Suspiciously Impressive

August 11, 2002

by John F. Schmidt

If a man joined a woman’s mountain biking team disguised as a woman, what kind of performances would "she" turn in? You guessed it: "suspiciously impressive."

When a British Columbia man underwent a sex-change operation six years ago, no one could have guessed that he - or, "she" - would be at the center of a storm of controversy in Canada’s close-knit women’s mountain biking team.

Last year, the British Canadian Cycling Association suspended the license to compete of 32-year-old Ms. Dumaresq. Undaunted, she came back this year with a doctored birth certificate showing she was a female, and was re-instated in time to compete.

Her main competition is not found on the track but in the halls of the biking association. Protests from fellow team members have clouded Ms. Dumaresq’s recent victories. They see her performances as just too strong - and attribute her recent record of two first place wins, and one second place finish in five races to the fact that she is still really a man.

Her presence thrills some who see her as a poster child for transgendered individuals, and threatens some who see her as an unfair competitor or as a total misfit on a woman’s team.

Ms. Dumaresq believes that since she has been physically altered, and maintains a regimen of hormone drug treatments, she is essentially a female. Her body no longer has male strength and endurance. The born-women on the team are nonetheless convinced that maleness is innate and the characteristics remain despite the surgery and drugs. Certainly enough remain to make "her" a suspiciously impressive athlete when compared to the other women.

The whole issue circles around the nature of gender. Some believe that gender is a choice - never mind the inconvenient plumbing that one is born with. To them, "freedom" is choosing to pursue any lifestyle they want, in whatever sexual form they desire. Others see sexual nature settled by birth and God’s choice.

The two camps struggle for dominance. At stake is the shape of the world to come.

If we are part of God’s creation, then to entertain the prospect of changing one’s gender is tantamount to rejecting one of the most basic characteristics of individuality. And who will dare contend with the Almighty?

If we are not created, then moral strictures derived from ancient books or ignorant prejudices must be discarded as oppressive and foolish.

Are the protesting women just unfairly discriminating against another of their kind, or are they themselves deeply discriminated against by an interloper in their midst - a man masquerading as a woman?

Scientific research has established that gender is built into us at a far deeper level than sexual organs. See Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem. Read Section III, "Biology." In comparing the sexes, even our very brains are different. Connecting nerves between the halves of female brains are much numerous than in males, resulting in a profoundly different way of experiencing life for each sex. The skeletal structure is different, and the musculature is different. And very little of the differences can even be altered, much less reversed, by hormones.

The bottom line for the hapless Ms. Dumaresq is that "she" is and will remain a "he" despite all the surgery and drugs. And that is why he has an unfair advantage over the true females in the race. The cycling commissions ought to have the courage to permanently disqualify him from racing as a female.

There is hope for him, though. If he - or anyone - who has rebelled against God’s ordinance will turn and call out to Him for forgiveness, he will be accepted and forgiven. Michael Dumaresq is a man and can still bear God’s Image as a man because maleness is more than sexual organs.

There is great hope for all of us who make foolish choices, or have liabilities in life (1 Chron 4:9,10) Embracing the God who has made us will transform us, so that instead of being "suspiciously impressive," we will be "gloriously impressive" - as examples of the saving power of a loving God.

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John F. Schmidt has written numerous articles over the last decade. Politically, he is an Alan Keyes-type Republican. Along with his wife, he has organized voter drives in Pennsylvania, and been active politically since the 1990 elections. His livelihood, until recently, was spent in automation engineering for a large global equipment manufacturing company, specializing in coal mining. WANB in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania hosted Schmidt's weekly talk radio program "Issues and Answers." His writing is intended to relate the headlines of today to the foundation of eternal truth - the Scriptures. He currently resides in Palm Beach County, Florida. Visit his website at: Inalienable-Rights.org

Send the author an E mail at Schmidt@ConservativeTruth.org.

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