According to a recent study, nearly one-third of Gen Z women now “identify as lesbian, bisexual, or something else.” To be clear, these numbers only indicate how young people are identifying, not behaving, since Gen Z’ers are not as sexually active as previous generations. 

At the same time, these numbers do reflect how many teenage girls who are experiencing normal adolescent changes are being told they’re transgender. Is it any wonder that so many young women think being “straight” and “cisgender” is outdated, or even bad? Consider all the media messaging that depicts “traditional guy[s]” as undesirable long-term partners, encourages relationships that are inherently sterile, discusses fertility as a disease, and refuses to call women women. The erasure of women altogether is a strange, tragic, but consistent end for a culture that once claimed to fight for women.  

As young women search for meaning and identity, Christians should safeguard the truth and beauty of what makes a woman special and valuable: being made in the image of God, female.