'What is a Woman?' and Gender War Tribalism

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss Matt Walsh’s film What Is a Woman? and how it reflects a deeper tribalism about sex and gender roles within the so-called culture wars and our current political climate.

Among the topics covered:

How Walsh’s film is much more propaganda than a sincere documentary;
Why appeals to common sense can’t settle questions of sex and gender;
Walsh’s appeal to the Maasai tribe reveals a mentality that wants to return to a more primitive view of gender roles;
How Walsh’s “documentary” lacks any genuine concern for truth;
Walsh’s appeal to tribal views of gender roles as rooted in religiosity;
How Walsh’s appeal to traditional gender roles is an attack on an individual’s pursuit of happiness;
Walsh’s disingenuous response to legitimate issues regarding sex and gender;
How both sides in this debate are wrong in their approach human sexuality and gender identity;
“Essentialism,” determinism, and the mind-body dichotomy in relation to gender roles;
Individualism as the antidote to tribalistic, dogmatic thinking about sex and gender.

Mentioned in this podcast and relevant to the discussion is the New Ideal Live podcast episode “Kathleen Stock’s Reasoned Critique of Gender Ideology” with Onkar Ghate, Ben Bayer, and Daniel Schwartz, where they discuss and assess Kathleen Stock’s arguments about what is wrong with contemporary gender ideology.

The podcast was recorded on July 13, 2023. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.