Title IX was signed into law on June 23, 1972, almost 50 years ago, giving women equal opportunities and representation in all sports, from elementary school through college. The supporters of Title IX clearly recognized that women should have equal opportunity to compete in sports.

They knew men and women are physically, emotionally, and mentally different. For example, men generally have stronger upper bodies, while women usually have stronger lower bodies. Men have larger lung capacities and hearts. Also, women have an extra layer of fat for childbearing.

Because of the differences between men and women, it would not be fair or reasonable to have them competing against each other. A man who puts in the same amount of effort and hours will always be stronger than a woman who does the same. It’s not inequality, it’s biology. The purpose of Title IX was to protect women from these differences and allow them to excel in their own sports.

In full disclosure, I am active in athletics. I am a three-sport high school varsity athlete (swim, soccer, and track), have played club soccer for five years, am a summer swim coach, assistant coach for a boys’ club soccer team, and work out at the gym regularly. I have a substantial experience with athletics, and not just female sports. I have trained with, and coached, both boys and girls. Once boys reach about age 10, they are almost certainly stronger than their female counterparts.

When I go to the gym, my male counterparts always lift more than me, as well they should. They are male and their bodies are built for it. My body was built with a different purpose in mind.

Lately, some biological men have been identifying as women and then crushing women in their sports. This is a blatant violation of Title IX. While these men may claim they are women, there is a lot more to being a woman than long hair, estrogen, makeup, and dresses. Taking hormones does not suddenly change your body into a woman. At the end of the day, you still have the genetic makeup and physicality of a man. The shoulders are still broader, and the hips are smaller. Taking hormones does not magically alter your muscle tone, body build, and bone density into a genetic female. The British Journal of Sports Medicine recently found that biologic men taking hormones are still stronger and faster than their female counterparts.

The biologic man who now goes by Lia Thomas, whose birth name is Will Thomas, has been the focal point of the women’s sports debate. Thomas recently finished his senior year of college at the University of Pennsylvania as a student-athlete. He is a swimmer. For three years, Thomas competed on the men’s team. Then he decided to transition into a woman and compete on the women’s team. Keep in mind that Thomas was not a star swimmer on the UPenn men’s team. Because he was swimming for an Ivy League school, he was fast, but not a super-star. On the men’s team, Thomas ranked nationally “554^th in the 200 freestyle, 65^th in the 500 freestyle, and 32^nd in the 1650 freestyle”. However, when competing against women, Thomas suddenly became ranked “fifth, first, and eighth in those respective events”.

At the NCAA 2021 championships, Thomas (competing for the women’s team as Lia Thomas) won the 200 freestyle 6.1 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, a female. In the swim world, that is an eternity for a championship race. Most championship race finishes are within milliseconds of each other, not six whole seconds. Face it, Thomas won because he had an advantage over the females in the pool, the advantage being Thomas is genetically male. He trained his entire life as a male, full of testosterone. That training and muscle memory remain present even if  testosterone levels are pharmacologically lowered.

Genetically born men competing as women were also present in the 2021 Summer Olympics. Laurel Hubbard (biological male competing in women’s weightlifting for New Zealand) and Chelsea Wolf (biological male competing for the United States of America BMX women’s team as an alternate) competed on women’s teams, despite being born as men. This has also leaked into the NFL, which just signed its “first openly transgender cheerleader”.

Even the high school level has been affected. From 2017 to 2019 at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), a track competition, two biologic males won 15 girls’ state track championship titles.

These males, from all age levels, are not only emotionally and psychologically harming women, but are also a threat physically. Yes, all the sports I have listed are non-contact, but biologic males are also competing as women in high-contact sports, such as rugby, wrestling/martial arts, and soccer, among others. For example, Kelly Morgan, a British male, has a teammate who bragged to BBC sports about a time Morgan “folded an opponent ‘like a deckchair’”. Excuse me?

Women are not only losing to men, but are also becoming injured. Allowing biologic men to compete in women’s sports shows a dangerous and wrongful disrespect for women’s health and wellbeing.

If feminism was always about equality, where are the feminists now? Shouldn’t they be out there, protecting women’s rights under the Title IX progress established in 1972? Feminists are only vocal when it is convenient and useful for the left. This fight is on the shoulders of women athletes, and it has been made clear that feminists will not help with this fight.

Currently, only nine US states have passed legislation to protect women’s sports. We must take a stand, say no, and fight for ourselves. We need our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and brothers to help us fight. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”. We must ensure our future daughters, granddaughters, and nieces have the opportunity to compete against other females on a level playing field.

Click here to sign the ‘Save Women’s Sports’ petition.

Click here to demonstrate if your state has passed legislation to protect women’s sports.

*****

Ellie Fromm is currently serving at The Prickly Pear as a Journalism Intern. Ms. Fromm is entering her senior year of high school and has been home schooled since preschool.