Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson failed to explain the term “woman” throughout her confirmation process on Tuesday.
She said she is “not a biologist.” Later, USA Today surpassed Jackson by saying even a “capable scientist” will be unable to “give a conclusive answer.”
She Can’t Do It
“Marsha Blackburn challenged Ketanji Brown Jackson to describe ‘woman,'” according to an essay posted in USA Today on Thursday.
According to USA Today writer Alia E. Dastagir, “science suggests there’s no simple answer,” and even scientists lack an “adequate way to properly describe” what a woman is.
“Scientists, gender law academics, and biological philosophers felt Jackson’s reaction was respectable, albeit somewhat deceptive,” adds the author.
“They say Jackson’s suggestion that biology could help answer Blackburn’s query is useful, but they also point out a skilled scientist would not be able to provide a definitive answer.”
My thoughts on the questioning of Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson #TheFive pic.twitter.com/YKTyNKZuDc
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) March 24, 2022
“Experts agree there is no good way to describe what makes a woman, and there is a lot of variance among the billions of women on the earth,” she noted.
Rebecca Jordan-Young, a so-called “feminist researcher” at Barnard College who studies “gender, sexuality, wealth, and racism,” emphasizes how difficult it is to define a woman in the article.
“There isn’t a singular ‘physiological’ description of a woman,” she explains.
“The issue of ‘what is a female’ does not have a single biological solution.” Jordan-Young also claimed there’s no need to “answer” Sen. Blackburn’s inquiry, accusing her of not doing enough for female issues.
Can You Understand Any of This?
“Perhaps it will make logical sense to participate their questionnaire about who can qualify as a woman once Blackburn and the remainder of her caucus support full reproductive rights for women,” Jordan-Young stated.
Ketanji Brown Jackson is a judge who seems to think the Constitution is an evolving document–she should take a lesson on this from Calvin Coolidge. pic.twitter.com/tpx6JmoleO
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) March 25, 2022
The post also includes a quote from Harvard researcher Sarah Richardson, who specializes in the history of science, as well as “studies of women, gender, and sexuality,” who believes science cannot adequately define what a woman is.
“As is often the situation, science is unable to resolve what are essentially social issues,” says Richardson. “In any scenario of sex classification, whether in a legal sense or science, it is vital to build a context-specific explanation of sex.”
Juliet Williams, a UCLA women’s studies teacher, is quoted as saying the definition of “woman” has been debated for centuries.
Williams says the “longstanding notion of white supremacy” has been accountable for “denying acknowledgment as women to black women” in history.
The piece then goes on to discuss transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Thomas already has nearly broken Ivy League records, despite competing in varsity athletics as a woman, citing Wheaton College women’s studies teacher Kate Mason as criticizing Thomas’ achievements.
“Many people are born male, have greater levels of testosterone, and still can not make a Division I swim team,” Mason explained.
