Why Title IX is Important and Why We MUST Protect Women’s Sports
The emperor has no clothes.
Seriously, not a stitch.
Why did that story come to mind when considering the current attack on women and female sports?
Hans Christian Anderson first told the tale of the vain emperor, swindled by weavers claiming their creations were so unusual and delicate that the fabric had magic properties.
Supposedly, those who were foolish or inept couldn’t see the fine cloth – while the intelligent and successful could. Everyone in the leader’s inner circle pretended to see clothes, not wanting to be deemed unworthy.
When the emperor finally paraded through the city to show off his see-through finery, everyone pretended to see magnificent clothing – except one honest child who blurted out, “The Emperor has no clothes!”
That’s what we’re faced with in women’s sports. We are told to believe that men are female because they wish to be. It’s fair to include these trans-women in female sports – because “they” are now female.
But the truth is, the emperor has no clothes, and nobody’s brave enough to say it.
Enter Riley Gaines.
Thankfully, she dares to tell the truth – regardless of the cost.
A hard-working elite college athlete, Gaines was a top swimmer during her senior year at the University of Kentucky. During the NCAA National Championship, she would compete head-to-head in the 200 Freestyle with a swimmer formerly of the Penn State men’s team.
That athlete, formerly Will, now swam on the women’s roster with the new name, Lia Thomas. Standing nearly six foot four, he carried the natural build of an adult male. To most, the problem was obvious.
In the locker room, Gaines and other female swimmers were forced to change in Lia’s presence. She recalls the day of the competition when she and the other girls were chatting and squeezing into their racing suits, “and all of a sudden, it got dead silent. I turn around, and this person’s (Lia) towering over every other person in the locker room, (Lia) drops the clothes…a fully intact male with male genitalia.”
Gaines then began to cover herself, not wanting to change in front of a male. “Almost subconsciously, you just cover…when you see a male with male parts watching you undress,” she explained.
“I thought I was missing something…Why is no one talking about this? Why is a coach not sticking up for us? …Why were we not warned?” Gaines said. “We did not give our consent for this. No one asked us.”1
Though Thomas had been breaking female records in collegiate sports – amazingly, the race ended in a tie, with Gaines and Thomas sharing the win. When it was time for awards, Gaines was quickly told that the trophy must go to Lia. When she asked why Lia would receive the award, she was told it was for photo purposes. Hers would arrive by mail in the coming weeks.
But wait, it gets weirder.
In an unbelievable move, the NCAA nominated Thomas as “Female Athlete of the Year.” Essentially, they thumbed their nose at deserving females who trained all their lives to excel in women’s sports.
Lucky for Thomas, because when swimming among those with similar body construction (males), the athlete’s performance ranked only 554th in the 200.2
The controversy has provided a new platform for Riley – that of a spokesperson and advocate for women’s sports. Listen to her tell her own heroic story on our podcast.
This is the tip of the iceberg regarding the take-down of women’s sports. The list is growing longer with examples of the unjust but celebrated practice of allowing biological males to compete on girls’ teams.
Alanna Smith, a winning track star in her Connecticut high school, was forced to compete against two guys. These transgender “females” now hold 15 women’s championship titles in the state. Alanna has seen her hopes dashed as she can no longer win – no matter how hard she works – when these young men are in the competition. She made her voice heard by filing a complaint with the US Department of Education and speaking openly.3
Avi Silverberg, the head coach for Canada’s powerlifting team, decided to make a point in one of the most creative examples of push-back. He used the official Canadian rules of that sport to highlight the ridiculous realities of current practices in powerlifting. He decided to take on the current champ, a transgender woman, Anne Andres, who has dominated – for obvious biological reasons.
Bearded, musclebound, Silverberg did what was necessary to qualify – he simply said he was a woman. In his 4D chess move, he crushed the transgender champion’s record by nearly 100 pounds and now holds the Canadian women’s powerlifting record.
Surprisingly, though born male, Andres objects to Silverberg’s actions…but why?4
Why Title IX is Important
The 37 words which were once lauded by those who demanded equal opportunities for women are these:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
It’s a relatively simple rule that addresses various aspects of sexual harassment and various on-campus issues often relating to the inclusion of women in education. It opened doors for girls’ access to STEM and engineering programs and other opportunities primarily populated by males.
Most significantly, Title IX boosted women’s athletics, shrouded in the shadow of massive men’s sports programs. Female sports were ill-equipped, less attended, and not profitable. Title IX made ignoring women’s athletics impossible for any school receiving government funds. The result was that girls’ sports began to receive financial and other support comparable to boys’ athletics. The funding, facilities, and fervor affected young female athletes significantly.
In 1972 when President Nixon put pen to paper signing Title IX into law, it started a revolution in women’s sports. Just a few years earlier, in 1966, only 16,000 girls were involved in college athletics.5 In the glow of Title IX’s effects, that number has ballooned female participation to more than 229,000 in 2022.6 The fight to pass Title IX paved the way for a new day for women in America.
Is that day over?
Biden Proposes Troubling Changes to Title IX
The infiltration of biological men into women’s sports has been destructive, but that’s not the only problem. President Biden has big plans to gut Title IX with provisions that will further erode women’s rights.
The new plan changes the word “sex” to “gender identity.” That will not only affect K-12 schools nationwide and colleges, but it also touches more than just sports. It opens locker rooms, bathrooms, housing, and more to this redefinition – away from biological reality – to the new cultural paradigm.
Another change proposed will make it harder for students to mount a defense against false sexual harassment or misconduct accusations. According to Senior Legal Fellow from the Meese Center, Sarah Parshall Perry, Biden’s changes leave “schools with a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ presumption for those accused of harassment or assault, virtually guaranteeing the wrongful punishment of innocent people.”
Biden’s scheme also rolls back free speech protections. And in a final anti-Constitutional move, the religious exemptions for Christian schools and universities were removed without explanation.7
It sounds hopeless, but it’s not. As moms, we can speak up. Our daughters and granddaughters are counting on us. Take a look at our Empower Moms initiative for practical ways to get started.
Riley Gaines holds tightly to her optimism. “My message would just be to not lose hope… Your voice is crucial… We need more voices. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have direct experience competing against a transgender athlete. Think about your future generation, your daughters, and fight this for them.”
Years ago, women stood up demanding fairness – their place in our nation, workforce, and sports. Now feminists, media voices, activists, and politicians have regressed, asking female athletes to bow before men.
These men may subject themselves to radical, dangerous, and mutilating surgeries to remake themselves as women. They may suppress their natural hormones and add new ones.
They have the freedom in America to do so.
We have freedoms too, mamas. Let’s champion our young girls who have trained and sacrificed for their athletic dreams.
If we follow the science, we know the distinct physical attributes of biological sex are not substantially altered after puberty. No matter who wishes it so.
We are told to see clothes where there are none.
The emperor is utterly naked, and American moms can’t remain silent.
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