Bradley Manning’s gender identity confusion

Referring here to that which is going on in the media, actually.

This little piece by Wesley J.  Smith contains the essentials of the moment, and it is a changing situation at that. No pun or double entendre intended.

There are legal methods of having one’s sex reassigned. Thus, until a court order is rendered, a “he” who identifies as a “she,” remains a legal he.

But in our post modern times, even that is seen as too limiting. We have a new law in California allowing boys who identify as girls to use girl’s bathrooms and locker rooms in public school (and visa-versa), based on their self-identity. Now, with Bradley Manning claiming to be Chelsea, Ryan Kearney goes into high dudgeon at the New Republic because the media didn’t instantly change their reporting. From, “He is Not Bradley Manning, She is Chelsea Manning: Deal With It:”

This morning, Wikipedia users changed Manning’s entry on the site accordingly, such that it now reads, “Chelsea Manning (officially Bradley Edward Manning; born December 17, 1987)” and refers to Manning throughout as “she.” And yet, from ABC News to CBS News to Reuters to The New York Times to Politico, much of the mainstream media insists on using the male pronoun. Even the “Today” article about Manning’s statement defiantly refers to her as “he,” most notably when quoting the very sentence in which Manning asks that she be referred to as “she.”

The Guardian, to its credit, changed its topic page to “Chelsea Manning.” This should not be the exception, but the rule. Even the Associated Press stylebook says so: that reporters should “use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

Even theAssociated Press stylebook! All bow.

No. We need structure here and a proper legal process. Rule of law. Rule of law. Rule of law.

Until Bradley Manning is officially declared Chelsea by a court–with an amended birth certificate issued and a legal judgment of sex reassignment–he remains a legal male. That should be the standard, not a personal statement read on a television show or a change in appearance.

First, read Wesley’s post at the link, it not only links to the New Republic article he cites and quotes and critiques, but to a number of hyperlinks in that article that reveal how much confusion is running rampant at the moment in the media.

Second, I heard a panel discussion on how the media are handling this on a morning television news show, and the experts  on it – regulars on a weekly program that critique’s media handling of top news stories of the week – cited that New Republic article and the obvious tailspin the media are in right now figuring out how to handle reporting on the Manning story. And the issue of whether Manning having a sex-change hormone therapy at Ft. Leavenworth should be at taxpayers’ expense.

NRO’s Kathryn Jean Lopez responded to Wesley Smith’s post citing skepticism or at least wariness about the ‘rule of law’ mantra and whatever structure that would bring, given the current cultural climate.

Wes — I can’t say I’m worshipping at the altar of the rule of law. If the law ceases making sense, marginalizing not only conscience but common sense, it’s not like we should all be getting in line to reorder our lives to its fiction. I suspect you’re holding onto hope that law ultimately does make sense in America, but I’m not sure that’s the trend. Certainly not if the law is going to follow where our cultural feelings have been leading.

I appreciate and agree with both of them often enough on issues of how humans should treat other humans and what constitutes the common good and a moral society. But Kathryn’s right about that last point. And politics and too many courts are downstream of culture. The only or best course correction is an all-in effort to change it all, especially the culture.

I believe this little nugget from Pope Francis helps get us on the right course. At least it helps people learn how to talk with each other.