'Gender Indoctrination' podcast exposes growing influence of gender ideology in American culture (pt. 1)
A groundbreaking podcast is examining the growing influence of gender ideology in American culture and the exhaustive, though sometimes covert, efforts those across the social, political and religious spectrums are taking to address the issue at the state and national levels.
In the premiere episode of “Gender Indoctrination: Inside the Transgender Battle” titled “A Breaking Point? Legislatures Revolt Against Gender Ideology,” Christian Post social commentator, podcast host and author Brandon Showalter interviewed Jay Richards, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who has been at the forefront of the fight against gender ideology.
Richards highlighted the pervasive nature of this ideology, emphasizing that it has infiltrated various aspects of society, from education to social media, affecting even the most unexpected places.
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Though gender ideology has seen increasing visibility in media in recent years, Richards pointed out that the issue did not suddenly emerge in 2015 but had been developing for decades in academia and other institutions.
“The changes were happening behind the scenes sort of undetectably or at least not obviously,” he said. “It was happening in law schools and in schools of education and in gender studies departments and universities for decades, honestly, going back at least to the 1980s.”
One of the key aspects of the discussion revolved around the state-level legislative efforts aimed at curbing trans medicalization, including the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgeries on minors.
Richards said he initially believed that only a few states might enact such laws but was pleasantly surprised when 17 more states throughout the South and Midwest followed suit despite facing legal challenges.
“Everybody, especially social conservatives, are just used to losing,” he said. “That spirit of despair and, ‘The Lord’s coming back any day, so we're all going to lose,’ that is the wrong attitude. We have been put here for a reason. We can fight this and we are going to win this. We're going to win this fight on the gender medicalization of kids. There's no doubt in my mind.”
The podcast also features lawmakers, public policy experts and activists who've been actively shaping the discourse on gender ideology for years.
Robin Lundstrum, a state representative from Arkansas, discussed her experience as the lead sponsor of the SAFE Act, a bill that aimed to prohibit gender medicalization in minors. Despite facing opposition, the bill eventually passed and was signed into law, marking a significant victory.
“We're running into a burning building for these children,” she said.
Gabe Firment, a Louisiana state representative, shared his journey in pushing similar legislation in his state. He highlighted concerns about becoming a destination for body-mutilating trans procedures if neighboring states did not implement similar laws.
The discussion also touched upon the legal challenges faced by these state laws. Some have already been upheld by federal courts, while others are making their way through the legal system. It is expected that these laws might eventually lead to a circuit split, forcing the issue to the Supreme Court for a national resolution.
"When it hits the Supreme Court, the opinions are irrelevant, but they're going to look at the science and they're going to look at, 'What's the long-term implications,'" Lundstrum said. "This isn't going to be pretty when ... when they're going to look at chemical castration, shrinking a penis to a peanut and cutting breasts off little 13 and 14-year-old girls. That's ugly, and people don't like that type of thing and they're not going to want to see this on the six o'clock news."
Joseph Kohm, public policy director of the Family Policy Alliance, emphasized the bipartisan nature of support for these laws. He revealed that many legislators, regardless of their political affiliation, recognize the need to protect children from potentially harmful medical interventions.
“Sixty percent of these bills that have been passed were passed with some measure of bipartisan support. I love that because it rebuts both the media and cultural narrative that this is some radical right-wing push, a big pull of bigoted hatred against trans youth. And that stat blows that messaging line apart,” he said.
In addition to legislative efforts, the podcast explored the issue of conscience rights for healthcare professionals who object to providing so-called "gender-affirming" care.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, director of the Conscience Project, highlighted cases where healthcare workers and religious institutions stood up against government mandates to provide such care, emphasizing the importance of protecting the rights of conscience.
“I think there will continue to be a push for the manipulation of our health system to perpetuate the goals of gender ideology and to use medical professionals, hospitals, insurers, pharmacists, to further their ends, even in spite of religious and conscience rights objections,” she warned.
In a particularly poignant segment, the episode also featured Kara Dansky, a former ACLU attorney and radical feminist, who has been a vocal opponent of gender ideology.
She discussed the challenges faced by Democrats who dissent from the party's stance on trans issues and expressed concerns about the party's potential attempts to downplay their previous support for gender ideology.
“I think, at the federal level, support for so-called ‘gender identity’ is less strong than it may seem. And I say that because I do a lot of analyzing of what's going on behind the scenes,” she said.
“As it becomes more and more known and appreciated just how deeply unpopular trans and gender identity are, I worry that the Democrats in power and the media and the traditionally progressive organizations are just going to quietly stop talking about it, and they're going to pretend like it never happened,” she stressed. “They're going to deny that they ever supported allowing convicted male rapists and women's prisons, they're going to deny that they ever supported transing of kids. They're just going to deny that any of this ever happened.”
Click here to learn more about "Generation Indoctrination: Inside the Transgender Battle."
