Here we go again

In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports. – US President Donald Trump

Tenth-grader Aayden “Ada” Gallagher of McDaniel High School dominated athletics events at the Portland Interscholastic League Championship. The 16-year-old won the women’s 200-meter run handily, then blasted the field in the women’s 400-meter sprint – by nearly 10 seconds. This is the second time Gallagher has won both events. The transgender athlete first started hormone therapy in 2023.

The raging controversy on transgender athletes in the US first gathered momentum in 2022, when former male swimmer, six-foot-one Lia Thomas ran roughshod over US NCAA Division 1 swimming. Along the way, she defeated two Olympic medalists in short-distance events. Thomas was previously ranked below 400th in men’s swimming. This caused a great outrage in collegiate sports in America, and was one of the most potent motivations for Trump to issue his executive order banning men from women’s sports.

Just a few days ago, the federal government of the United States suspended $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania over this issue. This was a direct result of an Education Department investigation into Penn and other schools regarding the eligibility of transgender athletes. However, it appears that the executive order is unclear whether or not it applies to high school sports. Thus, the controversy on Gallagher.

This matter has been complicated by some parents in the US stating that their children have the right to choose their gender, even as minors. Obviously, Trump‘s executive order has nothing to say about parental involvement. However, scientists insist that a person‘s DNA at birth is impossible to change, regardless of whatever medical procedure the individual undergoes later in life. The DNA markers for male and female will always remain identifiable regardless of any gender-changing medical procedure.

Americans are very particular about their individual rights. Adults can do whatever they want as long as they do not harm other individuals. Also, they consider their privacy paramount, so they can do whatever they want in private as long as they do not break the law. However, this is an issue which imposes the desires of a small minority on the majority of society. The rules are there for a reason. The rules have been there to assure parity and fairness for all. It is not just a question of tradition. It is a foundational rule. If there is the need for a new category to be introduced, then that is the discussion that should be had. The second issue now is whether or not parents should allow or even compel their offspring to have gender reassignment surgery. Some parents would argue that that is what their children desire. Others would say that their child was always meant to be another gender. But how do they know?

Where is the boundary between an individual’s right, a parent’s right, and society’s rights? Established institutions like sports leagues have been that way because it is clearly proven that those are the definitive categories for athletes. The last majority do not agree with transgender athletes moving from one category to the other. That is their biggest challenge. And it looks like this is a battle that they will not win.

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