What is a woman?
The obvious answer is Yes! We are asking that question.
What is more interesting, however, is not that it is being asked — it apparently doesn’t have an answer.
This is a question that, until very recently in human history, was rarely asked. When it was asked, the normal response (after a quick glance to assure ourselves that no woman was within ear-shot) was to respond, “No. What is a woman?” and await the punchline.
The trouble seems to be that there is a small but vocal movement that advocates that for, say, Person A to have the same rights as Person B, they must be indistinguishable from each other.
I can’t help but think that if two people (or two groups of people) are indeed indistinguishable, then any question of equality becomes definitional, thereby moot.
In order to have a meaningful conversation about “equality” or “equal rights” among people (or groups of people), it must be because the people or groups have distinguishing characteristics. The whole point of the conversation is that rights are (or should be) independent of any of those characteristics, no matter what they may be.
The debate seems to be that some of those characteristics can have other, real-world consequences. For…
