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Viewpoint

A Critical Topic for All Women

Educators

By Susan Grosse

Arguing that the issue has relevance for all women educators, the author reviews
a book delving into the controversial topic of transgender women competing in
women’s athletic events and, by extension, having access to traditionally female-

only spaces. Should an athlete be able to compete against those of the gender
with which they identify, or is such competition inherently unfair based on biological
differences in strength and other factors? Which policy direction undermines Title
IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or educational program

that receives federal funding?

[Editor’s note: At the time of the writing of this article, several states in the United
States had passed or were considering legislation on the issue. As the article
was being reviewed and processed, on February 5, 2025, U.S. President Donald
Trump issued an Executive Order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”]

Gaines, R. (2024). Swimming Against the Current: Fighting for Common
Sense in a World that’s Lost its Mind. Center Street Publishing, ISBN
978-1546007449. 292 pages.

Riley Gaines, a 12-time All-American swimmer, 2-time Olympic Trial
Qualifier, 5-time Southeastern Conference competitor, and top National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) swimmer for University of
Kentucky, details her experience swimming in the 2022 NCAA National
Championships. Unique to her account is swimming against a biological
male transitioned to female and thus eligible for that competition. But the
competition itself is not the whole story here. The real story involves the
implications her experience and the experiences of the other women in
this competition have for all women, whether or not they are sports enthusiasts.
In the process of competing, Gaines encountered transgenderism when a biologically intact male in
the process of transitioning to a female not only competed against her in a women’s national-level event
but also used the women’s locker room, shower, and lavatory facilities. The background of Gaines’s story
puts the spotlight on several issues critical to women educators, not the least of which is what will become
of the equal opportunity guarantees put into law by Title IX.
Gaines begins with her personal history as a young lady who became a very good swimmer. The
particular championship event she details in her book is unique in that she was forced to compete against
a biological male. As she documents, the male physique is different from that of the female. This is the
basis for having men and women compete separately in their own competitions in many sports. The year
of the competition, 2022, was the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the United States federal rights legislation
that guarantees equal sports opportunities for men and women. Her discussion of the results of this
competition, the implications in light of the content of Title IX, and the substantiation for her conclusions
are well researched and documented.

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