Penna Dexter

On day one of his administration, President Biden issued an executive order outlining planned steps to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The order requires all government agency heads to adapt their policies accordingly. The president’s order signaled the administration’s take on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act provides workplace protections “on the basis of sex.” In crafting the majority opinion in Bostock, Justice Neil Gorsuch began by making clear: “We proceed on the assumption that ‘sex‘ signified what the employers suggest, referring only to biological distinctions between male and female.” But the administration’s definition of “sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity. The Bostock ruling is constantly being stretched — first, by those who insist on this radical expansion of the definition of “sex.” And secondly, even though the Bostock case dealt specifically with workplace rights, it is repeatedly cited in matters that apply beyond the workplace to all civil rights law. The president’s day-one order assumed both of these radical interpretations. In mid-June, we found out just what this means for America’s students, especially girls. The Department of Education issued a Notice of Interpretation which also redefines “sex” in another very important and hard-won protection for women and girls: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX ensures women and girls have equal opportunities in education, including sports, and privacy in facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms. To gut biological sex in Title IX would force schools to allow boys who “identify” as girls into sex-separated spaces and onto girls’ sports teams. Girls could even be forced to share living quarters with biological boys and be disciplined for objecting. Title IX is popular across the political and cultural landscape. The Left fought relentlessly for the protections for women and girls that Title IX provides. Now they’re destroying it by prioritizing transgender students over biological girls.