The coronavirus pandemic has suddenly brought the importance of biological differences between men and women into stark relief and common conversation. For example, doctors have noted that due to differences between the sexes, such as females’ additional X chromosome, women have successfully defeated the virus much more often than men.
But elsewhere, activists ignore these obvious biological differences, prioritizing political correctness over fairness and truth.
No one knows this better than female track and field athletes in Connecticut, such as Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, and Alanna Smith. Like all athletes, these young women are currently unable to compete because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the pandemic is only a temporary obstacle. If activists such as the American Civil Liberties Union have their way, these girls will face a permanent obstacle to their goals.
Four times, Chelsea has been the fastest girl in a state championship race yet not received the gold medal. Why? Because the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference allows males to compete in women’s sports based on their gender identity. The gold medals that belonged to Chelsea were given to males.
Since 2017, two males who identify as women have taken 15 women’s state championship titles and more than 85 opportunities to advance to the next level of competition that should have gone to Chelsea and other Connecticut girls. If the coronavirus hadn’t canceled most of the spring season, those numbers would likely be even higher. That’s why Selina, Chelsea, and Alanna filed a lawsuit with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom.
Activists at the ACLU and other organizations have repeatedly denied the scientific reality of biological differences between males and females. For example, on International Men’s Day, the organization absurdly proclaimed on Twitter that “Men who get pregnant and give birth are men.”
The ACLU has also applied this anti-scientific nonsense in the women’s sports context. A few weeks ago, Idaho became the first state to enact a law protecting equal opportunities for female athletes by using biological sex to determine participation in women’s sports. Yet the ACLU claimed there was “no data” to support the law, and that “being transgender does not give girls who are trans an inherent advantage over girls who are not.”
That’s false — there is a lot of data. Gregory Brown, who holds a Ph.D. in health and human performance and is full professor of exercise science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, provided an expert declaration in the Connecticut lawsuit detailing that data. For example, Brown notes that males have numerous athletic advantages over women, including higher testosterone levels, greater bone density, greater muscle mass, larger lungs, and different hip structure. No amount of hormone blockers or life-altering surgeries can undo these differences.
Because of these biological differences, there are high school male sprinters who shatter women’s world records every year. Olympic gold medalists Sanya Richards-Ross and Allyson Felix would not have made it into the history books had they been forced to compete against comparably fit and trained male high school athletes. Yet the ACLU would like to require high school female athletes to compete against them if they identified as female.
If these anti-woman, science-denying policies are allowed to persist, males will eventually take more than just women’s state records. They will be competing for professional spots on women’s Olympic teams, and perhaps even for Olympic and world records. In fact, this issue has already spread much further than most people realize, and female athletes in nearly all sports and nearly all levels of competition have been harmed.
We all hope the coronavirus pandemic is over soon. Once it is, male athletes will again be able to experience the thrill of victory and enjoy the athletic opportunities they dream about. Hopefully, we can secure full protections for every hardworking female athlete, too, so that their opportunities can become more than just dreams.
Christiana Holcomb is legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (@AllianceDefends) and represents three female athletes and their mothers in a federal lawsuit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.
