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Opinion:
By Anonymous Female Athlete
In a landmark move, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has sided with female athletes at the University of Pennsylvania [ [link removed] ] who were forced to compete against Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer born a biological male. For women across the country—athletes and non-athletes alike, this is not just a victory, but a reminder that Title IX still matters.
Title IX, enacted in 1972, was a revolutionary federal law that banned sex-based discrimination in education, including athletics. For the first time, women were guaranteed equal access to scholarships, teams, and resources, providing not just fairness, but a chance at equal opportunity. There was no greater testament to this than its impact on female sports.
By the time compliance with Title IX became mandatory in 1978, the law had already made an impact on sports. In a cover story that June, TIME reported [ [link removed] ] that six times as many high school girls were participating in competitive high school sports than in 1970. (History.com [ [link removed] ])
In our generation, it is easy to lose sight that not so long ago, women's sports were certifiably nonexistent. Many of us grew up being chauffeured from field to court, participating in rec leagues, high school sports teams, and clubs. Oftentimes, the mothers who drove us did not have those same opportunities.
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In fact, as recently as the 1970s, women were literally barred from running marathons. Officials claimed our bodies couldn’t handle the distance. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer had to run the Boston Marathon under a disguised name, and was physically assaulted by a race official trying to drag her off the course.
“He had shamed me so much in front of the whole world,” [ [link removed] ] Switzer said, referring to the official who tried to physically pull her out of the race.
Sound familiar?
According to three UPenn female swimmers filing a lawsuit against UPenn, they were allegedly told by the administration that if they spoke out with concerns about the fairness of competing against a biological male, they would, more or less, be ruined. [ [link removed] ]
We have seen young women lose out on titles, scholarships, and podium spots because they were forced to compete against biological males who identify as female. The science is not controversial: biological men, even after hormone therapy, retain physical advantages in strength, lung capacity, and muscle mass. In competitive sports, where fractions of a second matter, that difference makes all the difference.
For a long time, women speaking up have been ignored or vilified, just like when they fought for space on the court, field, running route, classroom, and voting booth.
But thanks to the perseverance of current female sports advocates, the federal government has finally acknowledged what many have been afraid to say out loud: when you allow biological men into women’s sports, it is the women who pay the price; a fact the majority agrees with, according to an NBC poll. [ [link removed] ]
In recent months, there has been a hopeful shift in the narrative about biological men in female sports spaces. Superbowl ads [ [link removed] ], a thriving and growing female sports media [ [link removed] ] division (majorly driven by WNBA star Caitlin Clark), and Tuesday’s Title IX verdict, there seems to be an empowering movement happening for women and girls.
This is not about denying anyone’s humanity or dignity. It’s about boundaries. We can—and must—respect everyone’s identity without compromising fairness and safety for girls and women.
Title IX is one of the greatest civil rights achievements in modern American history. We owe it to the next generation of athletes to defend it. That means standing firm when it comes to preserving women’s spaces – including sports.
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