Three Connecticut female track athletes had gained the support of the Trump Department of Justice in their lawsuit to ban biological males from competing against girls in athletic competitions, but the Biden administration has since removed that support.
Quick Facts
After the Biden administration announced it was removing its support for the girls’ lawsuit, one of the high school litigants, Alanna Smith, said she was disappointed by the decision. Smith joined the suit after placing behind a biological male in a track meet.
Smith said she would have finished second in the 200-meter race as a freshman if it had not been for a biological male being allowed to run, which caused her to place third. She said that she and the other two girls “have worked really hard to get our stories out there to get people to realize that fairness needs to be restored in our sport and in all other women’s sports.”
Since 2017, two males who identify as female have taken 15 women’s state championship titles in Connecticut.
When asked what she would say to people who claim it’s only fair for transgenders to compete as females, Smith said that people should,
“realize that a lot of biological females have missed out on making it to meets that really matter like states and regionals, and the transgender athletes have taken spots on the podium that belong to biological females. We train for so many days a week, so many hours, to be able to be the best in our state and the best in our region, and these biological males are just taking it away from us, and we really deserve it.”
Smith’s attorney Christiana Holcomb said the issue of legal protection for women isn’t restricted to this case, explaining,
“Even now, the Biden administration is pushing for the so-called Equality Act, which ignores the physical differences between men and women and threatens women’s privacy, women’s homeless shelters, and yes, even women’s sports on a national level for female athletes like Alanna … Title IX was designed to ensure that girls like Alanna have a fair and level playing field. We want to move forward and we want to see women’s sports protected across the country.”
Last year Holcomb said,
“Forcing [biological females] to compete against [biological] boys isn’t fair, shatters their dreams, and destroys their athletic opportunities. Having separate boys’ and girls’ sports has always been based on biological differences, not what people believe about their gender, because those differences matter for fair competition.”
The Trump administration supported the case. Attorney General William Barr’s filing stated,
“Under [the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s] interpretation of Title IX, however, schools may not account for the real physiological differences between men and women. Instead, schools must have certain biological males — namely, those who publicly identify as female — compete against biological females. In so doing, CIAC deprives those women of the single-sex athletic competitions that are one of the marquee accomplishments of Title IX.”
The Biden administration disagreed, however, saying, “The government has reconsidered the matter and hereby notifies the Court that it withdraws its Statement of Interest.”
Some proponents of allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological females say that there is no biological advantage because hormone treatments cause higher levels of testosterone to disappear. That argument also assumes each transgender athlete has begun cross-sex hormone treatments and ignores the fact that those treatments may have been administered after puberty.
Others say attempts to bar transgender athletes from competing against biological females is discrimination and transphobic.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, D, agrees with the latter sentiment, stating, “Transgender girls are girls, and every woman and girl deserves protection against discrimination. Period.”
While the move by the Biden administration is not a surprise to anyone, it should be recognized as a “line in the sand” moment. The Democratic Party has claimed to be the champion of women for many years and continually lob charges of sexism at Republicans. Democrats have made it clear that they no longer feel the need to pander to women and their new allegiance lies with the transgender movement.
If you are a feminist who happens to read this, please take note of the Biden administration’s decision. Women and girls pay the price because of the Democratic Party’s commitment to whoever is behind the transgender ideology. This decision could not be further from providing opportunities for women. These girls are not only denied the honor of a hard-fought victory on the track, but they could also be denied college scholarships or other future athletic opportunities because a biological male took their place.
The Biden administration has made it clear with their support of the Equality Act and other measures promoting transgender ideology that they are just fine with women and girls being forced to share bathrooms, locker rooms, and the winner’s podium with biological men; that these policies also happen to place women in physical danger or make them uncomfortable is irrelevant to those supporting transgender rights.
This is not about hate for transgenders, it is about the rights of women and girls. If a biological male athlete has started puberty, then that athlete has an unfair advantage in athletic competition over biological females. Period.
