OK. I have completed a comment that I think is pretty clear in explaining the issues and following the "Commenter's Checklist" guide on the site.
Sorry this took so long! It was really hard to explain everything in under 5000 characters. While you can submit a longer comment as a document attachment (which I also plan to do, simply in the name of being thorough), I really wanted the type-in comment to be exactly the same as the attachment, just in case they have some issue with downloading/viewing the attachment.
I haven't actually submitted the comment yet (though I pasted it into the comment box to make sure it fits and doesn't have any "invalid characters" or any such issues). So if anyone has any notes or suggestions, please feel free to share them.
Oh, also, the comment is just a few characters under the limit, so if you copy-paste this comment, make sure there are no extra lines or spaces. Sometimes the site tells you you have "invalid characters" when actually you are just over the character limit. It's weird.
Here is the comment (docket number must be included in the comment text):
Docket ID ED-2021-OCR-0166
I am concerned about some of the proposed changes to Title IX. Specifically, the provision forbidding recipients from “adopting a policy or engaging in a practice that prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity” means that women will no longer be afforded sex-specific provisions, as these provisions can be claimed by members of the opposite sex. Preventing discrimination against trans/nonbinary people shouldn’t come at the expense of women, and yet that is precisely what will happen if the proposed changes go through. Effectively, Title IX will be nullified.
The most glaring example is in the area of athletics. Women’s sports exist because biological males have a significant physiological advantage over women in almost all areas of athletics. Segregating sports on the basis of sex ensures that women are able to meaningfully compete in sports.
If biological males can identify as women and compete in women’s sports, then by definition, sex-segregated sports no longer exist. Since males have such a significant physiological advantage, women will no longer have an equal opportunity to compete in sports. Since the entire point of Title IX is to ensure that women have equal opportunities in education (including sports), the proposed changes to Title IX are (ironically) in direct violation of Title IX.
Please keep in mind that “transgender” means something very different today than it did just a decade ago. Previously, a “transgender woman” was a biological male with a condition known as gender dysphoria, who used surgery and/or female hormones to “transition” into appearing female.
Today, however, the definition of a “transwoman” has expanded to include males who do not have gender dysphoria and do not have surgery or take female hormones. Often their transition consists of nothing more than a wig and a change of pronouns. In fact there is NOTHING a person is required to do, beyond a simple self-declaration, in order to identify as trans. This means it is entirely feasible for men to fraudulently identify as transwomen.
This loophole goes unrecognized under the proposed changes. There’s no requirement for a person to undergo any kind of transition or provide any kind of medical documentation, so it will be possible for literally any male to identify as female.
Sports isn’t the only area in which women will lose the right to equal opportunities. Virtually all aspects of education will be affected. Scholarships earmarked for women could be claimed by biological males, thus defeating the purpose of female-specific scholarships.
Or (to give a more specific example) let’s say the student government has a Women’s Committee to specifically address women’s needs on campus. Theoretically up to 100% of the committee members could be transwomen, ensuring that biological women’s needs are underrepresented or perhaps entirely unrepresented.
Say a certain campus club or organization has come under fire for excluding females from joining. One or more of the members could simply declare themselves female (without undergoing any sort of transition, or even a name change). The club can declare that things have changed and they now have female members, even though literally nothing has changed. Similar scenarios could play out in any aspect of education where women are underrepresented or discriminated against.
As if the loss of equal opportunities wasn’t enough, the proposed changes also threaten women’s safety and privacy. Any women’s dormitory or locker room would be open to any male who claims to have a female gender identity. It is foolish to think this loophole won’t be seized upon by sexual predators/voyeurs. Women have the right to feel safe when they are sleeping, showering, and changing clothes. They shouldn’t have to deal with the prospect of being forced to shower or sleep next to biological males who have a male physique/genitalia.
The bottom line is that gender identity and biological sex are discrete concepts. The very fact that trans people’s gender identity is at odds with their biological sex should make it self-evident that these are discrete concepts. Yet the proposed changes conflate the two by defining gender identity discrimination as a form of sex discrimination. A better strategy would be to leave Title IX unchanged, and pass new, separate legislation that guarantees freedom from discrimination based on gender identity.
Furthermore, if the law declares that a male person’s female gender identity overrides or takes precedence over his biological sex, then by definition women no longer have sex-specific provisions. Therefore, any new gender identity legislation should specify that excluding biological males from female-specific provisions does not constitute gender identity discrimination. This is unavoidably necessary to preserve women's rights.