CULLOWHEE, NC — In a huge victory for women’s civil rights to privacy and safety on college campuses, Independent Women Ambassador Payton McNabb has prevailed in her Title IX case, an internal proceeding at Western Carolina University (WCU). McNabb, who became a vocal advocate for women’s single-sex spaces after being the first high school athlete to suffer severe and permanent injuries from a male competing on the opposing women’s volleyball team, was unfairly accused of harassment in violation of Title IX—the landmark sex equality law meant to protect women’s spaces in education—by WCU after she expressed discomfort with a trans-identifying male in a women’s bathroom on campus.
McNabb had to undergo a civil rights investigation for demanding a women’s restroom. As an advocate for women-only spaces, privacy, and safety, McNabb knew the uncomfortable encounter with the male, a 27-year-old student donning a dress and sunhat, was an invasion of an intimate space designated for women only.
McNabb testified during the proceeding at WCU that she feared for her safety and began filming the interaction to document the incident, her discomfort, and keep the record that she was neither rude nor offensive.
WCU ultimately ruled that Payton did not sexually harass the male student because she was polite but stood her ground, not in a severe or objectively offensive way. This affirms McNabb’s position that she can protect herself in a reasonable way since the individual is, in fact, a male. She expressed her concerns about this happening to a young unsuspecting girl who could find herself in the same situation, but not have the courage or experience to know how to protect herself. That is why McNabb spoke out and exercised her first amendment rights to warn other girls or women who could confront the same jarring situation.
Payton McNabb, an Independent Women ambassador, said: “This case is yet another piece of my story on how radical gender ideology harms women and seeks to erase our protections. Most importantly, this civil rights investigation victory showcases that women do not need to sit there and take it — they do not need to accept men in their spaces, sports or intimate and private spaces. Women must stand up, speak out, and listen to their intuition. Gender ideology was effectively struck down in my Title IX case. Once again showing that truth wins. It is my hope that this Title IX, civil rights victory will give other collegiate women the courage to stand up for themselves. We can not allow men to take over our women-only private and intimate spaces.”
Ellis Boyle, McNabb’s attorney, said: “As a father, husband, son, and brother, it gives me a renewed sense of confidence to see common sense prevail in the face of new legal theories. For Payton as a woman, it was important that she can stand up for her First Amendment rights in the face of the hijacked Title IX standards. It is my hope that this represents a restoration of commonsense and the true purpose of Title IX, which is to protect women.”
The internal proceeding, conducted by a university-appointed Title IX panel, shows the stark difference between 2020 Trump-era Title IX regulations—which restored due process by rolling back campus kangaroo courts—and 2024 Biden-era policies, which dissolve protections for women by demanding that schools treat students in accordance with their “gender identity,” including by opening women’s bathrooms to men and subjecting women like McNabb to sexual harassment claims if they dare to speak up against this blatant invasion of privacy.
McNabb’s case exemplifies the injustice that Independent Women has been fighting: Title IX is completely turned on its head if the very women it was intended to protect are now subject to wrongful accusations if they ask for their Title IX rights to privacy and safety.
The decision reached in McNabb’s case shows that women don’t have to ‘shut up and sit down’ while men take over their private spaces. It is imperative that women are allowed to stand up for themselves. They should not have to fear the repercussions of sharing their stories, expressing trauma, or employing truthful speech to advocate for sex-based rights.
Read more about the case and outcome on Independent Women Features (IW Features), the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, from an exclusive interview with Payton McNabb and Ellis Boyle: “Payton McNabb Prevails in Title IX Case As Legal Fights Over Sex Definitions Heat Up.”
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