Christian Sexologist Clears the Gender Confusion
The Gender Revolution: A Biblical, Biological, and Compassionate Response, Patricia Weerakoon (with Robert Smith and Kamal Weerakoon). Sydney: Matthias Media, 2023. Softcover, 199 pages.
I’m quite sure I’ve never read a book by a sexologist before. I’m glad I made this one my first. This is the clearest and most informative book I’ve seen on transgenderism. Other books are helpful in understanding the philosophical or worldview aspects of the movement. This one spends little time on that and instead devotes its bulk to the concrete issues likely to confront Christians in their homes, churches, and schools.
Patricia Weerakoon is well-qualified to address this topic – she’s a medical doctor, counsellor, sex therapist (sexologist), and academic. Two theologians assisted her in writing The Gender Revolution: her son Dr. Kamal Weerakoon and Dr. Robert Smith. This expert team has ensured that the book lives up to its subtitle as “a biblical, biological, and compassionate response.”
This paragraph from the first chapter captures the thrust of The Gender Revolution:
As we will show, contemporary science is demonstrating the truth of a traditional understanding around the differences between sex, behaviour, orientation, and identity. Much more importantly, we will see how the Christian concept of objective reality – of our created, embodied biology – harmonizes with the rest of our self. We will see how the Christian worldview offers clarity and comfort in the face of confusion. We will see how the Christian gospel offers light and hope to those who are trapped in darkness (p.13).
Transgender ideology, according to the author(s), attacks not only Scripture’s public objective truth (corresponding to reality), but also the best scientific research. For the latter, Weerakoon provides a good number of footnotes to journal articles, many of them quite recent.
I found this book particularly helpful on five issues. I’ll just identify the issues without revealing what the book says about them – I want you to read it for yourself, after all.
First, I’ve been wondering why there are vocal lesbians protesting the transgender ideology. I did a talk a while back for a largely Christian audience on this issue and there was a prominent lesbian from the community who attended too. Have we become allies of a sort?
Second, what do we make of the phenomenon of “intersex” people as it relates to transgender ideology? What exactly is “intersex”?
Next, Weerakoon provides concrete advice for Christian churches and schools in dealing with scenarios that may arise in relate to the transgender revolution.
Fourth, is it true that transitioning reduces suicidality? What about puberty blockers? Weerakoon provides scientific evidence to answer those questions.
Finally, there’s an appendix, “On the Use of Pronouns and New Names.” How should Christians respond when confronted with someone who wants us to use their preferred pronouns? Or if we’re asked to give our preferred pronouns? I hear from congregation members that these are now real issues in many workplaces.
I will share you with one helpful point with some detail. Transgender ideology holds that, at birth, doctors “assign” sex to a child. But Weerakoon points out how it’s actually the other way around:
Transgender ideology says that if a child behaves according to the stereotypes assigned by society to a particular sex, then the child must be that sex, regardless of their biology. If a child dislikes toys stereotypically associated with their sex and prefers toys, games or activities usually preferred by the other sex, or if a child enjoys dressing up and acting in playtime as the other sex, or if a child prefers playing with the other sex, gender revolutionaries insist that the child is the other sex – a ‘trans child,’ irrespective of biology. In this way, they show themselves to be even more enslaved to rigid gender stereotypes than people of previous eras.
Transgender ideologues, then, not medical practitioners, are ones who ‘assign’ a sex to children. Medical practitioners recognize a child’s sex at birth; transgender ideologues seek to override this biological reality with a sex assigned on the basis of behaviour (p.97).
That’s one of the most powerful points in the book. This book is necessary reading for a wide audience, but especially for teachers, office bearers, and everyone involved in Christian education. We need experts to help us navigate these challenging waters – and we need Christian experts. The Gender Revolution will not only inform you about the issues, it’ll also equip you to be a genuinely loving help to those struggling with their gender identity.
