In a move that has been highly anticipated for quite some time, the Biden administration finalized new rules on Friday related to sex discrimination and sexual harassment under Title IX. The White House has redefined sex to include transgender identities.
This move is part of an overall effort to use the power of the state to enforce progressive gender ideology in various American institutions. While this iteration of the rules did not address the issue of biological males competing in women’s sports, it is expected that this will be dealt with in separate guidelines.
RedState’s Mike Miller reported on the new development:
The Biden administration has unveiled new rules to protect so-called gender identity, sexual orientation, and "sex “characteristics” — not to be confused with biological gender. The new provisions, part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department, change how sexual harassment and assault claims are adjudicated on college campuses.
Jennifer Sey, founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, nailed it.
The new final rules re-write discrimination as "based on stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics.” But not actual sex.
They are eliminating sex-based categories and distinctions. And gaslighting us into accepting that there is no actual difference between males and females.
There is only gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex “characteristics” which are not the same as biological sex. They are playing games with language. And smuggling in lies.
The move was met with criticism from conservatives who pointed out that the changes will harm women by redefining what the term “woman” means. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos slammed the move, stating,
“I never thought I’d see the day where Title IX would be used to harm women, but sadly, that day has come. The Biden Administration’s radical rewrite of Title IX guts the half century of protections and opportunities for women and callously replaces them with radical gender theory, as Biden’s far-left political base demanded.”
Bob Eitel, co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute and former senior counsel to DeVos characterized the administration’s move as “a textbook example of how extremists in the administration have hijacked the law to force radical changes in American society through its schools, colleges, and universities.”
Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, also raised concerns, asserting that “[e]xtending Title IX to cover gender identity means that schools will no longer have discretion over whether – or how – to provide certain services and activities to students on the basis of self-declared gender identity.”
Others have criticized the new policy because of its potential impact on due process protections for students accused of sexual assault on campuses. They contend that this move will inspire practices that are unfair to those accused of these offenses, deeming them guilty until proven innocent.
The guidelines could no longer require colleges to employ measures that could target free speech, especially among students who do not wish to use preferred pronouns. It could also violate parental rights by further establishing a system that allows teachers in K-12 schools to keep parents in the dark If their children are exhibiting symptoms of gender dysphoria, an issue that has been at the forefront of the conflict over gender identity in education.
Of course, the backlash against the Biden administration’s move is more than warranted. While the new policy does not directly address how gender ideology will be applied, anyone who has watched this situation unfold over recent years knows that what DeVos and others have predicted is precisely what the administration wishes to achieve.
Redefining gender in this way has opened the floodgates for policies intended to use the government to force this ideology on the masses – whether they like it or not..
