Protection of Women & Girls in Sports Act

HR 28/S 9 (FAILED CLOTURE!)

Author

Dusty Wilson
January 15, 2025

What is this bill?

This extremely short bill is a proposed amendment to Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972. It broadly calls for a federal funding ban for any school or university that allows trans women to play on a women’s sports team. This includes chess, dancing, darts, pool, and fishing.

Why is this bill fascist?

The day the bill was introduced to the House, journalist Erin Reed posted a clip of Representative Steube stating that, “Our culture and civilization continue to be subjected to the perverse lie that there are more than two genders, or that men can be women or women can be men…they have adopted completely made up terms, like trans male and trans female."

This motivation alone fulfills Umberto Eco’s second aspect of fascism, the rejection of modernism and the worship of traditionalism.

This act also checks the box for fifth aspect, action for action’s sake. As Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) noted, “…of 510k NCAA athletes, only 10 are transgender.” Erin Reed notes that even in the most high profile of examples the GOP have to offer, they still aren’t able to produce evidence that trans women have an advantage in sports.

Frankly, her entire thread from the opening debate says everything about this act and I highly recommend reading it.

One thing to keep in mind as well: if this passes it would set a precedent that trans men and trans women do not exist in the eyes of the federal government

If you want to learn more on this subject and how anti-trans bigotry is a consistent theme in fascism, I’d highly recommend reading Fascism and the Trans Villain: Historically Recurring Transphobia in Far-Right Politics by Penelope Higgins.

Which Dems voted for it?

Did it pass?

  • Passed the House on 1/14/25 by a vote of 218-206-1

  • Failed cloture in the Senate on 3/3/25 by a vote of 51-45