The notion that people can demand recognition of their choice of gender regardless of their biological sex at birth did not originate with Joe Biden’s presidency. Nor did the idea that transgender women – that is biological men who identify as women – can freely mingle with biological women in bathrooms, dormitories, or compete with them in sports. But there is no denying that it provided fresh and important legitimacy.
Events this week put the issue in stark relief. Some pertinent background:
In the spring of 2023, the Biden Administration’s Department of Education explained a soon to be issued regulation that would allow males who self-identify as female to compete in ostensibly women’s sports. According to the department, “Under the proposed regulation, schools would not be permitted to adopt or apply a one-size-fits-all policy that categorically bans transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity.”
“Rather, for every women’s sport, every school will be forced to demonstrate, in each case, the risk of a ‘sports-related injury’ in order to prevent the participation of males.”
Plainly, the mountain of resulting bureaucratic paperwork for each and every school undermined the possibility of the overall winnowing plan working.
But that was then.
Last week came the news of a scary boxing match at the Paris Olympics between a woman and someone who The New York Times reported had been disqualified at last year’s World Championships from participating in a women’s event after testing positive for high levels of the male sex hormone testosterone – but who also claims to, in fact, be a biological woman and has always been one. The former called it quits 46 seconds into the fight after the latter punched her in the face twice. According to The Post, she said she had “never been hit so hard in my life.”
And then came the news that last Thursday, the Massachusetts legislature approved The Massachusetts Parentage Act which, among other things, in a bow to transgenderism, replaces gendered language used to refer to parents, such as “mothers” and “fathers.”
Isn’t it about time that voters put an end to this sort of thing? Perhaps the November presidential election is the time to start.
