Blowing the Whistle on Canadian Women & Sport
- Gender Dissent
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 35 minutes ago
"It might take some courage and innovative leadership to curtail male incursion into women's sport, but it will be necessary if we are to centre girls in their own categories."
Dear Canadian Women & Sport,
Thank you for the information I received via email on October 1 2025 on the "bold new national campaign that puts girls in the power position and challenges the sports system to listen, learn and act so we can keep more of them in the game."
I'm glad to hear that you have launched "a free hub of research-based resources for coaches, policy makers, sports leaders, and corporate decision-makers inspired by listening to girls" and that you are "working to remove barriers and reimagine a sport system that works for all girls."
"We believe true gender inclusion means welcoming trans athletes in women's sports." —Canadian Women and Sport
It is indeed disheartening to learn that half of girls are not playing sports by age 17. It's great that you are giving grants to community sport and physical activity organizations who are working to remove barriers and expand opportunities for girls.
Happy to hear that you have paired up with corporate sponsors who are looking at "two often-overlooked barriers in girls' sport: body confidence and the menstrual cycle" and that "Together, we can reimagine sport through girls' lived experiences."
Silver Gummy is a funder and supporter of Canadian Women and Sport. Silver Gummy also provides grants to indigenous organizations with the mandate to "create positive gender identities for youth." https://silvergummy.org/our-impact/
Also good news that you are observing Concussion Awareness Week to "foster a culture of safety and responsibility in sports by providing valuable information and resources to athletes, coaches, parents and healthcare professionals."
All of these are valuable goals that I wholeheartedly support. Another bold, pioneering move, might be to reinstate sex-segregated change rooms, bathrooms and teams for girls, such as existed prior to 2016.
Since the passing of Federal Bill C-16, many community centres and sports leagues have interpreted federal law to mean that males must be included in female change rooms, bathrooms and leagues, based on a declaration of "gender".
Many girls' "lived experience" makes them reluctant to change clothing or use the toilet in the company of males. Many female athletes' "lived experience" tells them that competing against males is unsafe. Concussion risk is but one example.
Males have a spectrum of motivations for wanting to identify into girls' spaces and sports. Some wish to exercise the superior size, strength and speed conferred by male puberty, against female opponents.
Transgender-identifying swimmer, Lia (Will) Thomas (L) of the University of Pennsylvania on the podium, literally standing head and shoulders above the rest of his opponents, after winning the 500-yard freestyle as other medalists (L-R) Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan and Brooke Forde pose for a photo at the NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championship on March 17, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Some wish to witness what goes on inside girls' change rooms.
"Janayh Wright was about to change in the women’s change rooms Friday when she says she noticed a person wearing a wig and face mask without a bag, towel or swimsuit. Wright says she then saw the person starting to look around in the showers then get into a stall close to her nine-year-old daughter’s." - Kendall Hanson, Chek News
For still others, it is the age-old thrill of inciting powerless rage from humiliated teenage girls, who are now told that under no circumstance are they ever to set a boundary between themselves and a man who demands access. #BeKind.
It might take some courage and innovative leadership to curtail male incursion into women's sport, but it will be necessary if we are to centre girls in their own categories.
Lest you conclude that I am exaggerating the extent of the problem, I am forwarding correspondence I had with the City of Ottawa over the summer of 2025, which clarifies beyond a shadow of a doubt that girls' spaces and programs are largely there as theatres of "affirmation" for boundary-pushing males.
If you or your sponsors are interested in bringing about some discussion on policies that would centre girls in their own athletic spaces, you may wish to contact any of the legislators copied on this email. They have all been aware of the City of Ottawa's male-inclusion policies since early August of 2025.
Thanks again for your initiative. Girls' sport is a really important issue. Let's consider bringing girls back into the discussion.
— Concerned Canadian Woman
Proactive disclosure of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) grant for $325K to Canadian Women and Sport, in part to "embed intersectional gender equity" in women's sports. https://search.open.canada.ca/grants/?sort=score+desc&search_text=NA220088&page=1
EDITOR'S AFTERWORD
Anyone who has been engaged for any length of time in the ideological war against biological sex is aware of the danger and sacrifice made by any girl or woman who dares stand up for her right to train and compete in her sport, exclusively with members of her own biological class.
October 4, 2025: In this instantly-iconic visual, 16-year-old Frances Staudt, of Tumwater, Washington, with security, approaches a park where she will speak in spite of an aggressive and intimating counter-protest. Screen capture from video posted on X by Brandi Kruse.
