Gender is a contentious issue involving all aspects of society. Differences in people’s gender beliefs may include misinformation, inadequate gender knowledge, misinterpretation of
religious tenets and educational principles, even lack of basic science knowledge.
Discrimination toward gender diversity is possible in any person, especially in bigots as evidenced in biases and prejudices, a hater of gender diversity.
People say gender diversity is against God’s will. Is this belief supported by an understanding of God and His attributes and characteristics? God is present in an infinite, integral, and ultimate reality and possesses infinite wisdom, power, goodness, and an infinite mind. God’s attributes and characteristics transcend those of humankind.
Needless to say, God as Spirit, Holy Spirit is the prime creator in the creation of gender diversity in humankind and other creatures who manifest gender diversity. Humankind is known as energyspirit. The literature notes each person manifests the two energies of feminine and masculine. Heider-Rauter illustrates the union of male-female with Hermes staff and its intertwining male and female snakes in her book The Power of the Infinity Symbol.
It is significant to note that attributes and characteristics of males and females as identified by humans emerge from God’s wholeness where God manifests all genders. God creates all genders in His image through use of an array of male-female attributes and characteristics, the spectrum of gender we have today.
God creates a newborn baby with a preponderance of male attributes and characteristics with male genitalia who is identified as male at birth. God creates a newborn baby with a
preponderance of female attributes and characteristics with female genitalia who is identified as
female at birth. This is a simple view of binary gender. What about a child born with a preponderance of female attributes and characteristics with male genitalia who believes he is a
girl? What about a child born with a preponderance of male attributes and characteristics with
female genitalia who believes she is a male? Such beliefs can occur early in life and are not
learned after birth. These are two examples of nonbinary genders. The literature presents a
spectrum of nonbinary genders.
God’s creation of gender diversity shows humans are not the only species with nonbinary gender. The male seahorse has a pouch where the female lays her eggs. The male seahorse can deliver baby seahorses and can become pregnant again the same day. Hermaphroditism is present in clownfish at birth, and some clownfish can change from one sex to another sex during the course of their lives. Such behaviors are God-given.
It is a travestry when people rebel, rave, and rant against God’s use of His image in the creation of gender diversity. Politicians, educators, parents, and others seek to promulgate laws, rules, and policies that denigrate and discriminate against gender diversity and its teaching. Maybe such people should be questioned for misoneism: their hatred, fear, and intolerance of innovation and change related to changing gender diversity.
It is inconceivable that books about gender diversity are banned and gender diversity cannot be taught in schools. Teaching gender diversity helps diverse gender persons be proud of who they are and their potential as valuable citizens. With factual, correct knowledge, students can refrain from bullying, abusing, shaming, and discriminating when they perceive-experience the beauty and potentials of all people. This helps to create neophilia where people can love, respect, and have compassion for persons who are gender diverse. Such education helps all people to achieve their dreams, hopes, aspirations, and goals.
People need to envision the consequences of anti-gender diversity behaviors, especially when they come face-to-face with God. God respects and rewards people according to their actions. Anti-gender diversity behavior is essentially against God’s handiwork of gender diversity creation since God in His Holiness encompasses all genders.
Let’s have social justice, equity, and equality for God’s gender diversities for the wellbecoming of all people and the universe.
John R. Phillips, RN; PhD
Retired Professor, Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University
103 Copper Beech Drive, Apt. D
Radford, Virginia 24141
