Over the past few years, there have been heightened concerns from ‘Gender Extremists’ about biological men competing against women in sports. Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist, transitioned to female in 2015. She began using her twitter platform to shed light on the issue. On April 4th, Jenner initiated the “Fairness First” campaign that sought to forbid unfair advantages in sports regarding transgender athletes. Jenner states, “Today I publicly launch Fairness First PAC to fight the radical gender ideology, put parental rights at the forefront of education, and keep boys out of women’s sports” (Morik). Ramapo student Amelia Saunders agrees with Jenner’s beliefs: “I agree that everyone should be treated equally, but it is completely unfair to mix genders in sports.” 

Jenner expressed her ideologies while displaying support for a school in Vermont whose girls’ basketball team refused to verse a competitor with a transgender player. Jenner says, “There is a difference between men and women and that is a good thing. We should honor that” (Morkik). However, some states, such as Washington, have shown more leniency toward transgender athletes participating in sports. Shortly after her vow of support for the school in Vermont, Jenner expressed her sentiments about a Seattle transgender student (biologically male) who began to dominate all the female competition after the transition. In a 5,000-meter race, the student placed 18th overall in the female division; however, with the exact same time, they would have placed 145th in the men’s division. Jenner argues that “This issue is not going to go away, but I really feel the state of Washington has to make it a little bit tougher…we have to keep it fair” (Morik).  

While Jenner received a lot of praise for her endeavors to create more equality in sports, there was also a lot of backlash and hate. One critic tweeted, “@Caitlyn_Jenner you are a trans WOMAN and think it’s acceptable to misgender other transgender men? Your ideology is harmful and disgusting. What a vile representation for trans people” (Smith). Other transgender rights activists argue that Jenner is working with “far-right extremists who demonize members of [her] own community for social clout and profit, what a complete and utter disappointment [she] are” (Smith).