It’s nearly the end of March, which means it’s nearly the end of “Women’s History Month”—a month that, since 1987, the official Women’s History Month website says has been set aside to “celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.” Over the years, this month has often been marked as a time to recognize and celebrate female history-makers in fields such as science, art, politics, literature, and culture from around the world—from Joan of Arc to Jane Austen to Harriett Tubman to Malala Yousafzai. It’s a time to encourage people to educate themselves on the extraordinary achievements that women have accomplished since the dawn of time; a time to commemorate their indisputable mark on human history. In theory, it’s also a time to rejoice in the little things that women contribute to society in everyday life—in the work place, in culture, in the public square, and in the home.
Ironically, Women’s History Month has arrived this year on the heels of a variety of political changes that directly affect women—but not in positive ways. Perhaps most notably is President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on gender identity discrimination, which has, in the most subtle way, made it not only possible to marginalize young women in sports and get away with it, but something that should be legally enforced.
On January 20th, President Biden issued an executive order entitled “Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.” The apparent goal of the order is to ensure equality before the law on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, and highlights that all people should be treated with dignity and respect. While this is certainly something that should be universally upheld by everyone, Biden’s order manages to slip a key phrase in between these ideals that, in propping up one community, completely disregards another:
“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”
Most civilized people can agree that every child should be able to use the restroom when they need it. Most civilized people can agree that every child should be able to change in a locker room at school when they need it. And again, most civilized people agree that every child should be able to go out for school sports. So, what is this sentence referring to? Are there really schools that don’t allow children to use the bathroom or locker room?
Citing Bostock v. Clayton County, this order has taken gender ideology and lumped it in with sex discrimination, resulting in a clear pathway for biological males to dominate biological females in school sports.
The reality is that this phrase isn’t quite specific enough, and that’s intentional. Children—regardless of “sexual identity or orientation”—are always given access to bathrooms and locker rooms in schools, but they aren’t always given access to the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice because of their sex. The same is true with school sports. Up until recently, biological males were not allowed to compete with biological females in school sports, and vice versa. Citing Bostock v. Clayton County, this order has taken gender ideology and lumped it in with sex discrimination, resulting in a clear pathway for biological males to dominate biological females in school sports. This means that any male can join the girls’ wrestling team, track team, water polo team—you name it—as long they identify as a female. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess what the results might look like: girls will be absolutely obliterated in nearly every single sport in which there is a biological male competing. We have already seen far too many examples of this reality in sports such as track and field, where girls are being beaten (by huge margins) and knocked out of competitions entirely by male students who identify as female.
In addition, this means that if a biological male identifies as a female and decides to use the girls’ locker room and bathroom at school, the biological females who are uncomfortable with the idea of changing in front of a biological male are now subject to being stamped as “transphobic.” In a culture that loves to champion “feminism” and “women’s rights,” girls are losing, and this executive order is just one example of that.
In a culture that loves to champion “feminism” and “women’s rights,” girls are losing, and this executive order is just one example of that.
In spite of this order’s clear clash with female empowerment and equality, this is what the secular world would have us believe is part of female empowerment and equality. A quick scan of “feminist” news outlets and organizations such as Ms. Magazine, a self-described “landmark institution in both women’s rights and American journalism,” will reveal that a large portion of “Women’s History Month” dialogue centers around the importance of trans rights and abortion access. Many of the same people who claim to advocate for women’s equality are the ones who are advocating that biological males should be able to annihilate girls in school sports and consequently take their hard-earned spots on the winner’s podium. Many of the same people who march for women’s rights every year are the ones who loudly assert that mothers should be able to have their unborn daughters ripped from their wombs at any stage of pregnancy for any given reason. A simple Google search of popular Women’s History Month figures will feature a vast array of radical abortion advocates (such as Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger) alongside history-makers such as Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks.
In reality, the secular world does not value women as God designed them.
In reality, the secular world does not value women as God designed them. In Genesis 2:18, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” From the very beginning, God created men and women uniquely and perfectly; they were clearly distinct from one another with separate but complimentary roles, and God called them “good.”
Here are some other verses from Scripture that talk about women—do these sound like the qualities of women that are praised in today’s society?
Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
1 Peter 3:3-4
Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.
1 Timothy 3:11
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26
For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
1 Corinthians 11:12
She considers a field and buys it;
Proverbs 31:16-17
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She surrounds her waist with strength
And makes her arms strong.
Sadly, our fallen world does not like the idea of biblical womanhood, and that is why the qualities that are praised in these verses are so often attacked by radical feminists and society in general. A woman who is pure, kind, discerning, faithful and loving to her husband, a caretaker to her family, and having a gentle and quiet spirit—these are the traits of a godly woman, and these are the traits that we should be emphasizing when we talk about what it means to be a woman. If we are going to celebrate Women’s History Month and recognize some of the truly incredible women who accomplished remarkable feats over the ages, let’s start by recognizing their Creator and the beauty that comes with womanhood as it is celebrated in Scripture. He is the One who gives every good and perfect gift, and He is the One who made women perfectly distinct from men so that we can have a reason to recognize female history-makers in the first place.
