PolitiFact Helps Mainstream Marjorie Taylor Greene
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her assortment of conspiracy theories and bigoted history make her stain on the Republican Party and conservatism. It’s no wonder, therefore, that the Democratic Party and liberals in the media want to make her the face of the party and modern conservatism. But, there is a danger in this, and the intrepid fact checkers at PolitiFact demonstrated this on Thursday.
In a lengthy article under the headline “What the Equality Act debate gets wrong about gender, sex,” PolitiFact notes:
Much of the political debate has centered on gender identity — particularly Greene’s notion that there are “two genders.” However, public health agencies, doctors and biologists say science is clear: Gender identity goes beyond male and female.
“Sex is a biological term, gender is a social construct,” said Ignacio T. Moore, a biological sciences professor at Virginia Tech. “In other words, gender can vary with society and culture.”
The belief that there are only two genders is an oversimplification, “and what science really tells us is that it is more complicated,” said Dr. Jason Rafferty, a clinical assistant professor at Brown University.
Does PolitiFact want more Marjorie Taylor Greenes, because this how you get more Marjorie Taylor Greenes. If Greene is going to be attacked, not for being a 9/11 truther or anti-Semite, but for saying there are only two genders then do not be surprised if her popularity soars.
The controversy at hand is one over what the exact definition of a word is and therefore unlike most matters of public controversy, there is no apparent compromise possible.
For a lot of people, especially conservatives, gender is just a G-rated euphemism for people who do not want to use the word sex. Indeed, most people, not just conservatives, use gender and sex interchangeably. It’s only the gender and sexuality studies professors, left-wing healthcare professionals, and left-wing culture warriors who routinely try to separate the two.
The disconnect comes from the definition of gender that comes out of these activist academics. They contend that gender is a spectrum and therefore not binary. In its simplest form, this theory states that biological males do not feel like or live according to socially constructed ideas of masculinity. Same thing for biological females and socially constructed ideas of femininity.
But, the idea that not every male is a “manly man” or female a “girly girl” is so obvious that for many, it is not even an interesting observation and is therefore devoid of any importance. But for the people PolitiFact cites as authorities on the issue, it is not only a profound insight, it is the defining issue of this whole debate and is so important that there is a word — gender —for it.
PolitiFact’s article was about science, not subjective interpretations of who or what the self really is. Nobody ever said that human beings are divided into two perfect camps of masculine males and feminine female. The only question is what the proper definition of gender is. Is it a euphemism for sex, which, intersex individuals notwithstanding, is binary or is it something else? Are academics making mountains out of molehills by giving names to things, because that is what academics in eccentric fields do? Could it, by differentiating between “gender” and “gender identity,” be both?
Either way, Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of many millions of Americans who would say that gender and sex are the same thing, but given what else Greene believes Greene would love to present herself as a conservative leader who is fighting corrupt Washington-style politics and progressive culture warriors. PolitiFact just made that easier, by making her a martyr in the culture wars, allowing her to portray herself as a hero for stating what tens of millions believe.
