Without Title IX, we would have not have so many US Women's soccer wins in the World Cup or so many Olympic basketball wins for the US women. Instead, we would become more like Afghanistan and Iran in how they treat women, as to hide them away and rule them like the Taliban.
We would never have an inspirational story of an American female Olympic athlete similar to one that happened in the Soviet Union years ago -- at a time when women athletes were much rarer than today. But here's the story that happened in the Soviet Union.
There was a girl named Tatyana who got hit by a car when walking home from school. She was seriously injured, with her leg so mangled up that they considered amputation. She underwent several surgeries for her leg. They had recommended that she not do much physical activity but designed her own program for rehab. In any case, she eventually became a star basketball player for Moscow Dynamo and was good enough for the National Team.
She even managed to find love -- from a soccer player at Moscow Dynamo named Mikhail. They got married and had a little boy. But she continued to play basketball and qualified for the Olympics and was on their gold medal winning teams in 1976 and 1980. After she stopped playing, she ran the women's basketball program for Moscow Dynamo and ultimately for the Russian Federation. And went on to have two more children. (When her youngest son started playing sports, he opted to wear his mother's old number.)
I have been saying all along: How can these people get exercised about the plight of female athletes who have to compete against transgender women, when they used to say that women and girls don't want to play sports in the first place?
I've found it strange that conservatives are yelling about "protect girls' sports!" when that means excluding trans girls - - while some of the same conservatives regarded Title IX as nonsense and as an unfair threat to the money going into the boys' football team. I'm also old enough to remember the 1960's rules of girls' basketball: six players on a side, only two of whom could play on the entire court. The two guards were restricted to one half of the court and the two forwards were restricted to the other half. You could only dribble the ball 3 times before you had to pass it or shoot a basket; three-point shots or a shot clock were unheard of. I can picture Yenor wanting to mandate a return to these rules, to keep female basketball quiet and demure (and boring).
The Project 2025 droogs are too stupid and narrowly-focused on their trad-wife goals to think of doing something that’s already been done: like weight classes for wrestling, boxing, crew; and handicapping for golf. There are ways to adjust for different sizes of people and skill levels in sports. DUH. Their true compass is driven by hate (of trans, women, persons of color). Very middle-ages of them.
What classes would you propose for basketball? Height limit? Weight limit? Bicep size? Arm length? BMI? And isn't handicapping for golf really a grade for how hard they worked at the sport? Should we do similar handicapping in track and field? Would the handicap be a shorter distance or a subtraction from the finish time? Subtraction would eliminate the need for and excitement of the photo-finish.
In California in the 1950s and into the 60s there were no girls' interscholastic sports at all. There was the Girls' Athletic Association. (You will deduce, correctly, that I am also pretty old.)
(Curiously enough, girls' basketball was already a big deal in Iowa in the 1930s, when my mother was in school. I don't know what the rules were.)
I remember having watched women’s basketball under those rules. Dull! Title IX was a tremendous benefit for women’s sports. Watch women’s basketball now. No one would suggest competition between male and female sports teams because men are stronger, though not necessarily faster. Watch some women’s college softball. I think Title IX is responsible for allowing women to compete at this level. I have been watching highlights of Indiana Fever games. I have never watched any women’s college or professional basketball before, but somehow became attracted because of Caitlin Clark. Would never have happened without Title IX. Women’s swimming in the Olympics, women’s gymnastics at the same level. All of this made possible by Title IX, promoting women’s participation in sports. Professional women’s basketball, the WNBA, is exciting. The level of skill caught me by surprise. I can say that without getting into the controversy of race or sexual preference, which I think makes zero difference. Good play is good play. Women’s sports enhance teamwork. Enough for now.
To be honest. Trans girls? I never really understood how you can be something you are not. Just believing you are a girl does not change your genetic makeup and thus genetic differences. The chromosomes are real. If they did not have such an influence on physical build we would not need separate divisions for the sexes. Factors such as bone density differences are important considerations. Why is, a guy waking up one day and wanting to get on a girls team so deciding to be a girl, different from, a person waking up one day and deciding to be a billionaire and spending with abandon? Why should one opinion of self be more tolerated/accepted than the other?
Since women voted we have seen 2 World Wars and maybe now a third. Also, since Senators ran for office rather than being appointed. Should we revert any of these?
should college sports involve equal numbers sponsored positions for males and females or should the numbers be based on the percentage of each at a school? Should the standards for acceptance be changed so that males rise to 50% of college educated? Are males being discriminated for entry and females for participations? How much on average does a school pay for activities based on ratio of expediture for female participants v male?
