Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC), alongside the Manhattan Institute, on Monday filed an amicus brief before the en banc Sixth Circuit to challenge one of Ohio’s largest school district’s policies that require students to profess the belief that men can become women, including by using “preferred pronouns.” IWLC argues the school board’s pronoun policies violate the First Amendment by forcing many students to speak contrary to their beliefs that sex is binary, and women are biologically distinct from men. The brief emphasizes that using biologically accurate sex-based pronouns is necessary to preserve females’ private spaces.

In Parents Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District, the pro-parent group sought relief from the policies, arguing they violate the First Amendment. The District Court for the Southern District of Ohio denied the pro-parent group’s request for a preliminary injunction, concluding that biologically accurate pronouns create “a threat of physical harm” among other things. On appeal, a Sixth Circuit panel upheld the decision of the district court, and Parents Defending Education has filed for a rehearing before the entire Sixth Circuit.

“Forcing the use of the biologically incorrect pronouns is the first step towards allowing males to intrude on females’ private spaces, including locker rooms, restrooms, social clubs, and living quarters,” IWLC says in the brief. For example, in IWLC’s case Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa leadership asserted that “woman” in Kappa’s bylaws meant “man.” The brief continues, “Using female pronouns for males endorses and reinforces the harmful falsehood… that the term ‘women’ can mean men. Males who refer to themselves as female then can and do insist on access to all girls’ and women’s spaces and programs.”

IWLC argues that saving female pronouns for females preserves women’s sports by dismantling the idea that some males are females. In contrast, the Ohio school board’s “policies would lead to the normalization of boys in girls’ spaces, severely harming those girls,” IWLC concludes in the brief.

“In any society that respects female empowerment, girls should be permitted to acknowledge biological sex in schools, which is not only in line with reality, but is necessary to preserve sex-based spaces, rights, and privacies. Schools cannot force us to play the pronoun game, which only leads to the dissolution of protections for women,” said May Mailman, director of Independent Women’s Law Center. 

“There are two sexes—male and female—and this shouldn’t be a matter of controversy. Contrary to popular myth, no one can change his or her sex, and the movement to erase the legal significance of sex, including the use of biologically incorrect pronouns, leads to the erasure of women,” said Beth Parlato, senior legal advisor of Independent Women’s Law Center. 

“I’m delighted to partner with IWF on this brief. Schools should simply not be punishing common word usage based on deeply held personal beliefs and scientific evidence,” said Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. Mr. Shapiro was recently investigated by his employer, Georgetown University, for speaking on a matter of important public debate and is an advocate for free speech.

A copy of the amicus brief can be found here.

*****

This article was published by the Independent Women’s Forum and is reproduced with permission.