Gender Theory (GT) consists of various irrational ideologies in the area of affectivity and sexuality, proposing a man-made humanity, denying the inseparable body/soul union of human nature.
1. GT declares that human identity is the choice of the individual, one which can change over time.
2. GT seeks to assert itself as absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how children should be raised, and thus preclude dialogue, totally rejecting any investigation into a deeper understanding of the ways in which sexual difference between men and women is lived out in a variety of cultures.
3. Sexual difference, according to the GT, is deemed strictly sociological. Sexual identity is held to be more a social construct than a given natural or biological fact. GT over-emphasizes the freedom of the individual.
4. GT denies the existence of any original given element in the individual, which would precede and at the same time constitute our personal identity, forming the necessary basis of everything we do. The only thing that matters in personal relationships is the affection between the individuals involved, irrespective of sexual difference or procreation which would be seen as irrelevant in the formation of families.
5. The institutional model of the family is bypassed, in favor of a vision of family that is purely contractual and voluntary.
6. The individual determines his own sexual tendencies without having to take account of the reciprocity and complimentarity of male-female relationships, nor of the procreative end of sexuality.
7. There is a radical separation between gender and sex, with the former having priority over the latter. It is a priority of will, power and technology over nature and creation. The goal is "a society without sexual differences."
Separated from one another, gender and sex are no longer synonyms or interchangeable concepts but describe two different realities. Sex is seen as defining one of two biological categories derived from the original feminine-masculine dyad. Gender is defined as the way in which the differences between the sexes are lived in each culture.
8. "Transgenderism" views gender as dependent upon the subjective mindset of each person, who can choose a gender not corresponding to his biological sex, and therefore with the way others see him.
9. "Queer" refers to dimensions of sexuality that are extremely fluid, flexible, nomadic.
10. "Polyamory" is relationships involving more that two individuals. Duration of relationships and their binding nature should be flexible, depending on the shifting desires of the individuals involved.
11. "Kinship" is based on desire or affection, often marked by a limited time span that is determined, ethically flexible, or even (sometimes by explicit mutual consent) without any hope of long-term meaning. The important thing is the absolutely free self-determination of each individual and the choices he makes according to the circumstance of each relationship of affectivity.
12. GT calls for public recognition of the right to choose one's gender.
Critique
Dualism (physicalism and voluntarism) yields relativism.
GT speaks of a gradual process of denaturalization, a move away from nature towards an absolute option for the decision of the feelings of the human subject. Sexual identity and the family are thus to be founded a confused concept of freedom in the realm of feelings and wants, or momentary desires provoked by emotional impulses and the will of the individual, as opposed to anything based on the truths of existence. The philosophical foundation for that idea is an anthropological dualism separating body (reduced to inert matter) from human will. The will is given absolute authority to manipulate the body as it pleases. Then gender is more important than being of male or female sex. However, this actually negates the relevance of each other.
If the body is irrelevant to the identity of the person, if it holds no true meaning, then what does it matter how you feel about it? Gender identity itself becomes irrelevant if sex is subordinate to it. The dignity demanded by gender is the dignity inherent in sexual difference. By hijacking the dignity inherent in the sexes, GT destroys the dignity of the sexes themselves. In the name of freedom to be different, difference itself is destroyed, because for things to be truly different, they must be absolutely inviolable, like male and female. Male and female are primary categories of identity within the human person which cannot be denied on the basis of a deeper "truth" or "reality." When you deny the inviolable supremacy of the male and female difference, you irrevocably destroy the dignity of man, and no other principles will save it. That is what is meant by nature, it is inviolable. If you contravene it, it is gone, you cannot recover it or fabricate it. Nature rules, under God!
"In fact, the generic concept of 'non-descrimination' often hides an ideology that denies the difference as well as the natural reciprocity that exists between men and women. 'Instead of combating wrongful interpretations of sexual difference that would diminish the fundamental importance of that difference for human dignity, such a proposal would simply eliminate it by proposing procedures and practices that make it irrelevant for a person's development and for human relationships. But the utopia of the 'neuter' eliminates both human dignity in sexual distinctiveness and the personal nature of the generation of new life.' The anthropological basis of the family is thus emptied of meaning." 21
Christian anthropology
The Christian vision of anthropology sees sexuality as a fundamental component of one's personhood. You can't separate gender affectivity from biological sex because biological sex affects the soul of the person, and the soul of the person, which includes affectivity, is inseparable from biology. The totality of the human person consists of the integration of the biological, psycho-affective, social and spiritual elements, no one element can trump the rest. The person is an integral harmony of all those aspects which, in the healthy individual, are coordinated and work together in an essential dynamic tension of the human person, body and soul.
Unjust discrimination and a masculinist mentality are to be rejected. Children should be educated to respect every person in his particular differences and against unjust discrimination based on race, religion or special needs. The values specific to femininity and masculinity are to be upheld and promoted.
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