Riley Gaines and The Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute promoted October 10th as “Real Women’s Day,” holding events at universities across the country. The Women’s Independent Forum and university chapters of Turning Point USA also supported the events.

Gaines, a 12-time All American swimmer for the University of Kentucky, spoke at an outdoor event at Penn State University where two protestors were arrested. She said the university cancelled her speaking engagement, which was to be held at the school’s student union building.

But the university denied the claim, saying, “No event featuring Riley Gaines has ever been canceled at Penn State.”

Gaines, and the women who spoke at other events, oppose men who identify as women encroaching on girls and women’s sports, as well as invading their privacy in sex-segregated locker rooms, showers and restrooms.

October 10th was chosen because, as The Gaines Center said:

This date, 10/10, is symbolized by the Roman numerals “XX” – signifying what it means to be a woman, something innate in our very DNA: the science that defines a real woman.

The Center explained the reasons for Real Women’s Day and offered a petition for supporters to sign:

Women’s hard-earned achievements are being stolen by men.

Their very identity is under attack.

Real Women’s Day should be recognized, not only to celebrate womanhood, but to serve as a crucial reminder to keep women’s spaces available only to real women.

Real Women’s Day celebrates the unique and special role that women play in society.

Logan Dubil, writing at The College Fix, reported on the event and filmed the protestors, who shouted slogans like “Trans lives matter” and “Riley Gaines can’t swim.” He wrote:

Two pro-transgender activists were handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser before women’s rights activist Riley Gaines even started her speech last night at Pennsylvania State University. …

The protestors, who were filmed by The College Fix, began yelling at attendees who were waiting for Gaines to begin speaking. …

The male activist [was] joined by a masked female colleague who are both caught on video wrecking an event table set up by Penn State’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter.

Since tying with Lia Thomas, born male and formerly known as Will, for fifth place in the NCAA Women’s Championship 200-yard freestyle, Gaines has become an outspoken activist for women’s sports.

The university released a statement, denying her assertion that the site for the rally had been officially confirmed:

As an institution of higher education, Penn State encourages free and open discussion as a way to strengthen our democracy and promote critical thinking and growth, and the university has a variety of speakers on its campuses.

No event featuring Riley Gaines has ever been canceled at Penn State.

However, Gaines posted a tweet showing documents that indicate the Real Women’s Day organizers had booked a room at Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Center:

A Real Women’s Day rally at the University of South Alabama featured Kaitlynn Wheeler, who also swam at the University of Kentucky and is an ambassador for the Gaines Center.

Paula Scanlan, who was forced to share a locker room with Thomas as a swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania, headed an event at the University of Illinois in Champaign-UrbanaI.

Scanlan appeared anonymously in Matt Walsh’s documentary, What Is a Woman?, but recently came out publicly to advocate for girls and women’s sports across the country.

Olivia Krolczyk was featured at a Real Women’s Day rally at Florida State University. Krolczyk was a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati when a professor gave her a zero on a project proposal for using the term “biological woman.”

Krolczyk had proposed writing “about the history of women in professional sports, which would include the topic of transgender women competing in women’s sports,” The Columbus Dispatch reported in June, 2023. The paper reported:

In her proposal, Krolczyk said her project would show how transgender women competing on teams that align with their gender “is actively taking away the opportunities of biological females and violating the opportunities they have fought so hard to gain in the first place.”

Krolczyk’s professor wrote:

Olivia, this is a solid proposal. However, the terms ‘biological women’ are exclusionary and are not allowed in this course as they further reinforce heteronormativity.

According to Fox News, Krolczyk “had her proposal re-graded by another professor and received an A in the class.”

At the end of the first Real Women’s Day, the Independent Women’s Forum applauded the event: “We celebrate the uniqueness of women, the importance of our contributions to society, and the importance of FEMALE SPECIFIC safety, privacy, opportunity, and equality!”

We heartily agree.

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For families and individuals struggling with transgender issues, Focus on the Family offers a free, one-time counseling consultation with a licensed or pastoral counselor. To request a counseling consultation, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) or fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.

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Photo Credit Independent Women’s Forum (IWF)