In 2023, the Biden administration doubled down on its commitment to radical gender ideology. Federal agencies proposed a slew of regulations pushing the Biden administration’s extreme pro-LGBT agenda in education, employment, and health care at the expense of children’s interests and women’s rights.
That agenda, Rachel Morrison suggests in an article at The Federalist, will be back in 2024. She then identifies five priorities that we can expect to see from the Biden administration this year.
For example, plans are already in the works within the Department of Education to impose gender ideology on school sports. Women and girls will be forced to compete with and against men and boys who identify as female. This will inevitably lead to a reduction in opportunities for females, in competing for championships and vying for college scholarships. It also leaves females vulnerable to injury and to violations of their privacy.
Also, according to Morrison, we can expect the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to expand a policy that effectively erases women from one of the most distinctively womanly things imaginable, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. In addition to avoid using the term woman to describe those who get pregnant, the EEOC “went so far as to use the plural pronouns ‘they’ and ‘their’ multiple times to refer to a singular employee who was pregnant, had a cesarean section, or experienced childbirth.” This is an example of the power of language in smuggling through ideas.
Also, Morrison expects that the Department of Health and Human Services will “impose incorrect pronouns, bathroom access, and so-called “gender transitions” via disability discrimination law.
Under Section 504, “gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments” are excluded from the definition of a qualifying disability. Yet, according to HHS, Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on gender dysphoria—which is a gender-identity disorder.
Two other initiatives will hit closer to home for more people. First, the federal government is continuing its attempts to ban “non-affirming” potential parents from adoption and fostering, even calling such parents “abusive.” Second, the EEOC, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the State Department have joined forces to enforce compliance on using preferred pronoun and opening bathrooms to people of the opposite sex. These rules carry weight for businesses and schools eager to stay on the good side of federal power.
The drive to push these ideas is only popular with a small segment of the population, drawing support from some and opposition from others. The arguments behind such views cannot proceed on their own merits, so government enforcement is the only way forward. Though this goes under the guise of gender equality and “following the science,” it takes the form of erasing (and debasing) women, denying women—especially school-aged girls—opportunities, and compromising the safety and privacy of females of all ages. This, for the sake of an ideology as new and fickle as teen fashions.
Christians, of all people, must have the moral clarity to navigate strong-arm techniques. Today, the Colson Center is pleased to announce the launch of the Identity Project, the most comprehensive library of on-demand videos and resources addressing issues of identity, humanness, and sexuality available, all from a Judeo-Christian worldview. In collaboration with pastors, psychologists, sociologists, doctors, parents, and experts from organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom and The Heritage Foundation, the Identity Project features teaching videos of various lengths that can be used in virtually every context: home, church, school, and with friends.
In addition to countering the cultural lies about sex and identity, there are videos to resource parents, teachers, and leaders to help students embrace their identity as male and female, navigate challenges such as exposure to pornography, accept God’s design for the body and for sexual morality, and deal with friends who think and live differently.
Go to identityproject.tv. Breakpoint listeners can receive a special discount by using the code BREAKPOINT at checkout.
This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org.
Image credit: ©Getty Images / Philip Rozenski
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.