Biden administration turns Title IX inside-out

Yesterday, the Biden administration announced that they intend to turn Title IX inside-out. Specifically, Department of Education will interpret sex in such a way that will overwrite biological sex with gender identity. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, "This is really clarity around how we interpret it. We need to make sure we are supporting all students in our schools." But the language of “all students” misleads. This is a stealth-overhaul of Title IX—and girls will lose out.

What is (or was) Title IX? Here’s the gist: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Since men and boys have never been excluded from participation in educational programs and activities on the basis of sex, Title IX was written to address the unmet needs of women and girls, including the provision of female-only spaces—like restrooms and locker rooms—and female-only sports, so that female athletes can compete fairly and safely.

Title IX doesn’t discriminate on the basis of transgender status. Instead, Title IX allows schools to make distinctions on the basis of biological sex, in settings where sex matters, with the goal of boosting the inclusion of females in academics and athletics.

Now—in the name of trans inclusion—Biden wants Title IX to redefine sex as a matter of gender identity, not as a biological reality. Here’s why that’s a problem: When we talk about the rights and needs of women and girls, we're not talking about gender identity. We're talking about sex.

Women and girls around the world, throughout history, have faced discrimination and exploitation due to our reproductive role and the unique capabilities and vulnerabilities that go along with it. On the basis of sex, American women have been denied the right to vote, inherit, get a divorce, seek custody of our children, access birth control and abortion, own credit cards… you get the picture. We couldn’t just identify as people deserving of basic rights. Our sex mattered. Women and girls had to disguise themselves as men to access higher ed. Girls in the United States still find their educations disrupted by menstruation, harassment, assault, and pregnancy. That matters.

Women and girls have often been treated like small, defective males. But policies and structures crafted with men in mind—from medicine to employment to product design—fail women the moment our lives and bodies diverge from the ‘default male.’ For women and girls, an egalitarian society must recognize our sex and make accommodations for us, especially with regards to our reproductive role and how it shapes our lives. Ignoring our sex—or confusing sex with gender identity—will never meet the needs of women and girls.

Title IX 2.0 can pretend sex equals gender identity, but reality won't play along. Sex will still matter. What's at issue is whether Title IX will be able to address sex—or whether Title IX will undo progress women and girls have made, while making it more difficult to identify and fairly adjudicate conflicts that arise.

Since the Biden administration wants to circumvent public debate over Title IX, let's take a minute to talk about one of the clearest conflicts: sports. 

To hear the Biden administration, trans activists, and mainstream media outlets (including this one) tell it, there's only one side to this issue: the feelings of trans (male) athletes. (There’s only one way to talk about trans athletes in sports, too.)

Take this article from The Guardian, which further muddies the discussion by referring to male athletes as "transgender females" and referring to female athletes "non-transgender girls.”

Forget concerns about safety and fair play. Sportswriter Jonathan Liew accused advocates for female-only sports of being driven by "prejudice and ignorance.” Besides, even if trans athletes completely dominated women's sports, Liew sees no issue: "Why would that be bad? Really? Imagine the power of a trans child or teenager seeing a trans athlete on the top step of the Olympic podium. In a way, it would be inspiring."

"Sometimes we forget that there are bigger things than sport," Liew concludes, high-mindedly. When it comes to fairness and safety for female athletes, a higher cause summons. Losing gracefully is an art. Especially for girls.

As far as girls' dreams go, who cares? Proponents of mixed-sex sports reduce female athletes to props. You get the sense many think women and girls should be back on the sidelines, cheering along while the real athletes play.

When it comes to sports, we compete with our sexed bodies, not our gender identities. Therefore, sex, not gender identity, determines whether competition is safe and fair or wildly unfair and even dangerous for female athletes.

In the rush to accommodate trans-identifying males at the expense of female athletes, we’ve overlooked alternatives that manage to be fair, safe, and inclusive, like creating special categories for transgender athletes or turning male sports leagues into open leagues.

Sex matters. The Biden admin should not pretend otherwise. In settings where sex matters, policies need to make it clear that it's biological sex that matters, not gender self-identity. That's why the language has to be clear. 

That's why Title IX exists.

Women and girls still need it.