“Gender is a fact.” No. It is not.

How ironic that people who spend a good deal of their life striving for a certain amount of notoriety get upset when they make controversial statements that create controversy. They want to be heard until they say something that should have been left unsaid. They want our attention until they don’t. And we are supposed to know that.

Performers like Dave Chappelle behave in exactly that manner. He spent a great deal of time and energy to achieve a certain level of fame and respect. He has honed his craft so it is an accurate representation of his truth. Its that accuracy that is part of his fame. People believe in his authenticity. People believe he speaks his truth.

He wants to be heard. He worked to make his voice louder than those around him. He wants people to think about what he says, to be moved by what he says. What he has endured to see his dreams through to fruition, I don’t know. But I am a POC, of a certain age living in America. I don’t need to know his story to know he has had to work harder than a Caucasian counterpart to succeed.

So for him to deny he has real influence is disingenuous. For him to reject the notion that he carries some sway in how his fans view the world flies in the face of all that he has worked for. What he says matters to a lot of people. How he views any segment of our population is how people relate to him. It’s how they hear his message.

Contrary to what he believes, gender is not a fact. What it is is an undeniable truth. People have literally put themselves through hell to find the truth of who they are. It just so happens that who they are inside may not match who they appear to be.

Gender is not a fact. Gender is a feeling. To feel like a woman and to feel like a man, are, obviously, two completely different feelings. I don’t know how being a man feels. But it’s not hard to see how profoundly unhappy I would be if I did have those feelings and had to live my life in a woman’s body. Or visa versa.

Beyond being wrong about gender being a fact, Mr. Chappell has chosen to “punch down” to a woman who was dragged into this cosplay of masculinity through no words, or work, of her own. So now we have the situation of two overly successful men insulting, and attempting to denigrate the career of a moderately successful woman.

Dave Chapelle has often said things that make people think, that make people see things in a different way. He has influence and a strong platform that won’t be removed until he steps down. And if what he says makes people think, then he is doing his job well. But if what he says marginalizes people, makes them less than someone else, then he is doing worse than a bad job. He has lost sight of his humanity. He has forgotten what it must have been like to be a marginalized man.

Because gender is not a fact.