The outrage has been palpable. A recent advertisement by Adidas featuring a man modeling a women’s swimsuit has sparked more controversy than a drag show being staged outside a pre-school. It’s the latest volley in the ongoing and very contentious debate regarding transgender issues. In the Adidas ad it’s almost too obvious that the model is a man – squared shoulders, a prominent bulge in the groin and a smattering of chest hair. I don’t know what idiot thought this would be a good idea, but they need to find another career. Advertising isn’t working for them.
Women across social and political spectrums are understandably upset. In an editorial last year, New York Times columnist Pamela Paul wrote: “The noble intent behind omitting the word ‘women’ is to make room for the relatively tiny number of transgender men and people identifying as nonbinary who retain aspects of female biological function and can conceive, give birth or breastfeed. But despite a spirit of inclusion, the result has been to shove women to the side.”
Also last year actress/singer Bette Midler made headlines when she tweeted: “WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators’, and even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!”
Gillian Branstetter, a communications strategist at the ACLU, noted, “The notion that you can’t say the word ‘women’ strikes me as the notion that you can’t say ‘Merry Christmas.’ It’s a panic that is very absent from reality and attempts to position a growing, changing society as a threat.”
I agree with them. That we are discussing what is female and male is the epitome of ludicrous. There wouldn’t be an argument if the transgender crowd hadn’t become so vocal and vociferous in recent years. I don’t understand the transgender matter and I’m not certain I want to understand it. I do realize that some people may suffer from gender dysphoria. But I don’t know at what point this matter goes from a medical discussion to a social dispute.
Yet, as the transgender debate ensues, I almost want to laugh. For years, I’ve heard some women say emphatically that they do not need men; which is overtly cavalier because they need to know that men don’t necessarily need – or want – them. And I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard women say they don’t even need men to procreate because they have sperm banks – which is like saying we don’t need farms because we have grocery stores. I’ve also heard others – including some “enlightened” men – declare that males of the species overall are becoming irrelevant; that our Y chromosome has been shrinking over the past several millennia and will eventually vanish into the morass of human refuse.
All-female societies look great in sex videos, but the reality is starkly different.
As far as I can determine now, we can’t replace men and we can’t replace women – no matter how much hardcore feminists and delusional trans activists try. The transgender movement has become unhinged in its efforts to become relevant and valued. The anxiety over gender and “appropriate” roles for males and females is manufactured. Humanity has made it this far without the restrictions bestowed by politically correct culture warriors who – like book censors – think they know what’s right for everyone else.
I don’t know if crap like the Adidas ad is an experiment in shock value; an attempt by media cretins to assert themselves into popular culture. Despite their best efforts of the trans crowd and their sympathizers, gender is not subjective.
I am male and I’m proud of it. I have no qualms and make no apologies for it. Neither should anyone else.
Chief Writing Wolf 