WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
Lia Thomas’ former UPenn swimming teammate Paula Scanlan has hit out at the Democratic Party for putting ‘trans rights’ above women’s fears.
In a scathing opinion piece, Scanlan raised concerns about transgender athletes entering female-only spaces.
The 23-year-old, who started swimming aged eight, is driven to raise awareness for trans women competing in women’s divisions.
She was swimming at the University of Pennsylvania alongside Thomas, whose participation in women’s events sparked a fierce debate about athletes competing as a gender different from their birth gender.
On Thursday, she admitted to having had nightmares for weeks after they shared a changing room.
Now, in a strong opinion piece for the Telegraphshe highlighted the potential risk that women face if they are not considered in ongoing inclusion efforts.
Lia Thomas’ former swim buddy at UPenn has raised concerns with the Democratic Party about the inclusion of trans women in women’s spaces
Lia Thomas sparked a wave of controversy after her move to the women’s team in 2021
She set seven UPenn women’s team records (five individual) and won three individual events at the Ivy League Championships in February 2022.
During testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government last week, Scanlan brought to the fore the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
She urged lawmakers to prioritize the physical safety of women when making decisions about women-only spaces like locker rooms.
Scanlan referenced Hollywood’s #MeToo movement in her speech which was started by women speaking about their experiences, which raised awareness of various forms of abuse.
“Certain slogans like ‘Believe All Women’ have been criticized for contradicting important principles of ‘innocence until proven guilty’ and due process for the accused,” he said. -she writes.
“But we can all agree that bullying and harassing women is wrong. What a shame, then, that we cannot agree on what a woman really is.
Scanlan, whose college swimming career is over, testified in support of women’s sport
In her writing, Scanlan calls for everyone, including transgender women, to have the opportunity to have safe spaces, but not at the cost of an invasion of gender cig women.
She wondered what happened to the #MeToo movement and why it disappeared from such an important topic, but suspected she had an idea.
“The obvious answer is that #MeToo has been absorbed, as has unfortunately been the case with many other women’s organizations in the United States, into the Democratic Party,” she said.
“They’ve prioritized advancing ‘trans rights’ over women’s concerns, mistakenly believing that’s somehow more compassionate and progressive.”
Although she was hesitant to generalize about the potential damage this could cause, she offered a series of arguments to try to get her point across.
“While we should all oppose misconceptions that trans people are all potentially violent, we should keep in mind that the inherent biological characteristics and functions of the male body pose a risk.
Scanlan says Thomas’ presence in women-only spaces made others, including her, uncomfortable
“Given today’s change, a male – perhaps a domestic abuser with no history of gender dysphoria – could potentially follow his female victim to a women-only shelter, and those tasked with protecting her would be powerless to deny him entry into what was once a sacred refuge. safe space.
“After all, all he has to do is tell them he identifies as female to get in.”
Scanlan, who was allegedly sexually assaulted in a bathroom when she was 16, previously said Thomas’ presence evoked earlier trauma from her teenage years.
“In general, the restroom was a place where I felt really uncomfortable,” she told the New York Post. “I’m kind of reliving the situation I went through when I was 16.
“I was at my locker and all of a sudden I heard a male voice and I jumped. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, someone walked in here’.”
“It’s incredibly vulnerable,” Scanlan continued. “I had nightmares for weeks of men being there while we were getting dressed.”
Thomas sparked a wave of controversy after her move to the women’s team in 2021.
She set seven UPenn women’s team records (five individual) and won three individual events at the Ivy League Championships in February 2022.
Thomas set records as a female swimmer at UPenn after her transition
Even though Thomas’ college career is over, Scanlan still feels the issue is important.
Thomas defended her spot in women’s swimming in an interview with Sports Illustrated last year.
“I’m a woman, like everyone else on the team,” she said.
“I always thought of myself as a simple swimmer. That’s what I’ve been doing for so long; that’s what I like.
However, her critics even include members of the transgender community, with Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner disagreeing with Thomas being allowed to compete as a woman.
“I’ve been consistent in how I’ve approached transgender athletes and it depends on the sport. Every sport is different,” she told Fox News earlier this year.
“Obviously we saw with Lia Thomas that she went through male puberty, bigger cardiovascular system, it just wasn’t fair.”
Although Thomas’ college career is over, Scanlan continues to believe the issue is important.
“If there had been a man on my team in high school, I would have quit and literally had nothing,” she told the Post. “I would never have entered a good university. My whole life would have been derailed.
“If even one girl is discouraged from participating in sports competitions because of this, we have failed,” Scanlan added. “It is very important to give girls the same opportunities. »