Women's Cycling Finally Won Equal Pay

But a Man Takes the Paycheck... and Feminism is Dead

After years of hard work, women’s rights advocates experienced a major win for equal pay for women’s and men’s cycling races. The New Mexico Tour of the Gila announced they would award the same cash prize of $35,000 to the winner of the women’s race as they do the men’s race. However, no woman won the $35,000 cash prize. Not only did a man take home the prize in the men’s race, but another man, pretending to be a woman, took home the 1st place prize in the women’s race. I can’t think of a better example of taking one step forward and two steps back or a better use for the facepalm emoji:

There is not a more absurd flash point in the culture war than women’s athletics. Abigail Adams, argued, “…in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could.” Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony fought for the right to vote. Ruth Bader Ginsberg worked for women’s individual rights prior to her time as a Supreme Court Justice. There is a new chapter in the women’s rights movement now. How will our culture respond to men cheating women out of opportunities in the era of transgender ideology?

Unfortunately, the women’s rights movement lost its base many years ago. If it wasn’t clear then, it is abundantly clear now: the feminist movement lost its soul. It is not about women. Modern feminism awards women of the year to men. Modern feminists shout down and assault women who speak up for women’s rights. Modern feminists reject the rule of law, trial by jury, and innocent until proven guilty. This has been the trend for feminism for years. However, the nail in the coffin for feminism is women’s sports.

It is no longer rare in women’s sports. You see it in swimming (here and here), in golf, in track (here, here, and here), in weight lifting (here and here), and many other sports. It is also dangerous. Watch this high school boy pummel this poor girl with a volleyball spike. She suffered a concussion, is partially paralyzed, and never able to compete in sports again. Another boy injured three girls while playing girls rugby. This man fractured a woman’s skull in an MMA match.

While I still think it is important to treat everyone with respect, including those suffering from mental disorders like gender dysphoria, I am convinced we cannot coddle their feelings at the expense of real women. We can be kind and compassionate while being firm in protecting women. Parents need to stick up for girls. Men need to stand up for women. And women need to heed the advice of America’s first female Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.”

The transgender ideological movement is dangerous to the mental health of our children. The online content consumed by teens (also younger children) is riddled with trans ideology and messaging celebrating and encouraging the mental health disorder. They are being conditioned by social media, streaming services like YouTube, and even local schools to adopt trans ideology, as if to celebrate the mental disorder. It is no surprise many children decide they are trans and work on transitioning to the opposite gender, as though it is a social fad. Abigail Shrier, one of the first to call out our institutions for propagating trans ideology, has written extensively on the topic (leading sex change doctors lamenting their roles, activist teachers recruiting kids, courts removing parents from children’s lives, and schools targeting 1st graders and special needs kids). Christopher Rufo, too (whitleblower exposing Texas hospital’s gender transition on minors, Biden’s irrational idea to force states to allow surgical and medical transitions for children, and how to counter gender ideology in schools).

The United States is increasingly alone in its radical approach to transgender ideology. This year England shut down the Tavistock gender clinic for children after an investigation showed how horrible the gender transitioning outcomes have been for minors. Sweden, Norway, and Finland recently joined the UK in limiting medical intervention for minors. The rest of Europe is moving in the same direction. It seems the United States is the only one moving the other direction. While the European movement appears to be based on scientific research, the American trajectory is more based on politics. Democrat led states are increasingly enabling minor gender dysphoria, while Republican led states are more closely aligned with Europe in their approach, limiting medical intervention for children.

In the beginning, I decided the best way to navigate this cultural phenomenon was to be polite and let the fad pass without sticking my neck out. Now I feel differently. While still polite, I recognize the stakes are too high. The risks for our children are too great to allow this ideology to permeate through our culture any further, unchecked. We need to stand up for sanity, reason, and the mental health of our children. That means we can no longer be silent. It is a strange topic, I know, but we have to be engaged in it.