In Galatians 3:28, Christians learn from Paul that all are equal in the love of Jesus Christ “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
This kind of view was revolutionary for its time and promoted a kind of equity within the early church that was radical for its time and place. In fact, even though women were denigrated in the ancient world, the early Christian church featured many prominent female leaders and theologians. [1]
Despite this egalitarianism, there is no Biblical evidence for denying that there are, in fact, differences between males and females. In Matthew 19:3-6, it notes that God has made males and females to complementarily join together in the bond of marriage. “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
This idea would be news to members of Congress who are set to implement The Equality Act, a bill which would allow biological males to compete against (and beat) biological women in sporting events. [2] This move has been couched in terms of protecting the identities of transgender individuals. However, it has shown little to no regard for the needs of the biological women who will now be forced to compete against individuals who have had the advantage of having testosterone pumping through their bodies for the first few years of their life.
This advantage is hardly insignificant. After all, testosterone is used as a performance enhancing drug for a reason! [5]
If one wants empirical proof of this masculine advantage, one needs to only review the comparable statistics available for male and female body builders on StrengthLevel.com. When comparing listings for male and female athletes on the average bench press, the differences are staggering. At an “elite” level, a 170 lbs. female can press 231 lbs. [3] At an “elite” level, a 170 lbs. male can press 333 lbs. [4] Across the board, there are wide strength disparities at every skill level.
This factor has been largely ignored because it does not fit the narrative of promoting “authenticity” and relative ideas of identity that have been promoted by modern existentialism. [6] Ultimately, this philosophy has trickled down into popular culture and has encouraged people to deny any idea of absolute truth based on how they are made in the image of God.
As Christians, we should not support legislation like this, which paints factual assessments of relative physical ability as somehow discriminatory.
The fact that there are acknowledged differences between males and females should not be seen as discriminatory. It is all part of God’s design but does not degrade the value of any particular group.
As Christians know from Romans 12:6-8, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
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[1] Catherine Kroeger, “The Neglected History of Women in the Early Church,” PBS (2018), https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-17/neglected-history-of-women-in-early-church.html
[2] “Not a fair fight: Our athlete daughters shouldn't have to compete with transgender women.,” USAToday (February 26, 2021), https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/02/25/transgender-women-unfair-playing-field-for-girls-column/6813749002/
[3] “Bench Press Standards (female),” StrengthLevel (n.d.), https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/female/lb
[4] “Male Bench Press Standards (lb),” StrengthLevel (n.d.), https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press
[5] “Performance-enhancing drugs: Know the risks,” MayoClinic (December 4, 2020), https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press
[6] “Authenticity,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/authenticity/
