As support for the gender continuum goes mainstream, the sports world is in transition. The debate centers around whether male-bodied individuals known as transgender women be allowed to compete at the highest level in professional surfing against other women.
Celebrity surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose story of losing her arm in a shark attack inspired the movie Soul Surfer, has strong opinions on the subject. On Saturday she took aim at the World Surf League’s new transgender inclusion rule, vowing to boycott future events unless it is repealed. The Hawaii-based Hamilton is raising questions about the rules change, asking whether other professional surfers were consulted about it beforehand – and wondering where this will lead.
She said on her Instagram account in a video this weekend that is now being widely shared, “The World Surf League has officially made the rule that male-bodied individuals known as transgender athletes can officially compete in the women’s division.”
She added, “The World Surf League says they are following the Olympic guidelines.” She stressed on social media this weekend, “I strive to have love for all of mankind, regardless of any differences.” But “this concerns me as a professional athlete” who has competed for the past 15-plus years, she added.
“And I feel that I must speak up and stand up” for others who cannot or won’t speak out about this, she said, as they “fear” they might be “ostracized” if they speak out.
One of the key changes is as follows: “A surfer assigned male at birth who identifies as a woman and has woman/female on her national identity card or passport is eligible to compete in a men’s event or as a man in a mixed event if she has not met the requirements to compete in a woman’s event (such as maintaining testosterone level less than 5 nmol/l continuously for the previous 12 months).”
In addition, “A surfer assigned male at birth who identifies as a woman and has man/male or ‘other’ or ‘X’ on their national identity card or passport is eligible to compete in a men’s event or as a man in a mixed event,” as the ISA also says on its website.
Hamilton questioned what exactly makes a man or a woman. “Is a hormone level an honest and accurate depiction that someone indeed is a male or female? Is it as simple as this?”
She also asked, “Who is pushing for this huge change? Does this better the sport of surfing? Is this better for the women in surfing? If so, how?”
Her solution would be to “create a different division so that all can have a fair opportunity to showcase their passion and talent – and I think it’s really hard to imagine what the future of women’s surfing will be like in 15-20 years down the road if we move forward allowing this major change.”
She also announced, “I personally won’t be competing in or supporting the World Surf League if this rule remains.”
Trent Talbot, CEO of Brave Books in Texas, which recently published Hamilton’s children’s book, told Fox News Digital on Sunday, “What an act of bravery. I stand with Bethany Hamilton and her choice to not participate in the World Surf League if they allow men to compete in the women’s division.”
“God designed males and females differently with a purpose, he added.”
