“Trans rights are human rights,” said President Biden’s Press Secretary. She was defending his executive order that allows biological males, also known as transgender females, to invade the bathrooms, changing rooms, and athletic competitions of biological females.
The harmful consequences of males occupying female private areas are obvious but hard to quantify. However, the devastating consequences of biological males competing against biological females are easy to calculate.
I’ll discuss one sport, track, at one school, Dordt University. As of February 10, the National TFRI Event Summary lists the men in 2nd place and the women in 4th place in the NAIA, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The National Meet is March 3-6. Unlike previous years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused
the NAIA to limit events to the top 16 qualifiers. The Event Summary lists the top 35 places for individual events and the top 25 for relays.
I chose two running events, the 600-meter and the 4 x 400-meter relay. Both the Dordt men and women are rated 1st in those events as of February 10.
The Dordt male ranked 1st in the 600 has a time of 1:19.09. The 16th place time is 1:22.26; the 35th place time is 1:23.65.
The Dordt female ranked 1st has a time of 1:34.55. The final qualifier in 16th place is clocked at 1:38.27.
The Dordt men’s 4 x 400 relay ranked 1st with 3:15.04. The team ranked 16th is at 3:24.65, while the 25th team is 3:26.83.
The Dordt women’s team ranked 1st ran at 3:52.86. The 16th and last qualifying team ran at 4:08.40.
It is obvious the slowest ranked male and many unranked men would easily outrun the fastest female runners in the NAIA. None of those Dordt women or the many others from Dordt and from across the country who are currently ranked in the top 16 in their events would have the honor of participating in the National Meet, if biological males were allowed to compete against them.
In other athletic activities, the advantages biological males possess may be less quantifiable.
But they are real. A mediocre male is likely to outperform an elite female in every sport. Anyone old enough to remember Bobby Riggs versus Margaret Court witnessed it.
The athletic advantages bestowed at birth to biological males are not eliminated by estrogen or other female hormone therapy. Note that transgender men, also known as biological females, in spite of male hormone therapy, are not attempting to compete against biological males.
Biden’s executive order ignores basic biology and violates common sense. Anyone who values females and who supports their right to fair athletic opportunities must oppose this misnamed “Equality Act.”
- Bonnie Reinders
