Defending the weaker vessel

Is the fever dream of gender fluidity passing? Most Americans recognize that there is no sense in debating “What is a woman?” Common sense tells us that. In the ashes of the transgender craze, we have woken up to the reality that women were sacrificed on the altar of gender ideology. They were robbed of fairness and safety in sports, and of safety and dignity by men invading their private spaces.

It’s a 21st century flavor of misogyny—a creative new take on the age-old reality that the weaker vessel often bears the brunt of societal folly. And it hasn’t taken the place of the old, familiar problems of sexual exploitation. A trickle of “Me too” stories that feel important, but also somehow tired-out, continues in the news.

Some may be offended by my calling women the weaker vessel, but there is no way around it. Physically, women are outmatched by men in almost every category. Women are also designed with emotional sensitivities that define their lived experience and permeate their motivations. The physical and chemical changes associated with the capacity for childbearing necessarily affect women’s cognition and mood. And I already mentioned how women are often the victims of sexual predation by men.

But the problem is not that women are the weaker vessel. The problem is that we have forgotten it. Contraceptives and, now, sadly, abortion pills allow women to pretend that we are free to enjoy casual sex. But promiscuous sex and the sordid aftermath of discarding unwanted babies takes an enormous hidden emotional toll on women. The women who scream “My body, My choice!” are angry for good reason. They’ve been sold a bill of goods that has tortured their souls. Women aren’t just like men.

God designed women as the weaker vessel for a reason, and part of our purpose is understood when we embrace that. Emotional “weakness” reflects a woman’s capacity for tenderness and compassion that is meant to foster deep relationships. The ability to feel the pain of another is a vulnerability that brings healing to the other person. Our need for physical protection draws out courage and leadership from our male counterparts. And a woman’s ephemeral beauty is a reminder that even though life is fleeting and fragile there is more to it than just survival, despite what the Darwinians say. There is no shame in weakness. Paradoxically, our weakness can also be our strength.

Americans are realizing that there is a need to protect women’s bodies and their dignity. One of President Trump’s first executive orders, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government,” says the federal government only recognizes two sexes—male and female—and goes on to describe the two sexes as immutable categories determined at conception by biology. This is important because there are hundreds of laws that differentiate between males and females, and allowing men to identify as women invalidates laws and policies designed to protect women. Efforts are underway across the country to legally define sex by biology, not gender identity. Six states do not allow sex to be changed on birth certificates, and three states define “sex” by biology.

Trump’s executive order also prevents men from using women’s private spaces, including bathrooms and locker rooms in federal facilities and prisons. The nation was shocked in 2021 when a boy wearing a skirt sexually assaulted a girl in the girls’ bathroom at a northern Virginia high school. Across the country, including in my state of North Carolina, school districts have adopted policies that are still in place that allow boys to use girls’ bathrooms—putting our children on the front lines of the gender confusion. Women in prisons have been sexually assaulted by men who claim to be women. Recognizing the urgent need to protect women and girls’ privacy and safety, 14 states have passed laws to keep men out of their private spaces.

The transgender madness reminds America that women do need protection. Moving forward, we can, one hopes, have a conversation around modern womanhood that is honest and does not include cringe-worthy stereotypes. Women achieve great things—both inside the home and outside of the home—but they do it in a different way than men. The distinctiveness of women should be celebrated, and our strengths should be cherished and cultivated. And we must double down on our efforts to protect women and girls from harm.