Male and Female

I grew up learning that a “hen” was a female domestic fowl. Silly me. In Sweden, it is now code for “we are so insecure with sexuality that we need to confuse everyone else with utter nonsense.”

Just days after International Women’s Day (March 8), a new pronoun—hen—was added to the online version of Sweden’s National Encyclopedia. That new entry defines hen as a “proposed gender-neutral personal pronoun instead of he [han in Swedish] and she [hon].” According to reports, gender neutrality is all the rage in Sweden’s newspaper columns, TV studios, parenting blogs, and feminist websites, as the elites attempt to create an environment free of gender bias. This new pronoun was sparked by the publication of Sweden’s first ever gender-neutral children’s book.

Regardless of Sweden’s insecurity with sexuality, each person is still male or female. He or she. Han or hon. It has been that way since the beginning and will continue to be that way until Christ comes again in glory.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them. [Genesis 1:27]

Stop the silliness, Sweden. Get back to your Christian roots. Repent of the sinners you are by nature and the self-absorption you practice daily. Receive Christ’s full and free forgiveness in Word and Sacrament. And then live out your God-given vocations as either male or female, focusing on the real problems and challenges and opportunities before us in this messed up world!