Boundary Lines Blurred

"They get binary code mixed up with abuse"

Substance, oh, substance, where have you been?
You've been replaced by the masters of spin
Who make good looking books and write history in
We're selling the news

The lines start to blur; I get so confused
They get shiny new models mixed up with the blues
They get binary code mixed up with abuse
The facts are simply one option to choose

When nothing is sacred, there's nothing to lose
When nothing is sacred, all is consumed
We're still on the air, it must be the truth
We're selling the news

Switchfoot - "Selling the News"

Switchfoot released this song in 2011. I used to think it was a pretty timely song. Of course, since then we’ve slowly discovered that the corporate press is worse than Jon Foreman ever could have imagined. But, we’ll leave the analysis of the press to more qualified individuals like Glenn Greenwald or a Michael Malice. Instead, we’ll focus on a particular line of this song that was nothing if not prophetic.

I was waiting to board a plane at Chicago Midway back in September when I decided to play the album that featured this song. As this song played and Foreman got into the climactic bridge quoted above, I realized that despite listening to this song dozens if not hundreds of times, I wasn’t clear on all the lyrics. Thankfully smartphones provide quick answers to such questions. When I read the quoted section above, the line in question hit like a brick, especially in light of the current cultural moment with gender. Foreman was singing, “They get binary code mixed up with abuse.”

The current societal response to the question of gender has blurred the natural boundaries that we are all so familiar with and somehow managed to equate simple, biological binaries with abuse. In fact, response to people struggling with gender has been backwards. The affirmation-only crowd has outright rejected the natural binary and, along with their opponents, embraced a false binary in terms of how to deal with gender dysphoria.

The only way to help the sufferer with gender dysphoria is to correct this distortion and place the binary back on what it belongs. We must start with the acknowledgement of the very real human binary of biological sex. And we must realize that in order to help the sufferer with the underlying issues that cause gender dysphoria, there is no binary, no one or two ways, to get through the suffering.

Let’s take a look at each piece-

The Rejection of the True Binary

The following statement will soon be enough to get you permanently banned from Twitter should Elon Musk not complete his purchase. Sex exists on a binary in the human. There is male or female. Exceptions don’t discount this. They are extremely rare distortions within an imperfect human genetic code. Sex is not assigned at birth. It is observed. The exceptions where the observation is quite ambiguous are rare indeed. There are cases where it cannot be determined through observation. There are even cases, such as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, where the observed sex doesn’t match genetics. But again, these are exceptions. Sexual dimorphism in humans is established fact for as long as anyone has cared to question.

The fact of the binary has never been in doubt until today. The affirmation-only crowd is now challenging these facts. They are arguing that exceptions that are in most cases much rarer than dysphoria itself prove that sex either exists on a spectrum or doesn’t exist at all. They say that simply if one “feels” like a specific sex, that biologically, they are. They consider "biological” to be a term of hate or transphobia. This doesn’t even begin to address the wild claims that there are no differences between sexes.

The current acceptance that biology is somehow a mistake and that the issue with gender dysphoria is primarily that the body is disordered is maybe the biggest lie that could destroy lives. When I was first prescribed estrogen for my transition from the informed consent clinic here in Philadelphia, they diagnosed me as having a “disorder of the endocrine system” so that they could get my visit and prescription covered under insurance. I’ve heard similar things with transmen getting their breast removed as an “abnormal growth”.

Make no mistake, there was nothing disordered or abnormal about my body aside from whatever natural ailments I may or may not have. Gender dysphoria is not one of those natural ailments within my body. The disorder lies squarely in the mind. But also let’s acknowledge that rarely are disorders of the mind actually abnormal. The essence of the human struggle is to conquer the disorders of the mind. Every single human lives with disorders of the mind. The differences occur in the nature and extent that those disorders present themselves and thus the ways they are conquered. And because the nature and extent are to some extent unique with every individual, the path to healing and wholeness ultimately is different even if the principles and direction are largely the same.

The Acceptance of the False Binary

I touched on this briefly in my “What is a Kingdom?” post and I’m not going to go too much more in depth here in this post. There’s so much more I’m working to flesh out in terms of what the principles are that can be used to treat and, yes, even heal gender dysphoria. For now, all I can say is that involves rejecting the false binary of pushing either reckless affirmation or compassionless facts. It has to do with helping the sufferer reconnect the mind to their physical body. And I truly believe that the reconnection can be done without medical intervention in the vast majority of cases. And let’s not forget, one’s expression of their biological reality can vary greatly across the spectrum of masculinity and femininity. But the biological reality is still there.

Either way, enforcing the false binary of the cultural moment does not help. Affirmation-only both tends towards rejection of the true binary and it strips the human of choice, which dehumanizes and abuses. Moralism doesn’t help either. It does not meet people in their suffering. Rarely does it acknowledge the underlying suffering and often times alienates the person suffering.

At a bear minimum, to help the individual sufferer, we must recognize and enter into the suffering with the individual. We must also accept and help the sufferer accept biological reality. One cannot reconnect the mind to the body without acknowledging the reality of the body.

There is a sliver of truth to the cry that if gender dysphoria is not treated, it may end in the loss of life. For some, the suffering is that great. For the vast majority, it isn’t. And while I will never advocate for medical interventions that treat only the symptom and not the sickness itself, I don’t want to judge someone who feels the suffering is so great that only medical intervention can stop the loss of life. But even to that point, two things must hold true. Intervention should only go so far as to prevent the loss of life so that the underlying problem can be addressed. And, the sufferer must be gently brought to a point where they acknowledge the biological reality.

Only seeking to fix the connection between the mind and the body can truly help the sufferer of gender dysphoria. Blurring the boundaries and trading the true binary for a false one never helps to do so. Only entering in and sitting with the sufferer can help them through it.