Petition to Stop Transgenders Competing in Female Sports Goes Viral
165,000 sign petition for high school girl to keep girls' events for biological females
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A petition, calling for biological male transgender athletes to be banned from competing in female sports events, has gone viral.
The petition, created to support born-female high school runner Selina Soule, has reached a staggering 165,000 signatures so far, and it continues to climb.
Soule filed a federal complaint against the Connecticut state policy that mandates biological boys to enter girls’ athletics competitions if they "identify" as female.
The campaign was launched over the summer but has quickly gathered momentum in the last couple of weeks.
“The petition, which was begun in July, just keeps growing,” said Scott Schittl, one of the campaign coordinators.
“The fact that so many people have signed shows there is a deep unease about this in American society,” Schittl adds.
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Soule is a high school senior from Glastonbury, Connecticut.
Along with two other female athletes, she lodged a complaint with the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
The other two athletes have kept their identities anonymous over fears of retaliation.
The complaint alleges that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) is discriminating against biological girls by allowing transgender females to compete against them.
The trio says the move violates their Title IX rights.
Most observers agree that Title IX has been mostly successful after it was implemented in 1972 to help ensure that girls were given the same opportunities as boys in sports.
But Title IX does not mention “gender identity,” however, as it was never anticipated that boys would seek to compete as girls.
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Connecticut is among 20 US states that allow born-male athletes to compete in girls' sports if they "identify" as transgender females.
Critics argue that girls are now forced to compete against biological boys who have an unfair physical advantage.
Soule and her supporters say the policies unfairly deprive biological girls of the right to a level playing field in competitions that they have little chance of winning, despite their best efforts.
“150,000 people from all over the United States, and beyond, agree that the real discrimination taking place here is against female athletes who have worked hard to achieve success in their chosen sport,” Schittl said in a statement when the petition recently passed 150k signatures.
"Success which is being deprived to them because of the inherent and insurmountable advantages which biological boys naturally have.
“To many, many people, this is totally unfair and totally unacceptable,” he concludes.
Soule’s complaint is currently being investigated by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
You can view and sign the petition HERE.
