I said some strong things about Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner in my last post. But on one thing Jenner and I wholeheartedly agree. Post pubescent males should not be allowed to compete against biological females in most sporting events. It is simply not fair to do so. And may result in the end of competitive sport for the ladies. Jenner, considered one of the world’s greatest male athletes, recognizes the inherent unfairness of pitting male bodies against female bodies in sporting events where speed and strength are most important.
I was a good athlete myself “back in the day.” I ran track like Jenner. My times in my best event over 40 years ago would be competitive with the fastest female athletes in the world today. Male bodies possess huge biological and competitive strength and speed advantages over female bodies. Everyone knows this. Or at least we all once did.
I sometimes wonder if young people are not uniquely susceptible to a Gender Ideology that considers male-female body types irrelevant partially because they’ve consumed hours and hours of comic book fantasies which show the female super hero characters “kicking ass” just like male characters. Or because of the untold hours they spend in the virtual realities of the Internet where avatars and online personas become utterly believable to them. It’s fantasy folks! As any women who has ever fought or been assaulted by a reasonably healthy, physically average, or above average male could readily explain.
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It wasn’t that long ago in the Western world females were not allowed to publicly compete in sport. It was considered most un-lady-like.
Thankfully those days are in the cultural rear view mirror. But now female athletes face what I regard as an existential threat to their active participation in most competitive sport.
I’ve already posted something about this threat. You can read about some “Real World Examples” in my “A Gender Identity Win For Women?” post.
I just became aware of another one.
Another Real World Example
Will Thomas, a native of Austin, Texas, competed for the Penn men’s swimming team for three seasons before taking off the pandemic year. During the 2018-19 season, Will was second-team All-Ivy League in the 500 freestyle, 1,000 free and 1,650 free. In 2019-20, Thomas competed in four of Penn’s eight regular-season events. According to the Penn swimming archives, Will Thomas last competed for the men’s team on November 16, 2019.
But now Will is Lia. And Lia is smashing women’s records in every event Lia enters.
A few female swimmers have anonymously announced their dismay. According to Outkick Reports
Even after a Wednesday team meeting where a source says Penn administration “strongly advised” its swimmers to avoid talking to the media about the situation surrounding transgender Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, a second female Penn swimmer has stepped forward to speak out via an exclusive interview with OutKick.
The second female Penn swimmer to speak out, who was granted anonymity due to what is viewed as threats from the university, activists, and the political climate, wants people to know that Penn swimmers are “angry” over the lack of fairness in the sport as Lia Thomas destroys the record books and brings fellow teammates to tears.
The second Penn swimmer to come forward was at the University of Akron Zippy Invitational where she watched Lia Thomas beat fellow teammate Anna Kalandadze by 38 seconds in the 1650 freestyle. OutKick’s source described Penn swimmers on the Akron pool deck as upset and crying, knowing they were going to be demolished by Thomas. . .
After just five meets and the Akron Invitational, Thomas has not just destroyed opponents. The Penn freestyle records are being rewritten by a swimmer who was second-team All-Ivy league in 2018-19 — as a male.
Akron was an absolute beatdown by Thomas, but it wasn’t without disgust from fans who were in the building watching meet, pool, and school records drop one after the other.
“Usually everyone claps, everyone is yelling and cheering when someone wins a race. Lia touched the wall and it was just silent in there,” OutKick’s source said during a phone interview.
“When [Penn swimmer] Anna [Kalandadze] finished second, the crowd erupted in applause.” . . .
A team source who was at Wednesday’s meeting says the administration drew a line in the sand and announced that Thomas wasn’t going anywhere and it was non-negotiable.
That leaves disgusted teammates no choice but to either stay quiet or speak up against the wishes of the school and risk repercussions. The second swimmer to speak out says that it’s her belief that coach Mike Schnur is just staying quiet and going about his business.
Another anonymous source said:
“They feel so discouraged because no matter how much work they put in it, they’re going to lose. Usually, they can get behind the blocks and know they out-trained all their competitors and they’re going to win and give it all they’ve got,”
Cynthia Millen of USA Swimming quit her job in protest.
“It’s placing women who can never compete with a man at a gross disadvantage by basically … calling this person a female competitor,” Millen told a recent interviewer at Fox. “He’s not. It’s his body that will always be different and always be faster as a competitive swimmer. And it’s this great illusion that somehow, because he feels he’s a female, that he can be a female swimmer. This is grossly unfair to all the women who have worked so hard. Women biologically will never be faster than men.”
Still, the NCAA remains silent on Thomas and seems set to allow the Penn swimmer to attend the NCAA championships in March where Thomas will be the odds on favorite to leave with at least one national title and maybe more.
“Bodies swim against bodies. Gender identities don’t swim,” Millen told Fox. “Lia is a man who is swimming against women.”
Katie Ledecky, watch out! Here comes Lia!
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I’m a Classic Christian and regard Gender Ideology as anti-creational to the core. This blog is about “God’s Good Creation.” That’s why I’m writing about Gender Ideology. And “speaking up” as I’m confident Jesus would.
"Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female.'" [Matt 19:4]
As a Classic Christian I encourage everyone to “Embrace, Don’t Affirm.” Individuals with a Gender Identity Disorder (Gender-Dysphoria) need Truth-filled Love. Please read this post for more details.
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Email: blog@blueridgemountain.life