Supreme Court Arguments Exposed the Absurdity of Gender Ideology, by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, Jan 15, 2026

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org.  See full bio.

This week’s oral arguments before the Supreme Court, in cases involving state laws that ban boys from girls’ sports, may prove to be a decisive turning point in the surreal political struggle over gender ideology. The battle is not won, but the momentum has shifted.

Credit Justice Samuel Alito with the question that fully exposed the absurdity of the argument before the court. When a lawyer representing a “transgender” student declined to define what it means to be male or female, Alito asked: “How can a court determine whether there’s discrimination on the basis of sex, without knowing what sex means?”

That question strikes directly at the heart of the case before the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs are challenging state laws that prohibit boys who identify as girls from competing in competitions that are restricted to girls. Their claim is that these laws discriminate on the basis of sex. But how is it possible to discriminate on the basis of sex, if we don’t know what sex is?  …

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