Title IX 50th Anniversary: Intensifying Debate over Transgender Athletes

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The emergence of transgender athletes in sports has sparked a debate about whether transgender women or girls have a competitive advantage over biological women or girls.

As Thursday celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the discourse is getting hotter and hotter.

The Biden administration wantstransgender athletes to enjoy the same protection that Title IX gave to women 50 years ago. As of 1972, the debate about transgender athletes was years away.

The discussion is with supporters who want to protect the space already established by the Title IX Act for Biological Women and those who want to compete as women to enjoy the same protection as anyone else. It comes down to.

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Jennifer Braceras, Director of the Center for Independent Women's Law, pointed out the wording of Title IX itself. She told Fox News Digital that the law "allows gender-separated sports." She claimed that transgender women were allowed to compete with biological women and that legal violations occurred whenever they left them.

New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard participates in the women's weightlifting event At the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo on August 2, 2021. (AP Photo / Luca Bruno)

"Title IX protects single-sex sports and allows male athletes to rob women of sports Is always an athlete, you are a school that violates Title IX, "Braceras said.

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and Penn University swimmer Ria Thomas sparked a debate last year about transgender women competing with biological women.

FINA, the international governing body for elite swimming, has announced a new policy thatwill allow only swimmers who have transitioned before the age of 12 to participate in women's events. Did. FINA also said it is working on a proposal to create an "open competition" category. FINA members voted 71.5% in favor of the new policy.

FINA's face on a new "gender inclusion policy" for transgender swimmers

Having an "open" category There seems to be a strong consensus about not the best way to do it in sports.

"The truth is, the male category is the" open category. " I think it's ridiculous for people to say that there should be another department for transgender athletes. Their numbers aren't enough, "Braceras said. "But there may be open sports, and (transgender) athletes who are unable to participate in men's sports because women are transitioning to participate in men's sports can put men at a disadvantage or play sports. It won't rob you. "

Dr. Joshua Estrin, a corporate psychologist and author of the book" Silently Listen to Yourself 2.0 ". Fox News Digital said that having an "open" category in sportsmight start "Orwell's precedent."

The FINA logo of the swimming governor is displayed in The flag of the main pool of the 13th FINA World Swimming Championships held in Rome on July 26, 2009. (Martin Bureau / AFP via Getty Images)

"I don't think I have the facts yet, so I personally don't support a special category. And 71% of people were making decisions in the vacuum, "said Estrin, part of the LGBTQ + community. "I think we need to make a tentative decision. Let's see how many transgender people in sports are disproportionately outpacing their cisgender competitors. That's really a problem. 

"... There is a woman, maybe a cis female swimmer who can beat the crap of someone transgender, so just because you weren't born of that gender, or you Now if you say that it is the gender that you have automatically identified as giving you an advantage, I think it requires training, effort and amazing psychological strength.

"I Also, I don't want to take away what our cisgender women can accomplish. I don't know yet. Again, there's no one-size-fits-all size. I think that's the most important thing. The topic itself It makes people uncomfortable, and the fact that we can't give it a quick answer and just can't get rid of it makes people equally uncomfortable, and I think it's human nature.

Dr. Sean Fletcher, a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Institute for Sport, Society and Social Change and a professor of public relations and sports communication at San Jose State University, told Fox News Digital that: He said he needed to hear more voices. Protecting Transgender Athletes under Title IX

LIA THOMAS COMPETITOR TOUTS FINA RESTRICTING TRANSGENDER ATHLETES:'STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION'

"I think it needs to be a joint conversation in terms of what will happen in Title IX. In the 1972 Educational Amendment that gave Title IX, the finances of organizations and federal governments. It is an educational institution that has received, and of course, when the addition of activities was added to Title IX, it began to include sports, "Fletcher said. 

"But it doesn't really have protection against FINA, the IOC, or the trans-community, as well as other governing bodies that continue to see discrimination from non-conforming communities."

He mentioned the case of South African truck star Caster Semenya, whose testosterone levels were higher than normal. Semenya, in the so-called 46XY DSD state, was forced to decide whether to use drugs or undergo surgery to lower testosterone levels. She chose not to participate in the Tokyo Olympicsafter a fierce court battle.

