Humans, read the book Sex Differenced in Christian Theology: Make, Female, and Intersex in the image of God by Dr. Megan DeFranza. Watch: Stories of Intersex and Faith (In-Home/Individual Use)
My family also has the gift of so much diversity, Matt. You have written a beautiful, articulate, easy to relatable essay, and I applaud you. I also stand with you, as I know you do with me. Our humanity is at stake in Iowa, and we all need to give voice to our resistance to the fear and hate being sold by our state’s “leaders”, as we stand in support of love and care of and for each other.
I just listed to the whole house hearing. Every single anecdote the proponents had about the so called 'danger' to women could be addressed through indecent exposure laws. Or not. "She saw a man come out of the stall next to her." How did she know it was a man? How does she feel about the cisgender lesbian coming out of the other stall? And then man boobs at the Pella pool. What we need in this state is a public nude beach so these people can work out their issues.
Glad you took this approach. When I entered my own comments for the proposed bill, I mentioned our own observations and knowledge regarding poultry. If you work with animals enough, you know binary doesn't describe what happens in the world around us.
Thank you Matt for using the freemartin as an example of diversity in nature. I wish the trifecta would work on the important issues like cancer research and water quality. Why do they have to be so punitive -- punishing people for being unable to live unassisted in this world. So many have frayed bootstraps that break as they try to pull them up.
Unfortunately, they have attempted to carve out intersex conditions as separate from gender identity in the bill (though without getting rid of the 'two sexes' assertion).
Beyond freemartins, on rare occasion a bovine with ambiguous genitalia turns up. Nobody tries to erase them either. Where are the veterinarians in the Iowa legislature?? Or nurses or doctors??
“Every time we advance greater equality for the full expression of the human condition, we have always become better human beings. When we do the opposite, history always reveals we do not become better human beings.”
I also liked your point about the need to reach people through stories: “We’ve got to be able to find ways to tell stories grounded in values. After all, that’s what moves people. And Republicans have done that by telling stories about fear and reinforcing gender stereotypes.”
Matt's ttile should be how cattle farmers should be standing up in defense of diversity. I was also motivated me to do some quick AI research. "Mixed sex reproduction increases genetic diversity, enabling species to adapt more effectively to changing environments. It enhances disease resistance through novel gene combinations and helps purge harmful mutations from populations. Sexual selection drives the evolution of diverse traits that can improve survival, while genetic recombination creates unique individuals with potentially advantageous characteristics."
This is a great column and your calves are a perfect analogy. I’ve never heard of freemartins before! But I expect the Republicans will just say: humans aren’t cattle.
Republicans are going to keep saying all kinds of things that aren't grounded in honesty and integrity. So we need to keep showing up and saying things that are. When we simply react to Republicans we empower them. When we act on our own core values, we empower ourselves.
Thank you Virginia. From the bottom of my heart
Nice!!
Thank you for this article!
Humans, read the book Sex Differenced in Christian Theology: Make, Female, and Intersex in the image of God by Dr. Megan DeFranza. Watch: Stories of Intersex and Faith (In-Home/Individual Use)
from Van Ness Creative PRO on October 22, 2022
Then we can talk.
My family also has the gift of so much diversity, Matt. You have written a beautiful, articulate, easy to relatable essay, and I applaud you. I also stand with you, as I know you do with me. Our humanity is at stake in Iowa, and we all need to give voice to our resistance to the fear and hate being sold by our state’s “leaders”, as we stand in support of love and care of and for each other.
Standing together is what it is going to take!
Great post, Matt. I just adore you.
I just listed to the whole house hearing. Every single anecdote the proponents had about the so called 'danger' to women could be addressed through indecent exposure laws. Or not. "She saw a man come out of the stall next to her." How did she know it was a man? How does she feel about the cisgender lesbian coming out of the other stall? And then man boobs at the Pella pool. What we need in this state is a public nude beach so these people can work out their issues.
Glad you took this approach. When I entered my own comments for the proposed bill, I mentioned our own observations and knowledge regarding poultry. If you work with animals enough, you know binary doesn't describe what happens in the world around us.
I just ask, Show Me Your Eggs Man https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/show-me-your-eggs-man
Thank you Matt for using the freemartin as an example of diversity in nature. I wish the trifecta would work on the important issues like cancer research and water quality. Why do they have to be so punitive -- punishing people for being unable to live unassisted in this world. So many have frayed bootstraps that break as they try to pull them up.
Unfortunately, they have attempted to carve out intersex conditions as separate from gender identity in the bill (though without getting rid of the 'two sexes' assertion).
Beyond freemartins, on rare occasion a bovine with ambiguous genitalia turns up. Nobody tries to erase them either. Where are the veterinarians in the Iowa legislature?? Or nurses or doctors??
“Every time we advance greater equality for the full expression of the human condition, we have always become better human beings. When we do the opposite, history always reveals we do not become better human beings.”
Well said. Thanks for writing this, and it is a good follow up to Bob's recent piece (https://rleonard.substack.com/p/republicans-there-are-only-two-sexes).
I tried to recently make the point that even the founding fathers would have supported transgender rights in principle through their balancing of minority rights with majority rule (https://marcelharmon67.substack.com/p/majority-rule-does-not-preclude-transgender).
I also liked your point about the need to reach people through stories: “We’ve got to be able to find ways to tell stories grounded in values. After all, that’s what moves people. And Republicans have done that by telling stories about fear and reinforcing gender stereotypes.”
It’s what finally got me past the blustering to have an actual conversation with a Republican legislature (that I discussed in the piece above). Bob’s done a good job sharing stories. I’ve tried to do that too previously (https://marcelharmon67.substack.com/p/ks-legislators-sustain-an-sb-233, https://marcelharmon67.substack.com/p/adding-some-curiosity-to-common-sense, https://marcelharmon67.substack.com/p/have-the-day-you-deserve).
Thanks again for writing and sharing this.
Matt's ttile should be how cattle farmers should be standing up in defense of diversity. I was also motivated me to do some quick AI research. "Mixed sex reproduction increases genetic diversity, enabling species to adapt more effectively to changing environments. It enhances disease resistance through novel gene combinations and helps purge harmful mutations from populations. Sexual selection drives the evolution of diverse traits that can improve survival, while genetic recombination creates unique individuals with potentially advantageous characteristics."
This is a great column and your calves are a perfect analogy. I’ve never heard of freemartins before! But I expect the Republicans will just say: humans aren’t cattle.
Republicans are going to keep saying all kinds of things that aren't grounded in honesty and integrity. So we need to keep showing up and saying things that are. When we simply react to Republicans we empower them. When we act on our own core values, we empower ourselves.