Title IX was once the crowning achievement of the women’s rights movement, but with the stroke of a pen and some bureaucratic maneuvering, a new rule from the Biden Administration will unconstitutionally undo what women spent decades fighting for unless the Courts step in or Congress can pass legislation to stop it.
Title IX was viewed as a follow-up to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act prohibited, among other things, discrimination on the basis of sex in areas of employment and public accommodations. But it did not address discrimination in federally funded programs. Although women could not be barred from a job purely for being female, opportunities at most education institutions were still limited.
The implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as its formally called, continued the job that the Civil Rights Act had started by protecting women and girls from sexual discrimination in education. It allowed them to access the same opportunities in academics and athletics as their male counterparts. It also prohibited sexual harassment on college campuses and gave women greater access to financial assistance than they once had. It was a landmark for American women.
But on August 1, that hard-fought victory will be entirely undone. A new rule put forward by the Biden Administration will fundamentally change the meaning of Title IX by declaring that men who identify as women are, in fact, women.
The rule redefines “sex” to include the vague, subjective category of “gender identity.” No longer will women be protected based on the immutable characteristics of the binary sex categories. Instead, any man who identifies as a women will now be allowed into women’s locker rooms, onto women’s sports teams, and eligible for women’s academic scholarships. Though the Administration claims it will address the matter of sports specifically at a later date in a separate rule, this action sets the stage for the complete destruction of women sports categories.
Not only does this violate women’s rights to equal opportunity and privacy, but it also puts them in dangerous positions without recourse for justice. Because sex will now be determined by one’s gender identity, women will have a more difficult time proving true instances of sexual harassment.
There are female athletes like Payton McNabb who have been forced into early retirement because of injuries received from biological men playing on the opposing team. There have been stories of young girls being assaulted in public high schools, such as what happened in Loudoun County, Virginia. Women are disproportionately harmed when biological reality is ignored.
Despite this, and the fact that over half of the states have filed lawsuits to block the new rule, the Administration has continued to move forward with their agenda. Thankfully, Congress is trying to step in. The rule does not go into effect until August 1, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi) and Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois 15th) have introduced bills that would ensure it never does. Both bills are Congressional Review Acts, a type of legislation that Congress can use to block an executive branch action with which it disagrees.
In this age of moral ambiguity, it takes courage to stand on the side of truth and biological reality. We applaud Congresswoman Miller, Sen. Hyde-Smith, and the over 70 cosponsors of their bills for being true champions for the rights and security of women. They are standing on the right side of history, and Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) supports them wholeheartedly.
Contact your legislators using our action center and tell them to support Rep. Miller and Sen. Hyde-Smith’s Title IX CRAs.