I am curious why men and women like Yenor don’t just form their own cult and live the way they think is right. Why force their crazy ideas on other women who are athletic, ambitious, or need an abortion to abide by their crazy rules? Control your own lives and leave everyone else alone to live the way they desire.
This should not be a surprise to anyone. It was predicted before the SCOTUS WV v. BPJ decision because Heritage was already telegraphing it. Heritage and other groups used Title IX arguments to gain support from female (cis) athletes, and now they are pulling the rug out from under the athletes.
One of my relatives is a top female athlete, and she expressed her concern that trans women would have an unfair advantage. She had competed against top international athletes, including Eastern European athletes before the fall of communism. It was an open secret that those athletes often took performance enhancing drugs and hormones.
So I took her concerns seriously. Trans women in sports is not a trivial issue to resolve so that it is fair to all the women. The SCOTUS decision was not the way to do it. Now that SCOTUS decision serves as a basis for eliminating Title IX. The opinion rests on biological differences between women and men, and therefore it provides a way to eliminate Title IX because of ... biological differences. Something like, "There are obvious biological differences between men and women, so why should the sports opportunities be the same. We can't make laws to circumvent the natural order."
To the women in my life, I say, "If a man tells you that he is better than you kick 'em in the balls." Actually I say, "Ask the man on what basis. Then why is that a uniquely valid basis. The point out that a woman carried him in her body for 9 months and bore him. Women live longer than men. They are more verbal and emotionally engaged." That doesn't make them better, but it sure as hell destroys any argument that men are better.
OMG, Yenor sounds like the devil incarnate. Good God, I had no idea such a neanderthal was still walking the earth.
Thank you for this informative and provocative article. You're absolutely right--we need to be opposing this bullshit right now!
I think Yenor has been locked in the 16th century. What an effing moron. He needs to be let go.
In whose world are women not competitive? This kind of misogynistic rhetoric make me want to vomit.
Another OMG reaction from a reader disgusted that such men's sick beliefs should be forced on anyone outside of a closed cult of like believers.
Without Title IX, we would have not have so many US Women's soccer wins in the World Cup or so many Olympic basketball wins for the US women. Instead, we would become more like Afghanistan and Iran in how they treat women, as to hide them away and rule them like the Taliban.
We would never have an inspirational story of an American female Olympic athlete similar to one that happened in the Soviet Union years ago -- at a time when women athletes were much rarer than today. But here's the story that happened in the Soviet Union.
There was a girl named Tatyana who got hit by a car when walking home from school. She was seriously injured, with her leg so mangled up that they considered amputation. She underwent several surgeries for her leg. They had recommended that she not do much physical activity but designed her own program for rehab. In any case, she eventually became a star basketball player for Moscow Dynamo and was good enough for the National Team.
She even managed to find love -- from a soccer player at Moscow Dynamo named Mikhail. They got married and had a little boy. But she continued to play basketball and qualified for the Olympics and was on their gold medal winning teams in 1976 and 1980. After she stopped playing, she ran the women's basketball program for Moscow Dynamo and ultimately for the Russian Federation. And went on to have two more children. (When her youngest son started playing sports, he opted to wear his mother's old number.)
This makes me sick to my ass.
High school sports had a huge positive impact on me too. Everyone should be entitled to the opportunity (pun intended).
I have been saying all along: How can these people get exercised about the plight of female athletes who have to compete against transgender women, when they used to say that women and girls don't want to play sports in the first place?
(There, I said it again.)
I've found it strange that conservatives are yelling about "protect girls' sports!" when that means excluding trans girls - - while some of the same conservatives regarded Title IX as nonsense and as an unfair threat to the money going into the boys' football team. I'm also old enough to remember the 1960's rules of girls' basketball: six players on a side, only two of whom could play on the entire court. The two guards were restricted to one half of the court and the two forwards were restricted to the other half. You could only dribble the ball 3 times before you had to pass it or shoot a basket; three-point shots or a shot clock were unheard of. I can picture Yenor wanting to mandate a return to these rules, to keep female basketball quiet and demure (and boring).
