By Maria Buenano
Critical race theory is well known, but what about critical gender theory? Parents across America have expressed their concerns regarding this curriculum, but that hasn’t stopped schools from adopting textbooks from big corporations like Houghton Mifflin Harcourt which publish books containing gender theory and similar political doctrine. Where did gender theory come from and what is the functional purpose of the theory?
In her 1949 book, The Second Sex, Simone De Beauvoir famously theorized that “one is not born, but rather becomes, woman.” This was the start of the idea that gender could be a social construct. This concept was later tested by psychologist John Money in an experiment to prove the social construct by raising two twin boys as if they were brother and sister. The twin who underwent gender reassignment surgery as an infant was never told that he was biologically male and suffered severe gender dysphoria as a result of Money’s research. Both brothers committed suicide later in their lives. John Money’s research spearheaded the gender theory movement, and much of that research included instructing young boys to “inspect one another’s genitals and engage in behavior resembling sexual intercourse.” The foundations of gender theory are abusive and perverse, and this is evident in not only Money’s research but also by the way the theory has influenced mainstream American culture since.
Gender theory has since expanded thanks to postmodernist thinkers like Judith Butler, who has been teaching critical theory and queer theory since the 1990’s. Butler is a Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature at UC Berkley and author of several books on critical theory and gender, including Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990). Butler theorizes that gender is simply a “stylized repetition of acts,” which promotes gender fluidity and the idea that gender is a social construct. In America today, the principles of gender theory rule the classroom and are portrayed as scientific and healthy by academics. Organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center and Equality Florida are working directly with teachers to push gender theory and social justice curriculum in schools, and it shows.
Gender theory is changing the nuclear family structure by fundamentally altering how future leaders (your kids) view familial roles. Gender theory is about deterring children from any traditional or healthy understanding of sex and gender by promoting gender fluidity and sexuality to American children. Gender theory is age inappropriate material and should not be taught to minors. Every parent should make sure gender theory is not in their children’s reading materials.
