Not the Headlines - Title IX

Speaker 2 0:00

The Listening Tube presents not the headlines.

Speaker 1 0:09

I'm Bob Woodley from the Listening Tube. The Trump administration, through the Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, has put Title IX back where it was originally applied. To the protection of girls and young women in the realm of education and extracurricular sports. Prior to 1972, there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity for women when it came to organized scholastic sports. Sports was a man's world for the most part. It had become apparent that sports favored men when it came to scholarships and recognition for athletic excellence. So to level the playing field, to use a sports metaphor, Title IX was implemented. It gave equal attention and more importantly, more funding to girls and women's sports programs. Not just creating programs, but supplying the proper equipment, hiring coaches, forming leagues and conferences, the whole kit and caboodle. It's not that none of it existed before, but sports opportunities for females got a real shot in the arm. And while a lot of women would respond to a shot in the arm with owl, many others went hmm. That led to more scholarships at colleges and universities. Girls were now getting opportunities like the boys were. Secondary education in exchange for their services as an athlete to represent the school in competition. More athletic opportunities at the high school and college levels contribute greatly to non-athletic livelihoods after college and give women the same leverage as men when it comes to finding ways to contribute to society. Title IX has been an invaluable tool in elevating women instead of depriving them of athletic avenues to success. And thanks to name, image, and likeness agreements, many college students are making a fortune before they graduate. Those deals are not limited to men, thanks to Title IX.

Speaker 2 2:46

You can hang your hat on that.

Speaker 1 2:49

While Title IX leveled the playing field when it came to opportunities for girls, the demand by spectators for women's sports is still far below that of men's sports. Most people still prefer to watch men play football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, and even ice hockey. Field hockey, on the other hand, is a popular women's sport, as is volleyball. Women's wrestling has been making inroads lately, even at the high school level. I worked with a woman reporter in Las Vegas who went to college on a volleyball scholarship. But you don't need a stadium that holds a hundred thousand people for a women's volleyball match, like you do for a men's football game. It's simple supply and demand. The only legislation that can level that playing field is socialism. Ultimately, Title IX has been a great program in all kinds of ways, and not just for girls and women, but for all of us who've benefited from the vast number of contributions of women to society through inventions and innovation and leadership. Unfortunately, there are some people who have taken advantage of Title IX and the opportunities meant for women. Boys and men have been claiming to be women and taking away opportunities meant for actual women. They call themselves transgender. Some have even taken measures to try to transform themselves into women through puberty blockers and surgeries. Obviously, these people genuinely feel that God or nature put them in the wrong bodies. They're doing what they can to become what they think they should be. That's why the Biden administration amended Title IX to include LGBTQ students. I say the Biden administration because I don't think Joe was actually in charge. But Title IX was used to extend protections to those subgroups because it was sex, for the most part, that put them into those categories. And Title IX was all about a person's sex. Even though Title IX was about the sex you were born with, not the type or with whom you have it. Let's go through the alphabet of the groups the Biden administration included under Title IX, which, I'll remind you, was created to give more opportunities to women. Well, I guess I'm okay with adding lesbians as a protected class. They are by definition women. Title IX doesn't care who you're having sex with. Well, here we have a problem. Because not all gay people are women. Title IX is for women, not homosexuals in general. There's no reason for gay people to have protections or opportunities through Title IX. Same with bisexual. Bisexual people can be men or women. There's no protections or anything else for men in Title IX, or at least there shouldn't be. And that's when we get to the T. Is it transsexual or is it transgender? Are we talking about the guy from the Rocky Horror Picture Show or someone who thinks they're in the wrong body? It's one thing for a guy to dress up in women's clothes. It's another thing for the guy to think he's a woman. Either way, Title IX wasn't made to offer any benefit to either of them. And just like lesbians, gay people and bisexual people, queer people aren't pretending to be another gender. They just have different sexual preferences, and none of them were even an afterthought when Title IX was written in 1972.

Speaker 2 7:41

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Speaker 1 7:53

For those who claim that reverting Title IX back to what it was supposed to be somehow takes away human rights from anyone is simply laughable. It has no effect whatsoever on gay by lesbian or queer people. And they're not taking any opportunities away from women. Men claiming to be women are. If a man wants to live his life as a woman, that's fine. But the inherent physical advantages most men have when compared to women is an unfair disadvantage to actual women during physical competition. There was one more part of Title IX that the Biden administration amended. It required schools to investigate sex-based harassment. Not sexual harassment, sex based harassment. We're all pretty familiar with sexual harassment. It's when someone well it can actually be anything that one of the people involved interprets as sexual harassment. Even if there was no intent. So what is sex-based harassment? One example might be misgendering someone. Pardon me, sir.

Speaker 9:42

I'm a man. How dare you call me, sir? That's sex-based harassment.

Speaker 1 9:50

It was probably just because you still look like a man but want to be known as a woman. You can't blame other people for not knowing that. But under the Biden administration amendments, an investigation is required. That has nothing to do with the intent of Title IX. The Biden administration turned Title IX into a catch-all for any type of sexual conflict, real or imagined, and included people who were never intended to be affected in any way by Title IX. Specifically, men and the men who pretend to be women.

Speaker 2 10:36

Well, that can't be right.

Speaker 1 10:42

There's one more way critics claim the changes to Title IX are bad. And by changes, I mean changing it back to what it was before it became radicalized. And that's the protections from sexual assault that are inferred by many to be a part of Title IX. I will just point out that the Trump administration did nothing to make sexual assault legal or tolerated in any way. Some claim that it gives colleges and universities too much leeway on reporting sexual assaults that occur on campus. Regardless of what Title IX says, sexual assault is still against the law, regardless of where it happens. Places of higher education shouldn't need Title IX to enforce the law. If there's an issue with colleges and universities letting sexual assault slide in order to protect the reputation of the institution, that's a bigger problem that needs to be addressed separately. It shouldn't be a sidebar to protecting and expanding opportunities for women in the field of athletics and education. Title IX was meant to give opportunities to girls and young women when it comes to athletics and education. To include LGBTQ people was not only unnecessary, but also gave protections to men when the intent of Title IX was to give protections and opportunities to women. The Trump administration was correct to realign Title IX back to the purpose for which it was intended. Unless, of course, women want actual equality, which would then eliminate the need for Title IX at all. Thank you for putting your ear to the listening tube. Follow the listening tube at thelisteningtube.com where you'll find this week in history and interviews with interesting people.