Don’t Let the Media Deceive You About Trump’s Order Protecting Female Athletes
On Wednesday, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, President Donald J. Trump signed a monumental executive order prohibiting men from competing in girls and women’s sports.
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” the president declared.
The order is titled, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. It’s applicable to K-12 public schools, colleges and universities.
“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” the order observes. “This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
The order states,
The order uses Title IX to withhold funding from universities that permit male athletes to enter women’s sports and competitions. It authorizes “Title IX enforcement actions against education institutions (including athletic associations composed of or governed by such institutions) that deny female students an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them, in the women’s category, to compete with or against or to appear unclothed before males.”
Mainstream Media Deception
Now, it didn’t take long for mainstream media outlets to spread false and misleading information about the order.
Per AP Style, most media outlets claimed the order bans “transgender girls and women” from competing in female sports. I explain why this is deceptive below.
Consider the following headlines.
The Wall Street Journal: “Trump Order Set to Ban Transgender Girls and Women From Female School Sports”
The New York Times: “Donald Trump signs executive order to block transgender athletes from women’s sports”
ABC News: “Trump signs executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports”
CNN: “Trump takes action to ban transgender women from women’s sports”
NBC News: “Trump signs executive order banning trans women from women’s sports”
BBC: “Trump signs order banning transgender women from female sports”
The Guardian: “Trump signs executive order banning trans athletes from women’s sports”
NPR: “Trump signs order to ban trans women from sports in schools that get federal funding”
Sky News: “Donald Trump signs executive order banning trans women athletes from competing in female sports”
ESPN: “Trump bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports”
Reuters: “Trump order seeks to ban transgender women and girls from female sports”
Correcting The Media
But there’s a glaring problem.
Several of the headlines say the order bars “transgender girls and women,” “transgender women,” or “trans women” from women’s sports. Using this language gives the impression that an entire category of human beings – namely, “transgender women” – are being unjustly discriminated against and kept from competing in sports.
But this isn’t true because, ontologically, there is no such thing as a “transgender girl” or a “transgender woman.” There are only men and women. So-called “transgender girls and women” are actually men.
Even worse are the headlines that claim the order bans “transgender” or “trans” athletes from competing in women’s sports. Again, this gives the impression that an entirely ontologically distinct category of human beings – transgender people – are being targeted and kept from playing in sports and competitions.
This isn’t true.
Consider: Under the executive order, so-called “transgender men” (i.e. actual women) can still compete with women. And “transgender women” (i.e. actual men) can still compete against men.
So, how preposterous is it for media outlets to claim the order bans “transgender athletes” from competing, when it does no such thing.
“Transgender” athletes can still compete; they simply must do so based on biological categories. The order correctly draws a biologically based line for bathrooms, locker rooms and sports competitions. Men compete against men. Women compete against women.
It’s that simple.
To be repetitive but undeniably clear, the president’s executive order bans men from competing against girls and women. This is good, righteous and just.
Reading the media’s headlines, you’d think Trump’s executive order discriminates against women. No, it protects actual women from men who think they are – or are pretending to be – women.
The Origins of Transgenderism
The modern “transgender” movement originated in the 1950s when Dr. John Money coined the phrase “gender identity.” He used the term to distinguish between sex (a biological reality) and gender (a person’s inner thoughts and feelings). This led to the errant belief that a person could be biologically male (their sex), but “inside” actually female (their gender). Or vice versa.
However, the modern transgender movement has evolved even further, claiming that men can actually become women, and vice versa. Hence the oft-repeated, though still incorrect, phrase “transgender women are women.” See below:
To be clear, “transgender women” are not women, they are men. A woman, being an adult human female, is:
Despite all the confusing modern “transgender” language and debates over “gender identity,” biology hasn’t changed. Men are still men. And women are still women.
Conclusion
This story shows why our work at the Daily Citizen – and getting your news and policy analysis from reputable and reliable sources – is so important.
Language has the power to shape how we think about reality, and in consequence, shape reality itself. Think about how many millions of Americans will have their perception of the executive order distorted by false and misleading headlines, like the ones chronicled above.
How many millions of Americans will be outraged at the president’s action because of the influence of deceptively written headlines and media content. How many will then go on to express that outage through their voice and vote, thereby shaping future elections, and the future itself?
Indeed, language has the power to shape reality itself. So, we must all be careful and discerning in the content we read and consume.
As Jesus Christ said, we must “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16, ESV).
And if you would like to support our work to bring you true and accurate content, you can do so here.
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Related articles and resources:
Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion
The Journey Back to My True Identity
Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces
How Science and Faith Can Defeat Gender Ideology – Part One
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