Only About 75% of College Students Check the Heterosexual Box

 

When conservative Christians draw a line in the sand and say, "We will not allow anything to cross" they always later cross the line themselves and the line disappears in the sands of time. It happened with gay marriage. It is happening with abortion. Now the line drawn about heterosexual and gender are being crossed regularly by those in the faith.

Nearly a fifth of college students polled checked the box of trans or uncertain gender. Students today are not as certain about clear gender distinctions as was the case in the past. As this demographic and the ones behind it move into adulthood it is predictable it will not hold to the religious rights dogma "God made only males and females." They are experiencing something different in themselves and among their peers. As with abortion and gay marriage, the religious right does not have the wherewithal to hold its piece of ground.

The religious right's game is repeated over and over again. It is NO, absolutely no not ever, followed by backing down and being humiliated. The pattern is so predictable one would think the strategists on the right would see it coming and avoid repeated defeats. But, of course, this ability is beyond that part of our society. 

The unclear gender issues is sometimes called "gender fluidity." There are people, I know some, who feel mostly one gender some of the time and another gender other times. Perhaps it is something like that which causes students to avoid checking the boxes of either "male" or "female."

I predict this gender uncertainty will ultimately lead to repeal of the currently popular prohibitions for athletic competition. When determinizations are made that gender is not as clear as checking a box at birth the political right's sanctimonious rules prohibiting trans people from competing will be toast.

I wonder ultimately if gender will continue to be allowed on birth certificates. If checking the M or F on a birth certificate ends up harming large numbers of people later in life this common practice might be up for debate.

Which bring us to another political right obsession. The right is banning all reference in history and census gathering to race. "It causes disharmony" they say. However, they want to ramp up gender identity and mention it at every opportunity. One of these days they will get their comeuppance for this inconsistency.