Last Thursday, the Department of Education released a new proposal that will require schools to allow elementary-aged students to compete in sports according to their gender identity as opposed to their biological sex.
For high school and college-level athletics, the department will allow for some limitations. If finalized, the proposal will become enshrined under Title IX, legislation originally enacted to protect women’s educational rights. On the same day, Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has publicly opposed male-bodied athletes in women’s sports, was ambushed by activists and barricaded in a classroom for three hours after giving a talk at San Francisco State University.
WHAT THE NHL PRIDE MOVEMENT GETS WRONGGaines’s terrifying experience reflects the sad state of free speech, critical thinking, and scientific literacy on today’s university campuses. There are only two sexes, and identifying as a woman doesn’t erase the physical advantages associated with undergoing male puberty. Regardless of age, male-bodied athletes should not be competing in women’s and girls’ sports. For boys with gender dysphoria who haven’t completed puberty, affirming their self-identity as female is unhelpful because there is a high probability that they will outgrow how they feel.
I am especially disappointed to see some of my former colleagues in the field of sex research parroting social justice talking points because, as one can only surmise, they are sympathetic to transgender issues or because doing so helps to further their career.
What message does this send to young girls who have aspirations of becoming professional athletes, who will have insurmountable odds stacked against them, should they be forced to compete against a male body? Critics have argued that women should boycott their sport if someone who is not female has been given the green light to compete against them. In my opinion, this may send an effective message, but it doesn’t address the root of the problem. It shouldn’t fall on female athletes to forfeit their competitions to have a fair chance at opportunities that are rightfully theirs.
As someone who once considered myself to be on the Left, I am appalled and disgusted at how, time and again, gender ideology supports and revels in the denigration and trivialization of women. Women’s rights are being trampled every time a policy prioritizing self-declared identity over biological sex is supported. Readers who share my concern must move beyond feeling fearful of labels like "transphobic," "hateful," and "racist." These false ideas cannot control us.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.