Feminists File Petition with Biden Administration to Protect Women’s Sports

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Ben Cope
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Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) has condemned President Joe Biden’s executive order that removes any legal recognition of the two sexes and eliminates crucial protections for women in the federal government and beyond.

WoLF’s petition focuses on the interpretation of the Title IX statute of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex” in education settings that accept federal funding.The feminists state in their petition:

Single-sex spaces (e.g., sports, intimate facilities, housing) are by definition “single-sex spaces” only if sex, not gender identity, remains the sole relevant characteristic. If a space ostensibly dedicated to being single-sex is also separated based on gender identity, the space ceases to be single-sex… Because the purpose underlying single-sex spaces is to promote the safety, dignity, and equal opportunity of women and girls, it follows that eliminating single-sex spaces will cause great harm to women and girls… That harm to women and girls is not avoided just because the effective elimination of single-sex spaces results from separating spaces based on gender identity. (p. 15-16)

WoLF is requesting that Title IX be enforced on the basis of “sex,” i.e., biological sex, in accord with a memorandum from the Trump Department of Education.

On January 8, the Trump administration affirmed its long-standing “construction of the term ‘sex’ in Title IX to mean biological sex, male or female.”

Last week, however, Miguel Cardona, Biden’s nominee to lead his Department of Education, said during a Senate confirmation hearing it is “appropriate” to allow boys to compete in girls’ sports, and that he would support recognition of gender identity above biological sex.

WoLF’s specific requests for rulemaking in the petition are:

  1. “Sex” under Title IX refers to biological sex.
  2. “Gender identity” is “a person’s belief that they have an internal sense of self-identification as male, female, both, or neither, that is incongruent with one’s sex.”
  3. Single-sex spaces and services, including sports, are provided by sex and not on the basis of a person’s belief about their sex.
  4. True statements about biological sex, based in material reality, are protected by the first amendment.

The feminists released a national poll in October that found a majority of likely American voters disapprove of policies related to “gender identity,” including those that would eliminate protections for women in single-sex public spaces, such as sports, shelters, and prisons.

The poll, which surveyed 3,500 likely voters across geographic regions, ethnicity, sex, and political affiliation, showed how unpopular policies related to “gender identity” are in America, despite activist and media attempts to normalize them.According to the poll, even voters who identify as politically liberal, disapprove of efforts to undermine biological sex with gender ideology.Overall, results found 66.93 percent of those polled said they “strongly disagree” with “gender identity” policies, including a majority of liberal voters.

More specifically, 66.96 percent of likely voters across parties said men or boys who identify as transgender should not be permitted to compete in women and girls’ sports.In a press statement released Wednesday, WoLF Legal Director Lauren Adams said the “proposed provisions are a completely appropriate implementation of the executive order.””The rules we suggest would protect students who have a ‘gender identity’ from discrimination while also ensuring women and girls continue to have equal access to educational opportunities,” she said.

Natasha Chart, WoLF executive director, added the petition “is an important first step towards holding the Biden administration accountable for how their policies will harm women and girls.”

“Feminists are stepping up to defend the rights that previous generations fought for,” she asserted.

The education department has 60 days to respond to the petition.

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