Selina Soule

            My VIP for this week is Selina Soule, a female high school athlete who believes that biological men who should not compete on female sports teams. Soule filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights because two transgender runners took first and second place at a major track meet and caused Soule to lose opportunities to be seen by college coaches. In an interview with Kelsey Bolar, Soule told her story for the viewers.

In the indoor season at the state open championship, I came in eighth place in the 550-meter dash. The top seven qualify for the finals of the 55-meter dash, and the top six qualify for the regional New England meet. I came in eighth place overall, but I would have been sixth place because the first two spots are taken by two transgender athletes.

            Soule is a senior in high school and invested years in training to compete for spots on college teams. She is the type of woman that Title IX was designed to protect. This law insured that “women were free of sex discrimination in education, and, secondly, in athletics so that they could have the opportunity to compete, to move to the next level, to compete for scholarships, and potentially even launch their own athletic careers.” However, numerous school districts and athletic associations see nothing wrong with forcing females to compete against biological males who identify as female.

            Any thinking person should be able to see that biological males are bigger, taller, and stronger than females and have more muscle mass. There is no way that most biological women can fairly compete against biological men. The main reason that Title IX was passed was to give female athletes a level playing field. Now biological males are dominating female athletes in some areas.

            The reason that Soule is speaking out and filing a complaint is that she wants fairness to be returned to all female sports. Women, like Soule, are not being heard by many of the powers that be in the sporting world. However, Soule’s story is being heard. The Daily Signal published her story, and the documentary received “2.65 million views on YouTube and 3.8 million views on Facebook.”

            Bolar says that the documentary is the “highest performing video we’ve ever published in the five years The Daily Signal has existed.” Comments on the two sites are “overwhelmingly positive” – even from transgender individuals, but there are negative responses. I am grateful that Soule has the courage to make this stand in behave of all females. Women have fought for equal rights for too many years to lose any of them over this issue. I hope more women will make a stand for equal rights.