You’ll pardon me if I, like Paula Scanlan to whom this insult was addressed, am not limp with slavering gratitude to the University of Pennsylvania for this emailed excuse for violating female athletes’ their Title IX rights to sex-segregated sports, enabling daily sexual abuse by forcing them to undress with a fully intact male, and threatening them if they dared to speak up about these hate crimes.
Why Institutional Support for Male Inclusion in Women’s Sports Remains So Entrenched—And What We Can Do About It
Despite a wave of public disillusionment and the Trump administration’s attempt to reassert sex-based Title IX protections, institutional support for allowing males to compete in female-only sports remains widespread—and, if anything, more defiant. There’s an almost reflexive determination among universities, athletic organizations, and elite media to resist what they characterize as a “rollback” of civil rights, even when the issue at hand is the preservation of hard-won women’s sports.
This support is not simply lingering confusion or benign overreach. It is the product of deliberate ideological capture. The idea that gender identity must override biological sex has become dogma among sports administrators, school officials, professional leagues, gear manufacturers, DEI offices, and journalists. Those in authority not only comply with inclusion policies—they actively promote them, often citing diversity goals or anti-discrimination commitments without grappling with the physical and psychological harms to female athletes.
The result is a dystopian inversion of fairness. Young women are forced to share locker rooms and compete against male-bodied athletes, and when they speak up, they are punished or ignored. Institutions like UPenn are more concerned with federal grants than the rights or safety of their athletes, and the Department of Education’s years-long failure to enforce Title IX in the face of these violations has sent a chilling message: women’s sports are negotiable.
So where does this leave us?
Remedies Must Match the Depth of the Institutional Capture
Legal Accountability
Continued litigation is essential. Lawsuits that assert the sex-based intent of Title IX—and challenge the reinterpretation of “sex” to mean “gender identity”—must be widely supported and publicized. Courts remain one of the last venues where arguments grounded in reality can still gain traction.
Donor and Alumni Pressure
Alumni, especially those from women's programs, should make their financial support contingent on restoring sex-based fairness. Organized alumni pledges to withhold donations until schools abandon male inclusion policies can influence risk-averse administrations.
Parallel Institutions
If major governing bodies remain captured, new leagues, tournaments, or governing associations may need to be built from the ground up—ones that restore eligibility rules grounded in sex, not identity. These may start small but offer a meaningful refuge for female athletes who want a fair playing field.
Civil disobedience has a proud tradition in American reform movements, but it must be done wisely and lawfully. Examples that have been cleared by qualified legal counsel in relevant jurisdictions include:
Athlete walkouts: Coordinated withdrawals from competitions when male athletes are entered in women’s events.
Refusal to undress or use locker rooms with males: This is legally protected in many states under privacy or dignity statutes. Athletes can respectfully but firmly assert their rights and document their actions.
Silent protest gestures: Such as turning backs during ceremonies or holding up signs during media events—acts that are constitutionally protected speech in public schools and public universities.
Opting out of university branding: Teams refusing to wear university logos if their athletic department enforces sex-denying policies.
Title IX complaint filing campaigns: Encourage mass filing of federal Title IX complaints to overload the administrative process and force public reckoning.
All of these require advance planning and coordination with legal experts. The goal is to apply moral and political pressure without triggering criminal charges or school expulsion.
Public Education and Naming the Problem
Continue naming the issue clearly and accurately. This is not about “inclusion.” It is about male participation in female-only sports. Euphemisms obscure the harms and silence dissent. Effective communication—especially from mothers, former athletes, and coaches—is essential to reach the broader public and recenter the conversation on fairness and sex-based rights.
Legislative Action
At the state level, pressure legislators to clarify the legal definition of "sex" in education and sports law. States like Kansas, Texas, and North Carolina have begun passing such laws. These efforts must be expanded and defended in court when challenged.
In sum, the institutions that claim to care about fairness and opportunity for women have shown they will only act when compelled. Whether by legal defeat, donor revolt, public protest, or moral clarity, that pressure must now come from those willing to tell the truth—and act on it.
Another excellent article Sarah! I'm tired of saying "well this is a good first step." I'm tired of being patient. I'm tired of watching coverage of these events as wrongs being righted. In the end, sports NGBs for the most part are giving the middle finger to the Administration and women. Even the IOC with a woman President are dragging their feet. Does anyone else feel that if there is a change in the Administration in 2028 or even in Congress in 2026 we will be back to men firmly participating in women's sports at all levels?
Damn, but you sound like a spoiled 20-year-old. Are you?
You just won an important victory. You have more victories on the way. You are kicking the troons and their cult's asses up and down the country. You are WINNING this war.
So why the fuck are you whining? This is self-indulgent BS.
Have you forgotten what empowered adult women look and sound like? Or did you never learn? The right-wing women for example are not wasting time sitting around whining. They are making action plans and carrying them out. What are you doing?
Can Title IX and the gender industry co-exist? To date the medical organizations that provide guidance for colleges and universities remain keen on churning out 'trans' patients. The American College Health Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the health clinics on campuses etc maintain gender affirming policies. The medical schools teach it and carve the flesh of those 18 and older. Title IX is quite a conflict of interests.
In testimony before Congress, Biden’s Education Secretary “defended” Lia Thomas’ presence in women’s locker room with evasion and double talk. Utterly shameful.
