Gender Wars: Why 2024 Was The Year We Went Rogue

While every serious study on gender confusion proves that most children grow out of it as they become adults, the progressive Left still hails gender transition as a viable, heroic choice for kids. Never has the opportunity been greater for us to model the powerful forces of masculinity and femininity. In an image-driven society that claims womanhood is an outfit, the definition of “male and female” remained under fire in 2024, and I’m proud to be one of the fiery women who beckoned to the call.

It only took a few brave soldiers to reveal the dangers of weakness. Terrified of offending people who bottom feed on offense, too many influencers shrunk back when it was high time to rise. It took people like Riley Gaines, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Isabel Brown, Brett Cooper, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro, Ted Cruz, Michael Knowles, and Jordan Peterson to show the world what strength really looks like. Their boldness ripped through the haze of public approval and showed young people how to take a stand.

Taking a stand on gender became the new way to go rogue. 

Women like lacrosse coach Kim Russell and P.E. teacher Jessica Tapia took a stand against men in women’s sports and men in women’s bathrooms, teaching athletes the meaning of righteous resistance. Authors J.K. Rowling, Helen Joyce, and Professor Kathleen Stock laid themselves on the altar to set an example for millions. There is one thing that Matt Walsh, Abigail Shirer, and even trans influencer Blair White proved we can be united about: male and female matters. Gender is physically immutable, but it is also a calling and an assignment.

WATCH: Matt Walsh’s documentary “What Is A Woman?”

In my bottomless search for the meaning of gender for my book “I Am A Woman: Taking Back Our Name,” I excavated the words male, female, man, and woman penned in Genesis––and discovered gender is as holy as the imago-Dei. In God’s language, gender is an action. The “male” is a servant, steward, champion, and chief who passes the commands of God to the next generation. The “female” is a helper, protector, boundary-keeper, and life-giver who brings life to every environment she is in. A true man lays down his life for her; a true woman uses her voice to stand against injustice.

Men are created to protect, and when they don’t, they are not truly men in the deepest sense of the word. The men who stood up for us this year reminded us that chivalry’s not dead. At a time when children are being mutilated on the altar of lies; when trans activists claim tampons should be in the boys’ bathroom; and when women are treated as undeserving of protection in changing spaces, weak men stayed silent. Strong men, on the other hand, fulfilled the purpose of masculinity by relentlessly battling for our daughters and granddaughters to live free of tyranny.

The tyrants who allowed men in women’s Olympic boxing thrust women’s worth to the world stage — and the weak were separated from the strong. It was a Rosa Parks moment for women. Would we deny the truth that physically we are weaker? That men can punch over 2.5 harder than women and one in three women have been victims of male violence? Or would we rise, use our voices, and fight for our dignity no matter the stakes?

The “big red wave” Trump predicted came true, showing the world that real warriors don’t back down while evil prevails. As Dr. Jordan Peterson says, “When you have something to say, silence is a lie.” Every influencer who used their voice in 2024 gave strength to the rest of us. We watched as ferocious mama bears rose to the surface on Instagram, blazing the trail as they ripped into feckless school boards. As Matthew Arnold says, ”If there ever comes a time when the women of the world come together purely and simply for the benefit of mankind, it will be a force such as the world has never known.” Women aren’t created to be weak, subservient creatures. We were created to speak, to protect children, and to redirect culture when it’s headed in the wrong direction. We are rising, and we will not give up until the gender ideologues are rendered mute.

I am thankful the word woman has been under fire because it is bringing out the gold in who we are.

Yet the war is not over. It will take strong fathers, fearless mothers, and resilient coaches, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and caregivers to eradicate gender confusion from our culture. Right now, you can take action by joining a coalition to save women’s sports, support legislation protecting women’s spaces, or stand with me to teach young people about their identity and provide resources for girls with body dysmorphia. It will take every single one of us to stop the madness and declare ourselves the victors before the war is won. When men and women stand together, we are a solid wall against the lies of gender fluidity. Male and female unity is the ancient path, the surprising answer, the unbreakable truth. It is the only way we “rule, subdue, and take dominion” against the anarchy threatening the future.

Someday, our descendants will look back on history and thank us for standing up for them. Yet even if they don’t, we will do it anyway because it was never about us; it will forever and always be about the children who follow in our stead.

We have been given the greatest opportunity to live up to our names: man and woman, male and female, mother and father. In ancient Hebrew, the letters that make up “man” spell “hand of fire.” A real man is a servant, steward, and champion who uses his hands of fire to protect us. The letters that make up “woman” spell “breath of fire.” A real woman is a life-giver, spiritual warrior, and stabilizer who uses her breath of fire to protect the children. In 2024, we rose together and showed the world the true meaning of gender.

We didn’t bow.

We didn’t shrink back.

We rose to the call of the day.

And though the battle is not over, we will win.

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Jennifer Strickland is the founder of URMore.org, and author of “I Am A Woman: Taking Back Our Name.“

The views expressed in the piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.