BLACKBURN: Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?
JACKSON: I can’t. I’m not a biologist.
As we near the end of women’s history month, we face a turning point in American society. The nominee for Supreme Court Justice, on day two of confirmation hearings, cannot define the word ‘woman’. The question was not the role of women, the question was not in relation to gender or identification.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President Biden, to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. On January 27, before the decision had even been made, the President swore the person he chose would be the “first black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.”
We often tout the achievements of women in this country, boasting about the glass ceilings shattered and progress made. We teach our daughters to be strong, brave, girls that will grow up to be successful, powerful women. Women, taking on the patriarchy of society and bringing equality to a male[1]dominated world.
We can’t raise strong girls to be powerful women if the moral arbiter of the nation refuses to define the word ‘woman.’ A person need not be a biologist to understand the basic science or delineate the term ‘woman.’ A woman, as defined by Oxford, is “an adult female human being; a female is denoting the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs.” There is nothing offensive about these biological statements, they are definitions of a physical state of a creature.
In our first-world nation, we have been afforded the luxury of deep self-exploration. In other parts of the world, people are concerned with life-threatening problems-such as war, genocide, rape and torture, starvation, displacement-while we in America debate whether people feel valued based on which bathroom they are granted permission to use and a SCOTUS nominee fears defining a woman because of ideological, emotional repercussions.
The refusal to answer that one simple question showed her ideological standing and shed light on the type of justice she would be. In Gavin Grimm V. Gloucester County School Board, SCOTUS refused to hear the transgendered bathroom issue and sent it back down to the lower court, an apparent win for the trans community but an even larger signal that the ‘gender issue’ is too ideological.
According to Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito, “I readily accept the facts of Grimm’s sex status and gender identity and his felt need to be treated with dignity. Affording all persons the respect owed to them by virtue of their humanity is a core value underlying our civil society. At the same time, our role as a court is limited. We are commissioned to apply the law and must leave it to Congress to determine policy.”
The hypocrisy from lawmakers and elected officials on the left is mind[1]blowing. When it comes to climate change and COVID we must follow the science and adhere strictly to what they preach yet when it comes to simple biology, science no longer matters and suddenly it’s how we feel that matters and defines our existence. We are not denying the existence of transgenderism, how we think of ourselves and how humans reflect on their thoughts and feelings has been suggested by numerous neuroimaging studies, suggesting that different forms of self-awareness involve the cerebral cortex. This is science. Where the science deviates are that regardless of the self-awareness felt and produced by the brain, the physical make-up of the body is defined, by science, through our DNA, our chromosomes, our blood. Boys are created by an XY chromosome, and girls are created by an XX chromosome.
So, we circle back to nominee Jackson unable to answer ‘Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman?’ Regardless of where you lie on the spectrum of gender politics, a person looking to fill the position of the highest court in the country should be able to put aside their ideological beliefs and answer this question.
How can women continue to fight for equality and their place in society, government, and corporate America if the first Black woman ever nominated to the highest court in the country can’t even embrace her own sex and proclaim what it is to be a woman?
That is the Message. This is The Messenger.
Gearing up for Board of Education Races
Board of Education election season is already amongst us, with districts across Long Island hosting budget workshops and, simultaneously, elections for expiring board of education seats. Undoubtedly, we will see a repeat of last year, with an atypically high turnout as more parents turn to trustees and ask the question, “Why should we give you another term?” Or for first-time candidates, “What do you bring to the table?”
More turnout is never bad – especially when it comes to local elections with traditionally atrocious turnouts. Throughout these next few weeks, The Messenger will be dedicated to delivering exceptional coverage of Board of Education races as candidates begin to emerge and public debates ensue. We highly encourage readers to send in letters related to the race, whether in favor or against candidates, ideas, et cetera. We’d also like to know what you’re looking for in a candidate, and your neighbors would love to hear as well.
The Editorial Board of The Messenger has always advocated for parent and student rights, rights often trampled by our state departments of education and health throughout this pandemic. We will continue to support these rights on our editorial page as much now as we always have. We encourage above all else that our school boards focus on academic excellence, extracurricular activities, and good fiscal stewardship of our communities’ resources. We implore all candidates to direct their activities to the benefit of the students, many of whom have watched as their first two years of high school were unlike anything their past peers have had to endure.
With exceptional circumstances came exceptional responses. Yet as circumstances returned to normal, responses stayed heightened. And as some school districts fought back against overreach from state officials, others acquiesced despite community outcry.
When vetting candidates for endorsements, we will remember where sitting board members stood on the issue of school closures and masking.
“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – President John F. Kennedy.
That is the Message. This is The Messenger.
