As one of President Joe Biden’s many “day one” promises, he signed an Executive Order titled “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” standing as immediate and irrefutable evidence that Biden will be far from the bulwark against radicalism that many moderates hoped he would be.
On the surface, any “anti-discrimination” language sounds perfectly agreeable. After all, who is in favor of discrimination? The American Civil Liberties Union applauded Biden’s order on “LGBTQ workplace protections,” saying, “This action by the Biden administration recognizes what the Supreme Court held last June and what we’ve long known: LGBTQ people are protected by our civil rights laws.”
Like so many demands of the transgender movement, however, such “progress” comes at a significant cost. Who pays the price? Women, our society’s most vulnerable.
The key to judging any legislation (whether delivered through Congress or with the dictatorial stroke of a monarch’s pen) is to look beyond the “feel good” title and understand its impact and consequences. The first step here is to actually read the Executive Order.
For example, the first paragraph of the order contains the following: “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”
So, what does this mean? This means that children — defined by the federal government by anyone who is younger than age 18 or who is not an emancipated minor — have the “right” to decide which restroom or locker room they use. What does this mean, in raw actuality? Girls who believe they are boys can enter bathrooms and locker rooms designated for boys and, more worryingly, boys who believe they are girls can enter bathrooms and locker rooms designated for girls. Don’t like it? Too bad.
Cutting through the vague and evasive language of the executive order, this means that — just by claiming that they are a girl — boys will have access to an enclosed and previously private space where girls can undress. Not only that, they will have the supposed right to undress in front of these girls, forcing them into — at best — an uncomfortable situation, and — at worst — a dangerous one.
One can certainly understand the mental anguish caused when transgender individuals are “forced” to use a bathroom or locker room which does not “confirm” their gender identity. The answer here, however, is to find a solution which does not steamroll over the long-protected rights of 50% of the population. The answer here — if the goal is truly to protect transgender children — is to try and provide private bathrooms and changing areas for these individuals.
That is not the goal of the radical transgender movement, however. The goal is to fully embrace the contentious claim that gender identity is simply a statement of fact, and that such beliefs supersede the biological reality experienced by everyone else. By wording legislation which confirms the entirely unscientific belief of a tiny minority, the rights to safety and security of a vast majority are destroyed. In simple terms, the right of a girl to undress in private — and separate from undressing males — is destroyed.
What about the third factor mentioned, regarding “school sports”? Again, after decades (if not centuries) of work — in most cases by women — to achieve equal opportunity for women across all areas of society, the demands of a tiny minority of men who believe they are women suddenly supersedes such moral victories. Allowing boys to compete with girls — despite obvious physical differences which provide an inescapable biological advantage — will have one outcome, and one alone: The eradication of women’s sports.
Biden entered office with Vice President Kamala Harris as his trophy of diversity, promising equality and unity. With one shaky flick of his pen, however, he has actively discriminated against women across the country in favor of men who believe they are women.
For those who advocate in favor of “transgender rights,” progress can only be achieved in place of women’s rights. It’s a price they’re far too eager to pay.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.