Made Up

Have you ever noticed that with MtF transitioners, there is much energy and attention put into the external adornments of their new perceived identify? This should be obvious, but even for those who have undergone surgery to snuff out the last vestiges of their maleness, they still make a point of designer lipstick, eyeshadow, jewelry, clothing, color schemes, hairstyles, etc.?

And yet, St. Peter exhorts bonafide women that 

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves" (1 Pt 3:3-5)

Why does he say this? Is this a reflection of the culture at the time? Or is there something more here?

Those who claim to be trans, like all men, are children of God and as such have an inherent dignity. But because of their dysphoria and attempt to change their unchanging nature, they compensate their lack of inherent feminity in the same fashion that St. Peter describes above: with external adornment. They do not see their inner self as gentle, quiet, and of unfading beauty; instead, it is inner-turmoil, discord, confusion, unrest. And so the make up becomes the mask.

If you've ever met a holy woman, a good woman, a beautiful woman, you are struck because their inner nature (which is gentle, quiet, and of unfading beauty) is "worn" and accentuated externally without kitchy adornment. A man attempting to adopt this tender poise which is not of his nature will naturally come off as gaudy and counterfeit, no matter the grade of lipstick or shade of the blush he uses to try to mask his inner tortured nature. 

I learned a lot from this (long) podcast with Jason Evert and it is clear he is doing good work with a heart of compassion in this area of speaking the Truth in love to those with gender dysphoria. One of the things that really impresses me is he takes the time to affirm the personhood of to those who claim to be trans and says, "tell me your story," and gives them his full attention. He also asks the right questions to get to the heart of the matter. They often share their hurts, their struggles, and their fears with him in those moments--because let's face it, many of us just don't do this, either because of lack of exposure to this population, or because we don't care to do the hard work it takes to love there. 

The fact that male transitioners adopt this kind of external mimicking of what they think a woman is and how she should look should underscore for women the words of St. Peter to be wary of such overt adornment.

I want to make the point that St. Peter is not speaking to this modern population in his epistle, but to the women of the church, with his admonishment. This is because, like the pearl of great price which is the Gospel (Mt 13:46), and the kingdom of heaven which is within (Lk 17:21) the pearl of a woman comes from the inside out. It is more precious than gold (Ps 19:10; Prov 13:15), and those who see that inner beauty are the ones worthy of it.  

On the contrary, when a woman has not taken into herself the seed of the Gospel, external adornment becomes necessary in most circumstances as a means of masking or compensation. When a woman of God uses a pinch of blush or a bit of lipstick, it is to highlight her inherent femininity, not try to convince you of it--because she doesn't have to. She is confident in her standing as a child of God, a vessel of life, and a pearl of great price. 

This is what women should strive to develop, and to learn from other women of such standing how to do so. For it is a of great worth in God's sight, and also for the man who has the eyes to see such beauty. In contrast to those beauty aids which seek to conceal and mask, any such external adornments a woman employs should be used as a subtle highlight to reflect that beauty within.