Today we are thinking more deeply about gender -maleness and femaleness. To help, Brian Sutter and Craig Stickling share their insights on this important matter. In this episode of Breaking Bread, we discuss biological sex and its outward expression in our gender.

Show notes:

Terminology is important. The words we use make a difference. Further, the meaning of the terms we use change. It is important we are informed on the definition of terms.

• Biological sex – The binary sex determination that occurs genetically and is coded by chromosomes. Those who have XX pairing are female and those who have XY pairing are male.
• Gender identity – How a person categorizes their felt gender experience.
• Gender dysphoria – The distress a person experiences when their felt gender identity does not match their biological sex assignment.
• Gender expression – How a person lives out their gender assignment.
• Gender roles – Expected rules, roles and experiences that we assume on being male or female.

We live in a changing world. Yet, some things remain the same. What is new to the scene and what is not?

• Gender dysphoria is not new to the scene. Distress over the felt gender experience has been around for a long time.
• Varying gender expressions is not new. Men and women have lived out their respective gender in a wide spectrum of ways.
• Today the meaning we make of our gender expression is taking on new conclusions. With increasing freedom, individuals are reflecting on their gender expression and drawing conclusions on their gender identity outside of the assigned biological sex assigned at birth.

• Culture today is straying from a biblical understanding of gender assignment. Today, many people view gender identity as not being constrained to the binary male or female as it has been in the past. Due to this, here is more emphasis on freedom of gender choice. Gender in today's culture is often understood to be on a spectrum.

How can we understand the varied gender experience?

• There is not a spectrum of gender assignment; however, there is a spectrum for gender expression. God created each person male or female, yet how we live out that gender varies.
• There are common experiences held by most men. There are common experiences held by most women. However, no two person’s gender experience is alike. Rather, we each have a unique gender expression that can glorify God’s biological sex assignment.

How can we help ease the gender dysphoria some experience?

• Some gender roles come from biological differences between male and female. Others are constructed and maintained by culture. It is important that we are thoughtful about what it means to be a man or a woman. We should be slow to calling into question those who don’t fit gender stereotypes that are not sacred to the biological sex.

Parenting our children through the highs and lows of our technological world can be a challenge. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Craig Stickling provides us with four helps. He gives us one technology lesson to instruct our children in. He gives us one technology danger to protect our children from. He provides one issue that we should be able to engage our children about and he gives us one redeeming quality that technology offers our kids.

Show Notes:

Instructive:

• Help your kids understand that if you do not pay for the product, then you are the product. Every free app we use is earning money off of the user somehow. Often it is by advertisements.

Protective:

• Sextortion is a growing concern. Young people are often targeted. A predator engages with them in a seemingly innocent way at first. This could be through direct messaging or otherwise. They lure the victim into taking a picture or video of themselves that they would not want the public to see. The predator then uses the image or video to blackmail the victim; threatening to send the content to friends, for example. If young people are being exploited, they are the victim of a crime, and it should be reported. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at fbi.gov.

Engaging:

• Parents need to nurture the relationship they have with their children so that openness can be achieved. Open dialogue on technology issues should be the goal. Children and young people should feel free to openly discuss technological struggles, challenges and questions with trusted adults.

Redeeming:

• Technology shows us how much we desire connection. Use this apparent fact to show your kids that connection with God is the connection our souls most crave.