man, who doesn't really want to commit to being a woman, will consider himself a woman for a short while just to get the financial benefits from sporting events. The article states that people can claim any label or set of labels to gain the benefits of being oppressed. It discusses a story about how people perceive differences between men and women and how to this causes cultural conflict.
ReplyDelete-herb