WoLF Testifies in Support of Kansas Fairness in Women’s Sports Act
Kansas University Memorial Stadium - The University of Kansas
On Tuesday, February 23, WoLF Executive Director Natasha Chart testified before the Kansas State Senate Education Committee on favor of SB 208, “Creating the fairness in women's sports act to require that female student athletic teams only include members who are biologically female.”
WoLF also submitted the following written testimony in support of the bill:
Sen. Molly Baumgardner, Chair
Sen. Renee Erickson, Vice Chair
Kansas State Senate Education CommitteeNatasha Chart
Executive Director, Women’s Liberation FrontMonday, February 22, 2021
Support for SB 208, creating the fairness in women's sports act.
Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) is a national radical feminist organization with members across the country, and in Kansas, dedicated to defending the rights of women and girls. We strongly support SB 208, creating the fairness in women's sports act to require that female student athletic teams only include members who are biologically female, because of the positive impact it will have on maintaining social and educational gains for women and girls in Kansas, through sports.
Since the passage of Title IX, participation in competitive athletics has had a huge positive impact on women and girls in the United States. In addition to the physical health benefits of an active lifestyle, participation in sports among girls has been shown to increase academic success, boost self-esteem and confidence, lead to lower rates of teen pregnancy, and help women achieve long-term in their careers. The fashion of allowing male students to compete in female athletics based on “gender identity” claims puts this progress at risk by costing hard-working women and girls the opportunity to compete in fair and safe sporting competitions.
Males and females are biologically different, with males having physical advantages that start before puberty, that put them ahead in nearly every competitive sport. These changes are not fully reversed with the lowering of testosterone levels or other forms of medical transition, though this is not usually required, and no child should be pushed to use endocrine-disrupting drugs to participate in sports. In Connecticut, girls have already lost athletic opportunities because of these policies. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found that, in the case of Connecticut, these policies violated Title IX. Overall, sex differences are so large that the US Women’s National Team was beaten in a soccer scrimmage by the FC Dallas under-15 boys’ team in 2017. In Ireland this month, a 6’5” male student at Trinity College identified as a woman for one race, just to prove a point. He came in second. His preparation involved drinking beer.
Other states have already passed similar laws protecting women’s and girls’ sports (see Appendix A), and national polling suggests that such policies are supported by a bipartisan majority. The public knows that mixed-sex sports wouldn’t be fair. The passage of SB 208 will ensure that female student athletes in Kansas aren’t forced into a world where women’s sports essentially cease to exist. We urge the committee to pass SB 208 and stand up for the equal educational rights of women and girls. Thank you for this opportunity to testify.
The full video of the hearing can be found here: