Women deserve the right to single-sex sports and private spaces that don’t dissolve the second a male asserts a right to enter. This widely shared view continues to grow in popularity, but a small group of aggressive activists want to bypass public opinion and silence our voices. They have asked Meta’s Oversight Board to ban videos calling out males as male, and the Board agreed it might institute the ban.

This is a huge deal. If Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, removes posts criticizing men in women’s spaces, it will seriously undermine a woman’s right to sex-based protections. Public debate has been critical for me in my efforts to protect future female athletes. 

My opportunity to compete fairly was taken away by a trans-identifying male at the 2022 NCAA swimming championship. Decades of dedication, from every woman in the pool, were discarded to ensure trophies and recognition could be bestowed on a stronger, larger male.

While this was a painful experience, it led me to share my story and advocate for more protections for women’s sports and spaces. I use social media as an advocacy platform daily to highlight other stories of women standing up against identity-based access in female spaces.