President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order attempting to end the practice of allowing transgender women, who are born biologically male, to compete in women’s sports. But, apparently, USA Fencing, the organization that governs competitive fencing in the United States, hasn’t gotten the memo.
A female athlete and competitive fencer named Stephanie Turner was just disqualified from a competition because she refused to fence a transgender athlete who identifies as a woman but is biologically male.
“This is a serious issue that is happening within all sports, and it needs to be addressed,” Turner told Fox News about her decision. “There is a difference between men and women. It is a civil rights movement for women and girls, and I prioritize the safety and rights and protection of women and girls over trans-identified males.”
Turner was shown a “black card” by the referee and ejected from the tournament for this refusal. Why? Because USA Fencing’s absurd rules still allow for biological males to compete in the women’s division.
“A fencer is not permitted to refuse to fence another properly entered fencer for any reason,” the organization said in a statement. “We understand that the conversation on equity and inclusion pertaining to transgender participation in sport is evolving. USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion, and we’re committed to amending the policy as more relevant evidence-based research emerges.” (Emphasis added.)
This statement is a giveaway: It chose to err on the side of “inclusion” — not safety or fairness.
This whole thing is a travesty. Of course, the referee likely had no choice but to eject Turner under the rules as they are written. But the fact that USA Fencing still maintains these policies is indefensible.
Female sports exist as a separate, sex-segregated category for a reason. And while transgender adults should be free to live their lives however will make them happiest, they don’t get to infringe on women’s rights.
Sure, hormone therapy may reduce the physical advantages that biological males have in sports, but they do not go away entirely, including in fencing. A literature review specifically examining the research about fencing concluded, “Trans women receiving androgen-suppression therapy for 12 months showed significant reductions in strength, lean body mass, and muscle surface area, but even after 36 months, the measurements of these three indices remained above those for cisgender females.”
So, it simply isn’t safe or fair to women to blur the lines and allow biological males to compete with females. Of course, transgender women can still compete in fencing — just without compromising the female-only division.
The researchers added, “A proposed solution of an open or third gender category for elite fencing competition promotes fair competition, while allowing trans women to compete in their chosen sport.”
But that’s not good enough, apparently.
This isn’t just unfair to women. It’s also a completely self-destructive and short-sighted position for the LGBT community to impose on the public.
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Most people, heck, even many Democrats, don’t think biological males should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Tying the LGBT community to this absurd position, which immediately strikes so many people as obviously unreasonable and unfair, is a recipe for backlash and a decline in public support, which is exactly what we’ve seen in recent years.
It doesn’t have to be this way. But nothing will change so long as out-of-touch ideologues continue to prioritize the feelings of a few transgender athletes over safety and fairness for women.
Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist and host of the Brad vs Everyone podcast.