The leader of a prominent women’s organization proposed during a recent congressional hearing that it would be beneficial for girls to “learn to lose gracefully” while competing against boys who claim to be girls.
National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) President and CEO of the Fatima Goss Graves expressed her views while giving testimony before the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services. The hearing, titled “The Importance of Protecting Female Athletics and Title IX,” provided a platform for discussing the significance of safeguarding female athletics and Title IX.
“Trans students participate in sports for the same reasons as [other] kids,” Graves claimed. “Because it is fun, because it creates belonging, community, because it teaches so much about persistence, leadership and discipline, and last, they learn to lose gracefully, hopefully, and often, win with dignity hopefully.”
“We at NWLC know unequivocally that trans women and girls, and intersex women and girls, are women and girls who deserve the full benefits and opportunities intended by Title IX,” she added.
Title IX is a federal statute that effectively outlaws any form of discrimination based on sex in institutions that receive federal funding. A dispute on the statute arose earlier this year when the Department of Education released a proposal in April to prohibit schools from excluding men from women’s sports.
In response, 25 US governors signed a letter expressing their urge for the Biden administration to abandon or delay the proposal. The majority of the governors, specifically twenty-two out of twenty-five, were male. The letter was signed by three female governors, including Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. These three governors are the only Republicans among the 12 female governors in the United States.
These reports and others indicate that women, especially those in positions of authority, are promoting gender ideology in the United States and targeting women who express opposition to it.
During the congressional hearing last month, the committee also received testimony from Riley Gaines, a swimming athlete who achieved a fifth-place tie in the NCAA freestyle championship alongside an individual who identifies as “Lia” Thomas and asserts their gender as female. Subsequently, Gaines has emerged as a fervent proponent opposing gender dogma and has actively worked to discourage men from participating in women’s sports.
However, it was a female legislator who criticized Gaines for her perspectives at the hearing. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) characterized Gaines as “transphobic” due to their opposition to the inclusion of men in women’s sports. After Gaines retaliated and accused Lee of being a misogynist, Lee attempted to expunge the athlete’s comments from the official record.
The support for gender ideology is not solely derived from women in positions of authority, however.
Gaines seems to be one of a minority of women who hold a dissenting view on gender ideology. Based on a survey conducted by Pew Research in 2022, it was found that 62% of women believe “there is a great deal or a fair amount of discrimination against transgender people.” Just 52% of men are in agreement. Women exhibit a higher tendency than males to express the belief that it is of significant importance to utilize an individual’s “new” name or “preferred pronouns.”
Additional polls conducted in various “democracies” including Australia, England, and Canada have also revealed that a significant number of female athletes endorse the participation of men in women’s sports and do not perceive males as having a “unjust advantage” over females. Many males hold a firm opposing viewpoint.
According to a former teammate, during Lia Thomas’ participation in the NCAA championship for the University of Pennsylvania, the university’s administration, led by President Elizabeth Magill, instructed the team not to engage with the media.
The NCAA allows men to join women’s teams if they have had hormone replacement therapy and provide their testosterone levels. Although the majority of the NCAA’s leadership consists of men, it is worth noting that the individuals responsible for overseeing “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” specifically in relation to men’s involvement in women’s sports, are women. These individuals are Felicia Martin, the Senior Vice President of Inclusion, Education & Community Engagement, and Kim Oren, the Vice President of Human Resources.
In addition, it is worth noting that 10 out of the 16 members of the NCAA’s Board of Governors, who are responsible for implementing these policies, are women. Out of the seven voting members, the majority, specifically five, are women.
During a press conference in June, EWTN White House Correspondent Owen Jensen raised a question to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre regarding the concerns of parents over their daughters’ safety when playing sports with boys. In response, Jean-Pierre criticized Jensen, saying his suggestion that “transgender kids are dangerous” as “irresponsible.”
According to recent reports, women have the ability to effectively counteract totalitarian gender ideology.
In the UK, a women’s fishing team successfully forced a policy change last month. As a result, a male member of the team was ejected and a new rule was established requiring men to compete separately. This decision was made after half of the team refused to participate in the competition. The revelation was announced shortly after a British women’s soccer team effectively forced out a male competitor by declining to participate in the game.
