Boys in girls’ locker rooms. Men competing in women’s sports. Boys becoming girls and men becoming mothers. In her new book, I Am A Woman: Taking Back Our Name, Jennifer Strickland addresses the toxic woke ideology currently permeating K-12 schools, universities, and the workplace.

“The disregard for biology is irresponsible,” Strickland writes, “but the disregard for the female experience is inexcusable.”

Strickland carefully examines how the titles “woman,” “mother,” “wife,” and “daughter” describe the God-given roles of females and femininity. The 282-page book isn’t the easiest read, but it’s an important one — especially if women are to understand how radical gender identity ideology seeks to destroy their womanhood and undermine their female experiences.

Biblical Gender Identity

“I believe there is a ‘biblical gender identity’ that brings out the best in who we are,” Strickland writes. She used biblical Hebrew and ancient pictographs to research the definitions of “woman” and other female titles in order to explain exactly what it means to be a woman from a biblical perspective.

Important to note: Strickland uses “gender” and “biological sex” interchangeably.

“Once the first man and woman are created in His likeness, He ordains them with purpose and biological sex,” she writes. Later, she adds: “It is not good to reject your gender, because that reflects the God who made you in His likeness and His image.”

She points out that in Hebrew — as in all modern-day Romance languages — words are gendered. For example, “image” is male and “likeness” is female.

So, when people say God made a mistake in creating humans as male and female, they “substitute light for darkness, good for evil.” When we call something bad that God calls good, we “suffer because we worship ourselves; we define what is good and ignore what He says about it.”

Strickland also discusses gender dysphoria and how to form a healthy identity based on God’s perspective. “God doesn’t lie to people and affirm their feelings, equating them with identity; He speaks what is not as if it were so.” In addition, she explains the “names” of men’s roles within the family (son, father) versus women (mother, daughter) and the responsibilities of each from a biblical perspective.

Questionable Conclusions?

However, some of her conclusions about women’s roles are questionable. For example, she writes that Eve was not made from one of Adam’s ribs, but fully half of Adam, contrary to Scripture (Gen. 2:22–23). “This misunderstanding that woman came from a single rib may have contributed to the historical diminishing of her worth,” she writes.

She describes the garments that God made for Adam and Eve as “garments of priests.” Therefore, she concludes, “When they walk out of the Garden to face the world together, they are the world’s first priests.” There is a rather odd statement, given that they were the only humans on Earth at the time, and there is no support for it in Scripture.

Strickland writes that translators misinterpreted the Apostle Paul when he wrote that women should not preach. Instead of all women remaining silent, she states that Paul meant only that harlots had to remain silent in church. Many evangelicals disagree over the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34.

Finally, in her discussion on homosexuality and gender confusion, she says, “They are people just like us, and if they want to spend their lives loving someone in a legally bound commitment, they deserve legal protection like we all do.” This is a rather leftist argument that makes no mention of loving people by telling them the biblical truth that they will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9).

Still Worth a Read

Despite these conclusions, the book is still worth the read. Strickland rejects gender ideology as a thought reform movement because accepting that places Christian beliefs directly under fire.

“This is the key point we must face,” she writes. “Philosophical beliefs are no longer guaranteed protection under the law. That includes religious beliefs. When people are silenced, shunned, and canceled for their beliefs, we are experiencing brainwashing and mind control.”

What’s the antidote? The restoration of the family. “We need the strong shoulders of men and the open eyes of women to teach the next generation the true purpose of biological sex and gender, meaning masculinity and femininity and the beauty they behold.

“It is up to us to know how to answer the question, ‘What is a woman?’”

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is a senior editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.