Why Institutional Support for Male Inclusion in Women’s Sports Remains So Entrenched—And What We Can Do About It
Despite a wave of public disillusionment and the Trump administration’s attempt to reassert sex-based Title IX protections, institutional support for allowing males to compete in female-only sports remains widespread—and, if anything, more defiant. There’s an almost reflexive determination among universities, athletic organizations, and elite media to resist what they characterize as a “rollback” of civil rights, even when the issue at hand is the preservation of hard-won women’s sports.
This support is not simply lingering confusion or benign overreach. It is the product of deliberate ideological capture. The idea that gender identity must override biological sex has become dogma among sports administrators, school officials, professional leagues, gear manufacturers, DEI offices, and journalists. Those in authority not only comply with inclusion policies—they actively promote them, often citing diversity goals or anti-discrimination commitments without grappling with the physical and psychological harms to female athletes.
The result is a dystopian inversion of fairness. Young women are forced to share locker rooms and compete against male-bodied athletes, and when they speak up, they are punished or ignored. Institutions like UPenn are more concerned with federal grants than the rights or safety of their athletes, and the Department of Education’s years-long failure to enforce Title IX in the face of these violations has sent a chilling message: women’s sports are negotiable.
So where does this leave us?
Remedies Must Match the Depth of the Institutional Capture
Legal Accountability
Continued litigation is essential. Lawsuits that assert the sex-based intent of Title IX—and challenge the reinterpretation of “sex” to mean “gender identity”—must be widely supported and publicized. Courts remain one of the last venues where arguments grounded in reality can still gain traction.
Donor and Alumni Pressure
Alumni, especially those from women's programs, should make their financial support contingent on restoring sex-based fairness. Organized alumni pledges to withhold donations until schools abandon male inclusion policies can influence risk-averse administrations.
Parallel Institutions
If major governing bodies remain captured, new leagues, tournaments, or governing associations may need to be built from the ground up—ones that restore eligibility rules grounded in sex, not identity. These may start small but offer a meaningful refuge for female athletes who want a fair playing field.
Peaceful Civil Disobedience (With Legal Safeguards)
Civil disobedience has a proud tradition in American reform movements, but it must be done wisely and lawfully. Examples that have been cleared by qualified legal counsel in relevant jurisdictions include:
Athlete walkouts: Coordinated withdrawals from competitions when male athletes are entered in women’s events.
Refusal to undress or use locker rooms with males: This is legally protected in many states under privacy or dignity statutes. Athletes can respectfully but firmly assert their rights and document their actions.
Silent protest gestures: Such as turning backs during ceremonies or holding up signs during media events—acts that are constitutionally protected speech in public schools and public universities.
Opting out of university branding: Teams refusing to wear university logos if their athletic department enforces sex-denying policies.
Title IX complaint filing campaigns: Encourage mass filing of federal Title IX complaints to overload the administrative process and force public reckoning.
All of these require advance planning and coordination with legal experts. The goal is to apply moral and political pressure without triggering criminal charges or school expulsion.
Public Education and Naming the Problem
Continue naming the issue clearly and accurately. This is not about “inclusion.” It is about male participation in female-only sports. Euphemisms obscure the harms and silence dissent. Effective communication—especially from mothers, former athletes, and coaches—is essential to reach the broader public and recenter the conversation on fairness and sex-based rights.
Legislative Action
At the state level, pressure legislators to clarify the legal definition of "sex" in education and sports law. States like Kansas, Texas, and North Carolina have begun passing such laws. These efforts must be expanded and defended in court when challenged.
In sum, the institutions that claim to care about fairness and opportunity for women have shown they will only act when compelled. Whether by legal defeat, donor revolt, public protest, or moral clarity, that pressure must now come from those willing to tell the truth—and act on it.
Wow, thorough and thoughtful. You should be a community organizer
I'm much better behind the scenes.
Another excellent article Sarah! I'm tired of saying "well this is a good first step." I'm tired of being patient. I'm tired of watching coverage of these events as wrongs being righted. In the end, sports NGBs for the most part are giving the middle finger to the Administration and women. Even the IOC with a woman President are dragging their feet. Does anyone else feel that if there is a change in the Administration in 2028 or even in Congress in 2026 we will be back to men firmly participating in women's sports at all levels?
There is nothing in history that would suggest anything other than that depressing future
Where were they in 2007? Cheering it on as the new vanguard of the civil rights struggle, women and girls be damned.
Damn, but you sound like a spoiled 20-year-old. Are you?
You just won an important victory. You have more victories on the way. You are kicking the troons and their cult's asses up and down the country. You are WINNING this war.
So why the fuck are you whining? This is self-indulgent BS.
Have you forgotten what empowered adult women look and sound like? Or did you never learn? The right-wing women for example are not wasting time sitting around whining. They are making action plans and carrying them out. What are you doing?
Can Title IX and the gender industry co-exist? To date the medical organizations that provide guidance for colleges and universities remain keen on churning out 'trans' patients. The American College Health Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the health clinics on campuses etc maintain gender affirming policies. The medical schools teach it and carve the flesh of those 18 and older. Title IX is quite a conflict of interests.
In testimony before Congress, Biden’s Education Secretary “defended” Lia Thomas’ presence in women’s locker room with evasion and double talk. Utterly shameful.
https://youtu.be/N0qB10Odrr4?si=0-kNdSrtc-C3Sedo
That was horrific, sickening
Yep
Depressing but true.
The BBC is a glaring example of waiting for clarification. It doesn’t get any clearer.
Ayep. Like any right, we can never assume Title IX will be enforced. We have to remain vigilant, always. It’s just how it is.
Excellent. Have restacked several times with excerpts.