Increasingly, and thankfully, men and boys are picking up their signs and using their bodies to protect the girls and women who dare go public with their complaints. By now, we have plenty of evidence of the intimidation and injury sustained from progressive-aggressive mobs and antifascists who get their jollies by threatening and harming girls and women.
Cross-border alliances
Meanwhile, Canadian women are joining forces with their American sisters in opposition to the gender ideologues and political enablers who insist on pitting boys and men against girls and women in their own sports.
In March 2025, April Hutchinson, Canadian powerlifter and advocate for safe spaces and sports for women and girls, appeared in a video titled So Speak.
Produced by XX-XY Athletics, So Speak, was made in response to a remarkably tone deaf Superbowl ad by Nike, So Win. In this confusing communiqué, presumably about the double standards that challenge the female class overall, Nike informs girls and women that it's really tough out there and they are just going to have to work harder if they are ever to succeed in competition.
The part of the ad addressing the challenge of females having to compete against males in their own sport category was seemingly left on the cutting room floor.
Nike's ad won first place for infuriating the women athletes who have expended valuable energy in the fight to save their sports from intruding and abusive men, rather than to just play the damn sports.
In So Speak (cleverly mimicking the black ad white production style of the Nike ad) several female athletes, including Hutchinson, reveal how they have been harassed and silenced for speaking up about the injustices and dangers of males in their sports — a reality that Nike failed to consider when deciding what message to broadcast to the 127.7 million viewers who tuned into the Superbowl.
Just days before the egregious Superbowl ad was aired, President Trump had signed an executive order that women and girl athletes had been hoping for. The Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports order prohibits transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports.
President Donald Trump signs the Keeping Men out of Women's Sports Executive Order into law in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Welcomed and celebrated by female athletes and women's rights advocates north and south of the Canada/US border, the order unsurprisingly sparked outrage from mainstream media and LGBTQ organizations, and resistance from a number of states that prefer to maintain the status quo of allowing males to scoop up prizes, scholarships, and sponsorships previously reserved for women and girls.
Look, Ma, No Shoes! Dylan Mulvaney's "paid partnership" ad for Nike Women. Can it get any worse? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gowbt2x1clk
Presently, the US Department of Justice and the Education Department are pursuing enforcement actions and administrative measures against several states and institutions for failing to abide by the executive order, including California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
Little vs. Hecox and the Hilton-ICFS Amicus Brief
Among the trans-significant cases on the on the docket of the US Supreme Court is Little v. Hecox.
At issue in Little vs. Hecox is whether state laws restricting participation in girls’ and women’s sports to athletes who were born female violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court will look at whether states can make blanket rules that exclude transgender athletes, and how that balances with their individual rights.
As part of this process, outside groups can submit amicus briefs to provide extra perspective to the justices. One such brief was prepared and submitted by Dr. Emma Hilton and the International Consortium on Female Sport, offering research and arguments about fairness and inclusion in sports, and to help the Court understand broader social and policy implications.
Title page of the Dr. Emma Hilton/ICFS amicus brief submitted to the US Supreme Court for the Little vs. Hecox case.
Specifically, the brief discusses the importance of sex-verification screening in protecting equal opportunities in women's sports, particularly in the context of transgender athletes. It argues that, contrary to to the complaints of transgender-identifying male athletes, modern scientific methods of sex screening (such as the cheek swab test to detect the presence of the SRY gene) "are non-intrusive, highly sensitive, and can be inexpensively and discreetly applied to easily verify the eligibility of 99.9% of women to compete in women’s sports."
Summary of Argument in the Dr. Emma Hilton/ICFS amicus brief submitted to the US Supreme Court for the Little vs. Hecox case.
The Canadian connection
Dr. Linda Blade is an elite sport performance coach from Edmonton. She is former president of Athletics Alberta, co-author of Unsporting: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport, and board member and spokeswoman for Canadian Women's Sex-Based Rights (caWsbar). In January 2023, Coach Blade, along with women representatives of nine countries, founded the ICFS to "serve as the key international lobby group to advocate for the preservation of the female sports category."
Totally pumped with the news that the ICFS submission was filed with the Supreme Court, Coach Blade provided this comment to Gender Dissent:
"I am proud of the successful filing of this Amicus Brief, particularly since the creation of the ICFS began as a caWsbar initiative. A ruling by the US Supreme Court on measures to ensure safety and fairness for female athletes could be a real wake-up call, given Canada's typical disregard for sex-based rights of women and girls in sports. We can only hope that a sensible decision at the level of the US Supreme Court will inspire Canadian sports authorities to recognize that the same policy updates for female athlete protections are also necessary in Canada." — Coach Linda Blade
Wakey, wakey, Canadian Women and Sport. It's time to put females back into the game.
Comments