When I was 13 years old, I walked into the girls locker room at my Maine school to change for gym class like I did every day, except this day was different. A male student stood there. Like most seventh graders, I did not know how to react. I was shocked.
But two things were clear to me: I knew it was wrong, and I knew it made me feel uncomfortable. So I immediately reported it to school officials, and they gave me an alternative: I could change in the single-stall restroom and risk being late for class. The male student could continue using the girls locker room. As a middle school girl, I no longer felt safe or private in my locker room. I felt silenced, like I had no voice.
That’s an experience no girl should ever encounter. And hopefully, we won’t have to in the future. For the first time, two states and female athletes will make their case directly before the Supreme Court on Jan. 13.
Unlike my home state of Maine, 27 other states have enacted Save Women’s Sports laws to protect female athletes. Two of those states are West Virginia and Idaho, and with the legal help of Alliance Defending Freedom, they are trying to protect young women like me and to make our voices heard before the nation’s high court.
And we have some stories to tell.
I recently graduated from high school, where I was a three-sport varsity athlete. I played soccer, was a state champion in track and field, and competed in Nordic cross-country skiing. My love for skiing grew throughout high school, but due to a Maine athletic policy, males are allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams. I heard heartbreaking stories of other girls across the country who were forced to compete against boys, but I never thought it would happen to me.
Until it did, and I was forced to compete against a male skier in my junior and senior years and lost 11 times to that athlete, who was taller, faster, and more muscular than I was. Toward the end of my junior year, I made it onto the Maine Nordic Team, and so did the male skier. Now we were teammates. Skiing is an individual sport, but at the same time, it’s also a team sport. It was extremely hard for me when we participated in a New England competition because I was so conflicted: Do I cheer for my own team, which has the obvious, unfair advantage of having a male skier, or do I cheer for the other team, comprised of only female skiers?
It’s sad that it’s gotten to the point where girls have to face those dilemmas and lose medals or roster spots to male athletes. Female athletes deserve the opportunity to excel at their sports and experience the thrill of victory. But allowing males to compete in female sports disadvantages women and destroys their athletic opportunities. These challenges affected my high school athletic career. It was hard to stay encouraged and motivated when many adults in my state were not only failing to stand up for my rights and the rights of other female athletes but were even trying to silence us.
I’m a Christian, and I believe that God created each person with dignity and worth. I believe that he created us male and female and that this is an important aspect of a person’s identity. I don’t believe that sex can be changed, and I think accepting one’s sex is essential to flourishing. Ignoring the truth that the sexes are different is harmful. It denies the truth to individuals struggling with their identities and victimizes girls and women, eroding decades of hard-earned progress. Women and girls should be allowed to flourish at school, in sports, and in every sphere of society.
TRUMP STARTING TO SEE WINS IN TRANSGENDER COURT BATTLES
This includes preserving the female sports category. Every girl deserves to grow up loving sports like I did — to develop passion, drive, and teamwork. This isn’t a political matter; this is a women’s rights issue. There is a real human cost to the claim that men can be women.
Government officials and sports governing bodies must commit to upholding the protections for women and girls in Title IX. And now, I am urging the Supreme Court to listen to our voices as we speak truth in love and kindness toward all and champion the rights of women and girls everywhere.
Cassidy Carlisle is a college freshman and a member of Female Athletes United.