Quote of the Day

Ever since the 2014 Family Synod, some Catholic bishops (and Pope Francis himself) have expressed criticism of what they refer to as “gender ideology,” by which they seem to mean gender theory. Gender theory, however, is not by any stretch an “ideology,” but a sound academic attempt to understand the complexities of gender as encountered in the real world. The only “ideology” I’m aware of about gender is that espoused in Vatican doctrine, which reduces everything to a simplistic binary; everyone is either male or female, with distinctive roles appropriate to each; and that our primary social purpose is to find a suitable mate of the opposite gender, marry, and produce offspring. This is simplistic, patent nonsense, which should be obvious to anyone who simply observes the reality outside the lens of what is fondly believed to be the “traditional” family structure. There are many societies around the world in which traditional family structures recognized more than two genders. The hijra of South Asia are one example of a socially recognised third gender, now being recognised in government documents in some countries. Some Native American societies recognized even more than three genders.

– Terry Weldon
Excerpted from "Binary 'Gender Ideology' Refuted:
The Complexities of Gender"
Queering the Church
August 20, 2015

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Quote of the Day – June 12, 2015
• Lisa Leff on Five Things to Know About Transgender People
• North America: Perhaps Once the "Queerest Continent on the Planet"

Related Off-site Links:
What is Gender? OR Why the Term is Both Meaningless and Indispensable – Anna Magdalena (The Catholic Transgender, August 16, 2015).
Transgender and Catholic – Nick Stevens (The New York Times via The Progressive Catholic Voice, May 24, 2015).
Beyond Male and Female: Gender Trouble, Biology Trouble – Terry Weldon (Queering the Church, September 25, 2011).
Sub Secretum – Jacqueline White (The Progressive Catholic Voice, January 19, 2009).