Don't Erase Female Sports!
February 2, 2022, marks the Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), which was created to inspire girls and women to recognize their full power by being active and playing sports. In short, it’s a day dedicated to celebrating the amazing attributes and abilities of female athletes throughout this great nation.
In a world where so much emphasis is placed on young women to be “perfect” – particularly in their appearance – it is critical that they have an outlet to help them build their self-worth, and sports is one of the answers.
In fact, numerous studies show that there are several long-term benefits for women who play sports including a reduced risk for developing cancer, earning better grades, and generating high self-esteem. Additionally, females who play sports have lower levels of sorrow and depression, have increased opinions in their abilities and expertise, have more trust in other girls, and have healthier ways of dealing with stress than those who don’t participate in sports. Finally, research has found that high school girls who play sports are less likely to get pregnant or take drugs than those who don’t play sports, and they’re also more likely to graduate and go on to college.
However, as we honor female athletes on this day, I feel compelled to point out the irony that schools across the country are allowing “transgender-identifying” male athletes (aka biological male athletes) to compete in women’s sports.
Due to the obvious physiological advantages that men have over women, allowing this to occur is unfair to the women who strive to better themselves by being active and participating in sports. Pitting men against women in athletic events rarely ends with the woman coming out on top. On average, men are faster and stronger than women. In fact, studies show that women fall short of men’s records by about 10 percent, and there are three biological examples that explain why men have a distinct advantage over women when they compete head-to-head.
First, women’s hearts are approximately 25 percent smaller than their counterparts. As a result, a woman will become fatigued sooner than a man because a man’s heart can pump more blood with each beat. Second, women have about 30 percent less lung capacity than men giving men the advantage in the processing of oxygen and in doing aerobic work such as running. Third, women have about 50 percent less upper body strength than men and about 30 percent less lower body strength due to a smaller ratio of muscle mass to body weight making female speed records in running and swimming consistently slower than men’s
The sad truth is, because biological males are allowed to participate in female sports, females’ records are being crushed, and men are outcompeting them at every level. More importantly, this erroneous practice is a violation of Title IX, the landmark legislation signed by President Nixon in 1972 to provide equal opportunities for women and girls in education and athletics. Prior to Title IX, there were virtually no girls’ sports teams, and now, female participation at the high school level has grown by 1,057 percent and by 614 percent at the college level. Allowing males to compete in female sports negates the huge victory that was scored in 1972 so why, after fifty successful years, are schools across the country are turning their backs on Title IX -- the only law that grants women equality in America?
In an effort to protect women’s sports and to allow for equality and fairness as demanded under Title IX, Virginia Senator Jen Kiggans has introduced SB 766, which seeks to require all elementary, secondary or private school sports teams to be designated based on biological sex. The bill also provides for civil penalties for both students and schools who have been harmed due to violations of the bill as long as these actions are initiated within two (2) years after the harm occurred.
While we commend Senator Kiggans for being the sole patron of SB 766, shouldn’t it be common sense not to set men and women against one another in sporting events? I mean, if women and men are competing against one another in a sporting event, don’t we already know the outcome before it even begins? It’s pretty clear that men will always have the physical advantage over women so the only purpose served is stroking the ego of the male athletes, and in doing so, we’ve broken the self-confidence of those women who worked so hard training and practicing for the competition.
Men and women are biologically different – this is not just my opinion, it’s a fact. This doesn’t make one gender better than the other nor does it diminish the athletic accomplishments of each. Instead of denying the differences between the two sexes, we should be embracing and celebrating the separate sports competitions of both men and women.
