As humanity has progressed, our problems and struggles have changed. It’s hard to say whether they have changed for the better or for the worse, but one could say that a lot of people are no longer worried about what they are going to eat next or where they are going to sleep. This has led to an epidemic of problem-free people looking for a problem. This epidemic created the infamous Karen, the stereotype of an older woman, typically with blonde short hair, who generally asks for the manager as soon as she walks into any establishment. However, those who look for problems aren’t only Karen’s asking for managers.

Woke culture started as a statement in the African American community (Vox). People wanted to bring awareness to the struggles that African Americans face in a very white America. This rise in awareness was very necessary as George Floyd had just been murdered in Minneapolis. He was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality which led to his death, after an officer kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Systemic racism is a very real problem deeply embedded in this nation’s history. However, issues arise when this attitude of wokeness transitions into other areas of our society.

The spread of wokeness into communities such as the LGBTQ has sparked some seriously interesting debates and discussions. These discussions include topics such as trans people in sports and the use of different pronouns, which is very new to large numbers of people. Pronouns have been around since the creation of language, but they have never been such a focal point of debate. Many people who don’t agree with an indivudual’s preferred pronouns refuse to call them anything but what their biological sex is (girl= she/her, guy= he/him). Other people, especially those in universities in large cities, are very conscious of pronouns and do their best to call people by only their preferred pronouns. In this environment, using every individual’s preferred pronouns can be difficult.  Making mistakes in the past has been fine, but in the world in which we are living pronoun mistakes can cause quite an uproar. Personally, I don’t believe that one should be offended if they are called the wrong pronoun. Obviously, if the person identifies their pronouns and asks to be addressed a certain way you should do your best to respect their wishes, but honest mistakes are bound to happen. 

Another misplaced cause of the woke movement is allowing trans women to compete in women’s sports. A man has a different level of ability physically than a woman does. A study by NCBI shows women were approximately 52% and 66% as strong as the men in the upper and lower body respectively. Just because someone identifies as a woman when they were legally born a man does not mean they have the same body  as a woman or have the same hormones. Men have very high levels of testosterone which at the age of 18 causes a lot of reckless behavior in young males. Women do have small levels of testosterone but nowhere near as much testosterone as men. These levels of testosterone play a role in performance during athletics such as boxing and UFC. These athletics show why trans women should not compete in women’s sports. At the UFC level, women and men are both at the highest level of performance. However, the men have more muscle mass, higher testosterone levels and denser bones. Trans women still have these capabilities although they have technically transitioned into being a woman, creating wildly unfair and dangerous fights which can cause lifelong injuries.  

Joe Rogan, a very famous comedian, podcaster, and UFC announcer is an advocate for not allowing trans-women to compete in most male (physical) sports such as the UFC. Rogan sees the violence of the sport firsthand and has an understanding of the genetic differences in the sexes. Rogan stated, “The (transitioning) operation doesn’t shave down your bone density. It doesn’t change. You look at a man’s hands and you look at a woman’s hands and they’re built different. They’re just thicker, they’re stronger, your wrists are thicker, your elbows are thicker, your joints are thicker. Just the mechanical function of punching, a man can do it much harder than a woman can, period.” These statements enraged trans-athletes and people across the nation. These people don’t realize the ramifications of putting a transitioning man into a cage with a woman. It is basically a death sentence to the woman and is just incorrect as a whole. The wokeness surrounding this topic is based in ignorance. It doesn’t take a doctor to realize there are large differences in men and women. Many of which are physical and in the man’s favor. This fact is something that should not be backed by wokeness, but instead accepted and realized.

Woke culture started as a way to bring awareness to important issues such as racism and sexism in the world, both of which are very prevalent and deeply embedded into society. However, as woke culture spread to other areas of thought it began to lose its roots and become something focused on specific details, not right and wrong. Woke culture can be used as a tool for good, but it can also just be a way to get people in trouble for mistakes they made ten years ago. Knowing this, we must be careful to not act irrationally and look at things from different perspectives so that we do not oversaturate the world with wokeness.