We ask Congress and the Administration to affirm Title IX’s long-standing commitment to providing females* with equal experiences and opportunities in competitive sport, and to protecting their safety in contact sports, by permitting recipients of federal funds to continue to operate or sponsor separate athletic teams and events for males and females.
All students should be able to participate in sports, and trans-identified males are no exception. Accommodations can include competing in the men’s category or an “open” category for everyone who is not female. Alternatively, schools and sport governing bodies could create new categories for transgender athletes who wish to compete based on their gender identity, so long as there is no direct competition with females and no overall reduction of female athletes’ right to their share of all participation opportunities and scholarships, as guaranteed by long-standing Title IX regulations. But as a rule, males must not be allowed to breach the immutable-sex boundary that legally constitutes formal, government sanctioned separate-sex sport.
These conditions should apply throughout interscholastic and intercollegiate sport, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. Formal sex-segregation is unnecessary in physical education, intramurals, or recreational sports sponsored by municipalities, schools, and colleges. Sex- segregation rules should not interfere with children’s or adults’ decisions to organize non-competitive, coed sports with any number of female and male participants when the only goal is to have fun.
*We use the words female, male, girl, boy, woman, and man to denote a person’s sex, regardless of their gender identity. We use the word transgender as a term for trans-identified athletes of either sex. We use the term trans-identified males4 to specify the gender identity and sex of males who wish to participate in the female competitive sports category. Trans-identified males includes “transwomen,” “gender-fluid,” “nonbinary,” and any other gender identity that male athletes may adopt.
How You Can Help
Please write to your senators and representative to ask them to support The Equality Act only if it includes an amendment that continues the promise of Title IX – providing males and females with equal sporting opportunities on the basis of biological sex. In addition, The Equality Act should include a new obligation to provide ways to accommodate transgender students so long as those accommodations do not diminish females’ opportunities, financial rewards, nor females’ right to fair, safe, separate sports experiences.
Write Your U.S. Representative
Instructions: Just copy the following message – personalizing as you think appropriate. When ready, CLICK ON THE “FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE” button below which will ask you for your Zip code and guide you to your representative’s official web page. Look for the CONTACT button on that page and paste your message into the email.
SUGGESTED MESSAGE
I am asking my Representative to support legislation that continues the promise of Title IX -- providing males and females with equal sporting opportunities on the basis of biological sex. In addition, such legislation should include a new obligation to accommodate transgender students so long as there is no direct competition with females and no overall reduction of female athletes’ right to their share of all participation opportunities and scholarships, as guaranteed by long-standing Title IX regulations. Please reject the effort to disadvantage females by forcing them to compete against male athletes who identify as girls or women. Competitive sport is one of the few places where biological sex differences matter. Men have greater strength, size, speed, and muscle mass. Men have larger hearts, lungs, hands, feet, and skulls. Women have greater body fat, and it is distributed differently than men’s body fat. These enormous sex differences result in performance advantages for men in almost every sport.
Write to Your Two U.S. Senators
Instructions: Just copy the following message – personalizing as you think appropriate. When ready, CLICK ON “FIND YOUR SENATORS” button below which will ask you to indicate your state and guide you to your each of your senators’ official web pages. Look for the CONTACT button on each page and paste your message into the email.
SUGGESTED EMAIL:
I am asking my Senator to support legislation that continues the promise of Title IX -- providing males and females with equal sporting opportunities on the basis of biological sex. In addition, such legislation should include a new obligation to accommodate transgender students so long as there is no direct competition with females and no overall reduction of female athletes’ right to their share of all participation opportunities and scholarships, as guaranteed by long-standing Title IX regulations. Please reject the effort to disadvantage females by forcing them to compete against male athletes who identify as girls or women. Competitive sport is one of the few places where biological sex differences matter. Men have greater strength, size, speed, and muscle mass. Men have larger hearts, lungs, hands, feet, and skulls. Women have greater body fat, and it is distributed differently than men’s body fat. These enormous sex differences result in performance advantages for men in almost every sport.