Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee, holds herself out as a fierce advocate for women’s rights. As a matter of fact, Harris once said:
“What I want young women and girls to know is: You are powerful and your voice matters. You're going to walk into many rooms in your life and career where you may be the only one who looks like you or who has had the experiences you've had. But you remember that when you are in those rooms, you are not alone. We are all in that room with you applauding you on. Cheering your voice. And just so proud of you. So you use that voice and be strong."
While Harris allegedly supports women’s rights, she fervently supports changes to Title IX which go into effect today, and which obliterate many of the very rights she seemingly supports.
The Biden/Harris changes to Title IX contain some significant obstacles for women. One notable change expanded the definition of sex discrimination and harassment to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Some of the other most notable changes are that men can take scholarship money from girls, men will be permitted to use women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and changes places if they declare that they feel like a woman, various people would be compelled to use biologically incorrect pronouns so as to prevent “hate speech” or face possible sexual harassment charges or a loss of funding, and make it much easier to assert a claim of sexual harassment.
Clearly, the changes to Title IX will impact women’s sports. While the Biden administration denies this, the fact that sexual harassment and sexual discrimination include gender identity and sexual orientation will clearly impact how decisions are made when it comes to sports. For example, are schools permitted to deny a biological man’s request to compete on the women’s wrestling or swimming teams, or will they face legal repercussions or a loss of funding?
The consequences of allowing men to compete with or against women is clear. For example, just recently, a female Olympic boxer who was forced to fight against a boxer with male chromosomes and was forced to quit after 46 seconds due to the pain she incurred from a punch. Riley Gaines, a star swimmer at Kentucky, was forced to compete against a transgender woman in the national championships in 2022. Selina Soule, a track star at Bloomfield High School in Connecticut, was unable to qualify for regionals in the 55-meter run because two spots were taken by biological boys who identified as girls and who ran faster. There are other examples where biological boys who were transitioning into girls went on to win championships while competing against biological girls. Such examples can be found here, here, and here.
There is no question that the amendments to Title IX hurt biological women. They lose out on scholarships, must share spaces that were exclusively meant for women with men who think they are women (and are less safe because of this), face the risk of serious injury or death due to the obvious differences between men and women, and lose out on opportunities that they have worked for from a young age.
While Harris told women and girls to “use their voice” and to “be strong,” her words seem like mere lip service considering that the changes to Title IX that she and Biden instituted take away those voices and in schools, universities, and elsewhere and potentially penalize women (and men) for standing strong and staying to their convictions in certain circumstances.
Harris is trying to play both sides of the fence. She supports women’s rights on some occasions, such as the “right” to abort a baby at any time during a pregnancy, opposing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and supporting the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021, all of which are discussed here. On the other hand, she supports the amendments to Title IX which obliterate the rights of biological women and penalize them and various other people who oppose and/or refuse to comply with them. Fortunately many states have blocked these provisions from going into effect and other states have filed lawsuits over the proposed amendments.
Simply put, men should not be permitted to compete against women. Women simply have too much to lose and nothing to gain. Hopefully, the courts can right this wrong. If need be, the Supreme Court might have to resolve this issue.
Mr. Hakim is an attorney and columnist. His articles have been published in Townhall, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Right Side Broadcasting, and other online publications. He has also appeared on OANN’s Tipping Point, Newsmax, Steadfast and Loyal Podcast with Allen West, and Real America’s Voice. The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not constitute legal advice.