The Bible tells of Philip the apostle, traveling from Jerusalem to Gaza when he meets an Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch asks Philip, “What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36). Philip baptizes him, and the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.”
In case you are unaware, a eunuch is someone, typically born male, who was castrated. In antiquity, this may or may not have been voluntary. Because the eunuch was castrated, especially if this happened young, their body would have developed differently.
It’s possible that their body would be less hairy. Their voice might have been pitched higher, and their features might have looked different from those of a typical
male. So here is someone who is a foreigner, a person of a darker complexion and skin tone, and a person whose anatomy no longer matches his birth identity. Yet Philip still includes him; baptizes him, even.
The ploy of anti-trans outrage
There were 35 anti-trans bills in 2024 and30 in 2025 during our General Assembly session. In fact, many of our lawmakers' entire platforms were built off the premise of “no men in women’s sports.” It’s not just the lawmakers, though. Anti-trans influencers are making millions using an “Outrage as Business” model. Riley Gaines, a Middle Tennessee resident and gifted swimmer, though now retired, has made most of her money through anti-trans activism.
Even the way they market it as “Men in Women’s Sports” is a ploy to make you upset. These aren’t men. They are children, preteens and teenagers.
The numbers don't match the outrage
Did you know that of the 510,000 NCAA athletes in America,fewer than 10 are trans? That is far less than 2%. Similarly, one report identified that onlyfive openly transgender athletes are competing on girls’ teams in U.S. schools across grades K-12. There are roughly 8 million high school athletes in America. Assuming that half of those athletes are female, that means that five transgender athletes among 4 million athletes are participating on teams with cisgender girls.
They are making millions off a trumped-up outrage, and we are giving it to them willingly. Yet, the roads are still terrible, traffic is terrible, the housing market is terrible, gas is high and morale is low. Meanwhile, an entire demographic of people is being targeted for just trying to mind their own business and live their lives as they see fit. Whether you understand or even affirm the trans experience or not, I hope that you can see the weight we have disproportionately given this issue.
Why inclusion shouldn’t require understanding
One of the most striking things about the story I mentioned above is that Philip likely didn’t understand this eunuch's experience. He likely didn’t know what this person had been through. He simply treated a stranger as a neighbor. When the eunuch asked Philip to baptize him, he did so without question. Philip didn’t understand him, but he included him.
Perhaps you don’t know anybody who’s trans, but the trans folks I know are teachers, hospice workers and police officers. They are upstanding citizens who just want a better life for themselves and their neighbors. I pray we reexamine where we put our time, energy and resources and instead build a Tennessee that is for all.
Rev. Wesley King is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a doctoral student in public policy.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee, why are we so focused on transgender people? | Opinion