The Project 2025 droogs are too stupid and narrowly-focused on their trad-wife goals to think of doing something that’s already been done: like weight classes for wrestling, boxing, crew; and handicapping for golf. There are ways to adjust for different sizes of people and skill levels in sports. DUH. Their true compass is driven by hate (of trans, women, persons of color). Very middle-ages of them.
What classes would you propose for basketball? Height limit? Weight limit? Bicep size? Arm length? BMI? And isn't handicapping for golf really a grade for how hard they worked at the sport? Should we do similar handicapping in track and field? Would the handicap be a shorter distance or a subtraction from the finish time? Subtraction would eliminate the need for and excitement of the photo-finish.
I would leave that to the experts in the various sports, of course.
In California in the 1950s and into the 60s there were no girls' interscholastic sports at all. There was the Girls' Athletic Association. (You will deduce, correctly, that I am also pretty old.)
(Curiously enough, girls' basketball was already a big deal in Iowa in the 1930s, when my mother was in school. I don't know what the rules were.)
I remember having watched women’s basketball under those rules. Dull! Title IX was a tremendous benefit for women’s sports. Watch women’s basketball now. No one would suggest competition between male and female sports teams because men are stronger, though not necessarily faster. Watch some women’s college softball. I think Title IX is responsible for allowing women to compete at this level. I have been watching highlights of Indiana Fever games. I have never watched any women’s college or professional basketball before, but somehow became attracted because of Caitlin Clark. Would never have happened without Title IX. Women’s swimming in the Olympics, women’s gymnastics at the same level. All of this made possible by Title IX, promoting women’s participation in sports. Professional women’s basketball, the WNBA, is exciting. The level of skill caught me by surprise. I can say that without getting into the controversy of race or sexual preference, which I think makes zero difference. Good play is good play. Women’s sports enhance teamwork. Enough for now.
To be honest. Trans girls? I never really understood how you can be something you are not. Just believing you are a girl does not change your genetic makeup and thus genetic differences. The chromosomes are real. If they did not have such an influence on physical build we would not need separate divisions for the sexes. Factors such as bone density differences are important considerations. Why is, a guy waking up one day and wanting to get on a girls team so deciding to be a girl, different from, a person waking up one day and deciding to be a billionaire and spending with abandon? Why should one opinion of self be more tolerated/accepted than the other?
Yenor and Doug Wilson (Hegseths Pastor) are 2 of a kind. Wilson thinks women should not vote.
Since women voted we have seen 2 World Wars and maybe now a third. Also, since Senators ran for office rather than being appointed. Should we revert any of these?
Thank you for this. I could not agree more.
This is an excellent piece. Thank you. I did not know about this attack.
should college sports involve equal numbers sponsored positions for males and females or should the numbers be based on the percentage of each at a school? Should the standards for acceptance be changed so that males rise to 50% of college educated? Are males being discriminated for entry and females for participations? How much on average does a school pay for activities based on ratio of expediture for female participants v male?
I am curious why men and women like Yenor don’t just form their own cult and live the way they think is right. Why force their crazy ideas on other women who are athletic, ambitious, or need an abortion to abide by their crazy rules? Control your own lives and leave everyone else alone to live the way they desire.
too scary for me to even read the whole article.... thanks though for writing this
This should not be a surprise to anyone. It was predicted before the SCOTUS WV v. BPJ decision because Heritage was already telegraphing it. Heritage and other groups used Title IX arguments to gain support from female (cis) athletes, and now they are pulling the rug out from under the athletes.
One of my relatives is a top female athlete, and she expressed her concern that trans women would have an unfair advantage. She had competed against top international athletes, including Eastern European athletes before the fall of communism. It was an open secret that those athletes often took performance enhancing drugs and hormones.
So I took her concerns seriously. Trans women in sports is not a trivial issue to resolve so that it is fair to all the women. The SCOTUS decision was not the way to do it. Now that SCOTUS decision serves as a basis for eliminating Title IX. The opinion rests on biological differences between women and men, and therefore it provides a way to eliminate Title IX because of ... biological differences. Something like, "There are obvious biological differences between men and women, so why should the sports opportunities be the same. We can't make laws to circumvent the natural order."
To the women in my life, I say, "If a man tells you that he is better than you kick 'em in the balls." Actually I say, "Ask the man on what basis. Then why is that a uniquely valid basis. The point out that a woman carried him in her body for 9 months and bore him. Women live longer than men. They are more verbal and emotionally engaged." That doesn't make them better, but it sure as hell destroys any argument that men are better.
Horrifying.