What is a Woman?
I unashamedly experienced FOMO last week when the highly anticipated and predicably controversial documentary, What is a Woman? released. Nearly every conservative commentator I follow and news-focused podcast show I listen to was talking about this film. I felt like an outsider trying to get into the “coming out party” of the season, but instead was only getting a sneak peek of what was happening inside. I couldn’t take it anymore and had to see what all the buzz was about so I did something I should have done months ago – I bought a subscription to The Daily Wire.
What is a Woman?, available exclusively through The Daily Wire platform, is a documentary (and also a book) that follows Matt Walsh (conservative political commentator, author, and host of The Matt Walsh Show podcast) as he seeks to answer a hot-button question Americans are not allowed to ask and yet many have no idea how to answer.
What is a Woman? is a deeply informative documentary that accurately covers a wide range of themes surrounding gender identity, including:
- The scientific explanation and differentiation of sex and gender
- The origin of gender-identity
- Gender-affirming care (i.e. therapy, medication, surgery)
- Gender studies
- Public policy (i.e. The Equality Act)
- Women’s rights (i.e. the feminist movement, female-only “spaces” like bathrooms and the future of women’s athletics)
- Differing perspectives on sex and gender as seen throughout culture and global society
- Absolute truth versus subjective truth
The documentary begins with Matt Walsh asking what would seem to be a basic question – What is a woman? To find an answer, he sets off on a journey around the world that involves interviewing health professionals, academics, and ordinary people about what they believe a woman to be. Most of the professionals interviewed at the start of the film include gender-affirming physicians and therapists as well as a university gender studies professor. Walsh asked questions the general public would ponder, which I’m sure was intentional to either captivate the viewer or relate to the viewer who may be desiring an answer to the same or similar question. Furthermore, his questions were asked in a tone that came across as neutral and a manner that displayed genuine interest and dare I say, compassion.
I thought his interviewing skills were inviting and conversational rather than condemning or judgmental. He showed interest in the profession and perspective of the individual he was interviewing but also asked productive and applicable follow-up questions to further understand the “gender expert’s” position. It was interesting to me how the interviewees responded – some became noticeably uncomfortable while others either got angry or refused to further the dialogue. This was upsetting to witness for many reasons – how can we learn, relate, or understand when those who consider themselves professionals won’t engage in constructive conversation on the topic of their profession? SPOILER ALERT: None of those interviewed as gender-affirming were able to provide a concrete answer to Walsh’s question, what is a woman?
The content in What is a Woman? can be a lot to digest at times because the implications of a world promoting gender-identity over biological sex are serious and long-lasting. Perhaps some of the “lighter” fare to enjoy are Walsh’s interviews with average joes and janes on the streets of America and even at a women’s march in D.C. The viewer will quickly see, if they didn’t already know, how unstable a post-modern, morally relativistic world is. Walsh interactions with Americans is amusing to watch unlike the responses to his what is a woman? question which are disappointing to witness.
Even though Matt Walsh’s deadpan, dry humor is entertaining throughout the documentary (and especially during his on-street interactions), the subject matter he’s tackling is no laughing matter.
This became apparent during his interview with Dr. Miriam Grossman, a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has been fighting gender ideology for over a decade. Dr. Grossman boldly spoke the truth about the medical dangers, disasters, and mental illness within the gender identity movement as well as the pervasive sexual abuse and exploitation of children throughout the 20th century and continuing through the present age. In her interview with Walsh, she explained the history of gender ideology (pointing to the toxic influence of Dr. Alfred Kinsey and Dr. John Money) and the lies that have been hidden from the public about the origins of gender identity and the agenda of the gender-affirming movement. It was equally disturbing as it was infuriating, particularly when it came to the studies conducted on children by Dr. Kinsey and Dr. Money.
There are also interviews with those who have been caught in the gender identity trap as well as those who have been silenced in their professional field for speaking truth. One of the individuals is someone I learned of a few years ago and whose voice I have tried to amplify whenever relevant – trans man Scott Newgent, founder of TReVoices. As someone who underwent numerous gender reassignment procedures that caused her body more harm than benefit, Newgent is a powerful witness whose story is unfortunately more common than it is unique. Another one of those individuals is another one of my faves in this space, Dr. Debra Soh – I published a favorable review of her insightful book, The End Gender, last year. Click here to check it out!
I appreciate and respect the amount of time, research, and patience that went into making this documentary and thought it was well-produced, diverse in the content covered, and fair in its presentation. While there is a lot to love about What is a Woman?, my favorite part was Walsh’s time spent with an African tribe and his interview with the tribe’s elder. Without giving too much away, the reactions and responses of this tribe to Walsh’s questions should show Americans just how far gone we have traveled in our quest for progress.
If you’re new to the gender debate, are unfamiliar with the negative effects of redefining sex and gender, or simply want to learn more about sexuality and gender identity, What is a Woman? is the perfect introduction to the topic. As someone who has been studying biblical sexuality for the last decade and gender identity for about 5 years, I thought What is a Woman? adequately and factually communicated the dangers and consequences of a crazed culture hyper-focused on making sexuality and gender one’s sole identity while providing diverse opinions, expertise, and experiences. Bottom line: What is a Woman? is well worth the watch along with the subscription to The Daily Wire (which will grant you access to Candace Owen’s new documentary exposing George Floyd and BLM, releasing June 19th!) – I recommend both!
Yet, perhaps the bigger question that needs answering is one Matt Walsh repeatedly asked when individuals failed to tell him what a woman is – What is truth?
If you watch this documentary and find yourself scratching your head, wondering how we got from the grand design of man and woman coming together to create life to the inability to answer or distinguish what a woman is, the reason is because we live in a world that has exchanged facts for feelings and truth for lies. If the only truth that exists is the truth an individual creates, then who defines what is real? How can something exist and why does it matter?
If we forgo progress and return to inception, if we start seeking actual truth like humans did for millennia before the concept of gender identity was conceived, then maybe we’ll be able to confidently answer what a woman truly is.
The Short List
Release: 2022
Run Time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Audience: Men & Women, 13+**
Trailer: Click here!
How to Watch it: The Daily Wire
*The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
**I watched this documentary with my husband and my 12-year-old daughter. We watched half of the documentary with my 9-year-old daughter as well; even though she has experience with trans individuals and has been age-appropriately informed about the gender-identity movement and agenda, she wasn’t very interested in this movie. I think a lot of it was either over her head or difficult for her to understand. My 12-year-old, however, was very intrigued by this documentary. We paused it many times to discuss certain themes, hear her opinions and answer some of her questions. She thought the documentary is something all teens and young adults should watch. I couldn’t agree with her more.
