The Problem With ‘What is a Woman?’

by | Jun 4, 2022

The Problem With ‘What is a Woman?’

by | Jun 4, 2022

“Biological sex [is] binary. It’s been binary for like a hundred million years, longer than that. Temperament is not binary, temperament or personality… people who talk about the diversity in gender are actually talking about diversity in personality and temperament…”

– Jordan B. Peterson, What Is a Woman? (The Daily Wire, 2022)

Why is it that the most powerful people on earth have been so fond of promoting “equality”? President Joe Biden, for example, has the ability to issue executive orders which hundreds of millions of people are legally bound to obey. Could anything be less “equal” than such an arrangement?

It turns out that there is a clear reason: The concept of equality is not just undefinable; it’s unachievable. Under any system (monarchy, fascism, communism, minarchism, democracy, voluntaryism, conservatism, etc.), some will perform much better than others; even purely direct democracy allows those with the best persuasive power to control the masses. By preaching “equality,” the state will always have a justification for growing its powers, since inequality will always at all times exist everywhere. 

What Is a Woman?

The equally compelling question of our day is: Why would progressives, who claim to champion women’s rights, refuse to say that a woman is simply an adult human female?

Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire has made a documentary titled What Is a Woman? to address the significance of this issue. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. With Americans who identify as LGBT doubling within the past decade, according to Gallop, and with children having access to puberty blockers along with sex change operations, Walsh accurately recognizes the necessity of taking on such an important issue. 

The best part was seeing Walsh sending doctors, protestors, professors, and a congressman into hysterics by asking simple questions. These are the “pro-Science™” people so brilliant that they must coercively rule over us for our own good.

Where Walsh Goes Wrong

Walsh cites Alfred Kinsey and John Money as the psychologists responsible for the “gender identity crises” and sexualization of today’s children. While I agree that it is important to get to the origins of these vital issues, Walsh does not explain why major institutions in America — controlled primarily by progressives — choose these ideas to promote instead of others.  

My personal thesis is as follows:

First, by confusing the genders, the state will face no authentic men who are genuine about intellectually or physically opposing state encroachments on freedom. While attending Arizona State University, I was told repeatedly that the only reason why I could be this angry at the activities of the government was that I was a purveyor of “toxic masculinity.”

Second, the state will face no authentic women who are willing to say, “The suffering caused by government actors is so destructive that I refuse to date or marry any pathetic man who would acquiesce to such evil.”

Third, by weakening the family unit — which necessarily consists of men and women — the state faces one less competing authority. Governments constantly seek to monopolize authority among a certain population so that people will associate the “the law” with “what the government says.” When the government tells you to go to war, support conscription, or condone regulation, you have no competing ideas, such as: “My parents and church always raised me to treat others with dignity, and never to murder or steal.”

Fourth, by weakening individuals’ understanding of their true identities, you will weaken their ability to understand themselves and those around them, making them ignorant and susceptible to manipulation. Imagine a person unaware that slavery or wars ever existed, and who has never heard of the potential downsides of a totalitarian government. Could this person rationally assess the world around himself? No. Thus, it is no surprise that after Helena Kerschner began her transitioning into becoming a man, she was shocked to find that testosterone was making her more prone to anger and had increased her sex drive. If we don’t recognize the basics of how men and women operate, then men and women can never get on the same page and are less likely to live harmoniously.

Fifth, the major causes of today’s gender relations issues stem from the state. With governments monopolizing the money supply — as in the case of the Federal Reserve in the United States — they devalue the currency through inflation, thereby disincentivizing people from saving or from postponing consumption. Because of the greatly diminished value of the currency, the prospects of owning a house and supporting a family are out of reach for many young people. Why save now, when inflation will make the money worthless later?

Also, division between the sexes is so universally propagated that men and women are uncomfortable spending time together. This tension artificially imposed upon people of goodwill could most blatantly be seen when, as president, Barack Obama pushed the long-debunked Gender Wage Gap Myth. Did his team really not know that the studies didn’t account for the types of jobs worked, experience, or number of hours worked? 

Finally, governments across the globe have instituted compulsory education. Imagine if parents could defund these indoctrination camps as easily as they can switch supermarkets or cable providers. No system is perfect, but free markets allow us to disassociate from bad actors voluntarily.

Addressing Bigotry

Consider the following: My technical age is 26, but I identify as 65; my actual nationality is Japanese, but I identify as Nigerian; my actual weight is 210 lbs., but I identify as 165 lbs.; my actual height is 5ft 11in, but I identify as 6ft 2in; and my income is $13,000 a year, but I identify as making $98,000 a year.

Having objective standards for reality does not make one a bigot. 

Comedian Dave Smith made this point, saying in so many words: So what if an atheist thinks that I’m delusional? He can think that. And I can think that other people are delusional. Why should I be guilted into buying into your delusion?

Conclusion

Much like the environmentalist who would like the Spotted Owl, Blowfish, Panda, and Polar Bear preserved for the beauty and the unique characteristics that they bring to Planet Earth, I want to live in a world where women and men are clearly defined and preserved. Overall, I give the movie a 9/10 — a must-watch for those who care to understand the depth of this issue.

About Keith Knight

Keith Knight is Managing Editor at the Libertarian Institute, host of the Don't Tread on Anyone podcast and editor of The Voluntaryist Handbook: A Collection of Essays, Excerpts, and Quotes.

Our Books

latest book lineup.

Related Articles

Related

In Defense of Inaction

In Defense of Inaction

On March 17, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by a woman named Mary Anastasia O’Grady titled, “Giving up on Haiti Isn’t a U.S. Option.” She argues, in short, that Americans don’t have a choice but to continue doing all the things that have failed in the past...

read more
Is America a Rogue Superpower?

Is America a Rogue Superpower?

“Unipolar” used to mean that the United States was, at least in theory, alone in leading the world. Now “unipolar” means that the United States is alone and isolated in opposition to the world. In global affairs, a hegemon is a nation that leads because it has the...

read more
Collateral Murder 2.0

Collateral Murder 2.0

When the footage of Reuters journalists and civilians were Wikileaked to the world, there was outrage. A shame exhibited by some in the American government caused them to reel from the crime that had been exposed, to downplay the prevalence of such murders, and...

read more
The Fed and the Fight for 2%

The Fed and the Fight for 2%

Last week, Jerome Powell & Co. met to issue an immediate decision regarding the status of the federal funds rate for March, and to provide some insight into the trajectory of monetary policy for the rest of 2024 and into 2025. As with the past few inflation...

read more
Truth Has No Chance on Capitol Hill

Truth Has No Chance on Capitol Hill

Americans are encouraged to believe that the U.S. Congress is practically on automatic pilot to serve the public. Happily, most Americans are not so gullible and Congress receives much of the contempt it deserves in public opinion polls. But the media and the...

read more