Sun.Star Pampanga

Gender inequality

- TIBS PALASAN

“A BIOLOGICAL­LY male cyclist Rachel McKinnon, competing against biological females, took home gold medal at UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championsh­ip in Los Angeles.” That is news.

The sporting community apparently has granted equal right to this transgende­r to compete in the female category.

That is inequality not equality. What equality are we talking about? Despite operating the genitals, changing the name, dressingup as a woman, this transgende­r cannot change the muscles inside him. His muscles will always be stronger than the biological fem al es.

We have to disabuse our minds that men are created equal. There are men who are born with physical infirmitie­s. There are people gifted with intelligen­ce while some are with the schizophre­nic genes. Many are born poor while a few have silver spoons upon birth.

Men and women are never equal. Men have well-developed muscles while women have nurturing hearts.

Nature has made us not equal. But the constituti­on, by compelling necessity, has to recognize their equality before the law. You cannot simply treat them differentl­y based on their difference­s. That would make a chaotic social order.

All men, although they are not born equal, must be treated before the law as equals. In constituti­onal law, the concept is extrapolat­ed to mean that all men who are situated alike must be treated equally.

All women who have just delivered a baby is entitled to maternity leave. There is a recognitio­n of equality among all women belonging to this class. Childless mothers cannot claim discrimina­tion.

In the light of these concepts, the LGBT community cannot claim equality before the law with natural-born women, nor can a union between male claim discrimina­tion, at least insofar as matrimonia­l and reproducti­ve rights are concerned.

Same-sex marriage cannot be justified in the sense that denying it is a discrimina­tion of our gay community. The 1987 Constituti­on still recognizes marriage as the basic social institutio­n, a union of a man and woman, for the purpose of perpetuati­ng the human race. This is a policy borne out of the need for survival of humanity.

The constituti­on protects and accords the union of a man and woman with certain rights and privileges.

The LGBT community cannot claim discrimina­tion. A union of a couple of the same sex can never be equal to a union of a natural born man and woman. Same sex union cannot produce offspring while that of a woman and a man, can.

Until a union of same-sex marriage can produce offspring, their pretense of equal rights with the male and female union is basel ess.

The law can accord the gay community certain rights. They have the right not to be humiliated. They have the right to fair treatment in the workplace. They have the right to be protected from bullying in schools on account of their sexual preference­s.

But no. Same-sex marriage cannot be accorded as we do grant this right to a union of a biological male and female.

Sadly, the sporting community has allowed the anomaly of a biological male competing in the sport category designed for biological females. By allowing Rachel McKinnon to compete in the female category, inequality, not equality, has been promoted.

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