PROF. JENKINS: On 'Gender,' We Must Stop Using the Left's Language
There’s an old saying that those who define the terms usually win the argument. That dynamic has been playing out on the political stage now for at least half a century, as the Left constantly attempts to control the language.
We see this on college campuses all the time. Back in January, Campus Reform reported that Stanford University had labeled an entire slate of innocuous words “racist” or “biased”—words like “white paper,” “she,” and “American.”
More recently, Michigan State University released a new “language guide” with its own list of “harmful” words and phrases, including “tipping point,” “cake walk,” and “bonkers.” I’m guessing that last one was added to prevent people from accurately describing the guide’s editors.
Even more insidious than what we’re not allowed to say, however, is what we are required to say—the words that, according to leftists, we MUST use or else face their wrath. And nowhere is this terminological tyranny more evident than in the debate over “transgenderism.”
The Left’s corruption of common, simple words like “man” and “woman” is well-documented, as are their strident demands that everyone use their “preferred pronouns.” But even the term “transgender” itself, viewed rationally, is absolute gibberish.
“Trans” is short for “transition,” which according to Merriam-Webster refers to “a change or shift from one state…to another.” And “gender” is simply another word for “sex.” Since changing one’s sex is biologically impossible, “transgender” is thus incoherent.
