In the first week of 2022, almost a dozen states proposed anti-trans rights bills, and lawmakers in these states introduced at least nine measures this week that would limit the rights of nonbinary and transgender youth. 

Kansas senate bill SB484 seeks to restrict participation on women’s teams to female students; providing a cause of action for violations. Alabama house bill HB266 would prohibit procedures for minors intended to alter their gender appearance and incurs criminal penalties. Republican lawmakers in other states such as Oklahoma, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, and South Dakota introduced at least nine bills that target trans and nonbinary youths, ranging from restrictions in participating in sports to receiving gender-affirming health care or even using public and school bathrooms.

The most notable news in the latest onslaught against trans youth is Texas Governor Gregg Abbott’s February letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Abbott directed the agency to perform immediate and thorough investigations of Texas children being subjected to “abusive” gender-transitioning procedures. The directive comes after Attorney General Ken Paxton confirmed that a number of “sex-change” procedures (which may include sex reassignment surgery, puberty blockers, testosterone, and estrogen treatments) for minors constitute child abuse under existing Texas law. 

Although the ACLU has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the statewide directive, we are witnessing an unprecedented attack on transgender individuals and youth in this country.

As the parent of a trans adult child, I ask myself why the recent attack on trans citizens over the last year? Why now? The only thing that comes to mind is that in some way, transgender Americans and youth pose a threat to conservatives, and more specifically, conservative Christians.

As the daughter of a pastor and theologian, I was raised that we are all God’s children and that we should treat one another with empathy and respect, no matter our differences. However, as our nation continues to accept and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, many prominent members of America’s conservative Christian churches have gone on the attack.

The Bible itself does not mention anything about transgender identity, however, leaders on the religious right get around this by affiliating non-binary or transgender individuals with sexual sin and immorality. For most evangelicals, gender determines sexuality, so if you are a man, it is your God-given duty to marry a woman, and if you are a woman, you must marry and submit yourself to your husband. If we take the Bible literally, sexual and gender roles are immutable, and any deviation is a threat to the evangelical vision of family and church.

Something that a lot of people may not realize is that gender is a cultural concept: It is neither God-given nor genetic. Gender identities and gender relations are cultural constructs in that they shape family and communal daily life. Anthropological studies point out that what we view as “natural” in our lives is actually cultural. Gender roles of male-female are not bound by biology but are invented by humans, and one thing we should note is that gender roles have changed considerably since biblical times.

Biologic sex is different than gender in that gender is a set of culturally invented expectations and roles, and in some societies, it is an “identity” that an individual can choose. However, in the US there is tremendous pressure to conform to the gender role and identity linked to biological sex at birth.

Biologically, males and females share more similarities than differences. Also, studies have shown that there is more variability within each gender than between, taking into account the immense variation in human physical traits across global human populations. If the definition of “biological” sex and gender is cultural, then this offers considerable freedom for young people who want to create identities that fit their particular sensibilities and preferences. On the flip side, this view does not conform to gender ideologies held by many Christian conservatives.

It’s no surprise that the recent push against transgender rights has been led by straight, white, cisgender men: Men who realize that the way we view gender and sexuality is changing.

Trans youth are not a threat. They are human beings who have a right to be who they are.