This May 3, 2019, file photo, South Africa's Caster Semenya crossed the finish line to win the gold medal in the women's 800-meter final at the Diamond League in Doha, Qatar.  (AP Photo / Kamran Jebreili, file)

"We put a lot of literally figurative hoops and hurdles on athletes. There is no final resolution to tell them that this is the standard set for competition, "Fletcher said. "Athletics and institutions deviate from the metrics and standards applicable to the masses and require joint efforts to determine the metrics. 

" If agreed-hormone levels So, if a safe agreement is reached between the collaborative spirit, the experts in the scientific community, the trans-community (and) the governing body, which sets the safe standards set for fair play. What is fair play, it must be abstract. It needs to be defined. That is the only way we can take a step towards it. But I don't have one chance to solve everything because I'm trying to get the system back, which is mostly binary. "

Fairness and righteousness are two different things. It may be that.

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Schuyler Bailer First The openly transgenderNCAA Division I swimmertransitioned from female to male when he committed to Harvard. Bailer was originally hired by women's swimming and diving teams, then moved into the year of Gap and chose to compete with men's teams.

Schuyler Bailar speaks on stage at Rally For Abortion Justice October 2 Sun, 2021, Washington D. C. (Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Women's March)

Braceras is the ultimate for trans-gender men participating in the sport of biological men. Does not hurt women.

"When a female athlete plays in a team, it doesn't hurt men, but it does hurt women," Braceras insisted. "In other words, our point is that we are required to be inclusive, but only women are burdened with inclusiveness, which is not fair.

"Women's sports need to be sacred. Women's sports need to be separated to be equal. Without separate women's teams, there is no equality in sports. Everyone. Can actually swim and play in the men's team, which has no detrimental effect, but not in the other direction.

"My feelings are, Anyone who is biologically male or who identifies him as male should compete as a male, and women's sports should be solely for biological women. "

Estrin said he didn't know how to make things fair for everyone.

"I honestly don't know. We need to continue the conversation," Estrin told FoxNews Digital. "We really need to delve into science, especially when someone decides to start the transition, using hormone therapy and blockers. What does that really mean for her body (transgender)?

Australian swimming stars uphold FINA's "gender inclusion policy"

"For example, in basketball, (for women) Women) are over 6 feet tall. Their hand size and shoe size are huge, which may have attracted them to the sport. They want to play basketball, at 5 feet 4. Did you have an unfair advantage to a young woman who had to jump three times as high? I don't think you're ready to decide what's fair and just. The protection part is very I think it's important. ”

As of May, 19 states have passed legislation banning or restricting transgender participation. Some laws are met by proceedings from the American Civil Liberties Union. Other laws passed in some states allow gender identity to determine an athlete's eligibility, but rules and laws vary from state to state, from school to school, and even from sport to sport.

The Ministry of Educationunder the Trump administration argued in an important proceeding that the word "gender" was interpreted to mean exactly the gender assigned at birth. The Byden administration's division considers Title IX's wording of "gender-based" discrimination to "include discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation."

Leah Thomas, March 17, 2022 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at the McCaulejye Aquatic Center on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus in Atlanta. (Mike Comer / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

There seems to be no more solid solution under the Biden administration. Biden rolled back some of the Trump administration's rules on transgender rights, but the law went nowhere.

Lia Thomas' Olympic Aspirations: Some Women's Advocates Keep Silence

Fletcher is a Condition of Discrimination However, the predicted transgender athletes will eventually be protected under Title IX, saying that the words to spread are not specific enough.

"Gender identity is somewhat postscripted to the application of (Title IX) throughout our institution, which leaves a lot of ambiguity and it's dangerous," he told FoxNews Digital. rice field. He added that if the language is not concrete, it will put people fighting for rights in the red because they try to hold the institution accountable. 

"If not specifically covered by the amendment, this will go through legislative and legal routes to form protection and enact future discriminatory cases. It's very difficult to set a precedent. "

Fletcher added that Title IX" cannot be a universal box. " It's a potential trade-off for that.

Pentransgender swimmer Lia Thomas wins Later Talk to Coach 500m Freestyle(AP Photo / Josh Reynolds){231 at the NCAA University Swimming Tournament held with Harvard on January 22, 2022 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. }

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"But Title IX Could be a way to protect transgender athletes more strongly. "Fletcher added." Because they want to compete like the average person, the inclusion and rights of transathletes, and competition. Not seeing, exploring, or running out of other protective mechanisms for safe participation in powerful sports is not like a scapegoat to us. "

AP Communications contributed to this report.