A Rasmussen survey released on Friday shows solid opposition from Americans to the idea that biological males who identify as transgender should be allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams.
Overall, 51 percent of Americans oppose the idea while less than a third — 29 percent — support it. Twenty percent aren’t sure.
And yet, Democrats running for president have all come out in favor of a bill that would force public schools to put boys on girls sports teams.
Despite the unpopularity of allowing male athletes into girls’ sports, legislation supported by every Democratic presidential frontrunner would require public schools to do just that.
The Equality Act, which passed the House with unanimous Democratic support in May, would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make “gender identity” a protected characteristic under federal anti-discrimination law. The bill would force public schools to expand female athletic teams to include biological males who identify as transgender girls.
There have been several incidents at the college and high school levels in recent months where biological males, competing on girls’ teams, won accolades for their achievements.
Franklin Pierce University runner CeCe Telfer, a biological male, won an NCAA women’s track and field championship in May. June Eastwood, a biologically male cross-country runner for the University of Montana, was named the conference female athlete of the week in October.
Two biologically male runners have dominated girls’ high school track in Connecticut, which allows self-identified transgender athletes to compete as the opposite sex.
Internationally, athletic governing bodies have made some recent rulings that have been controversial.
Transgender advocate and professional athlete Chris Mosier slammed a landmark ruling requiring female athletes such as Olympic champion Caster Semenya with naturally high testosterone levels to take suppressants in order to compete in women’s events during interview that aired on Monday.
“Caster Semenya is a cisgender woman at birth and she has been competing as a woman,” Mosier, told Hill.TV. “Instead of her speed being treated as a gift, it’s being treated as something that is giving her an unfair advantage.”
“The problem is we are setting ourselves up in a position where we are policing and regulating women athletes in sports,” he continued.
Yes, we are. That’s what an international governing body of a particular sport is supposed to do — “policing and regulating.” Why should women be any different?
The problem trans activists have is that any advantage, no matter how small, is unfair. Testosterone levels may not define a man or a woman, but testosterone is a hormone that assists in building muscle mass, i.e. strength. No matter how you slice it, having more testosterone than your competition gives you a slight, but significant edge.
In international competitions where hundredths of a second make the difference between a champion and a runner-up, any advantage is unfair. That’s why every athletic governing body has banned steroids, HGH, and other substances. The testosterone in male-to-female trans athletes is naturally occurring and biological males secrete far more testosterone than biological women. The playing field should be as level as can be made possible.
The push for boys to compete as girls will continue and will no doubt be decided by the courts. If past decisions are any indication, young female athletes are going to have to get used to the idea that they are going to be competing against boys as well as girls on the playing field.
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