Trans swimmer Lia Thomas’ teammate Paula Scanlan who confessed to having nightmares for weeks after sharing changing room with her attacks Democratic party for putting ‘trans rights’ above women’s fears
Lia Thomas’ former UPenn swim teammate Paula Scanlan has lashed out at the Democratic Party for putting “trans rights” above women’s fears.
In a scathing op-ed, Scanlan shared concerns about transgender athletes entering women-only spaces.
The 23-year-old, who started swimming at age eight, is motivated to raise awareness around trans women competing in female divisions.
She swam with Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, whose participation in female events sparked a fierce debate about athletes competing as a different gender from the gender they were born with.
On Thursday, she confessed to having nightmares for weeks after they had to share a dressing room.
Now, in a strongly worded op-ed for the Telegraphshe exposed the potential risk women face if not accounted for in ongoing inclusion efforts.
Lia Thomas’ former UPenn swim mate raised concerns with the Democratic party about trans women’s inclusiveness in female spaces
Lia Thomas sparked a wave of controversy after she switched to the women’s team in 2021
She set seven UPenn women’s team records (five individually) and won three individual events at the February 2022 Ivy League championships
While testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government last week, Scanlan raised the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
She urged lawmakers to put women’s physical safety first when making decisions about women-only spaces, such as locker rooms.
In her speech, Scanlan referenced Hollywood’s #MeToo movement, which was started by women speaking out about their experiences, which in turn raised awareness of a range of assaults.
“Some slogans such as ‘Believe All Women’ were criticized for violating the important principles of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and due process for the accused,” she wrote.
“But we all agree that the harassment and harassment of women is wrong. So what a pity that we can’t seem to agree on what a woman actually is.’
Scanlan, whose college swimming career is over, testified in defense of women’s sport
In her writing, Scanlan called for opportunities for everyone, including trans women, to have safe spaces, but not at the expense of the intrusion of cigarette smoking women.
She wondered what had happened to the #MeToo movement and why it was no longer an important topic, but suspected she had an idea.
“The obvious answer is that #MeToo, as has sadly been the case with many other women’s organizations in the US, has been absorbed into the Democratic Party,” she said.
“They have prioritized the promotion of ‘trans rights’ over women’s concerns, in the mistaken belief that this would somehow be more compassionate and progressive.”
While hesitant to make generalizations about the potential harm this could cause, she put forward a series of arguments to try and get her point across.
“While we should all oppose the gross mischaracterization of trans-identifying people as potentially violent, we must bear in mind that the inherent biological characteristics and functions of male bodies pose a risk.
Scanlan says Thomas’s presence in women’s spaces made others, including herself, uncomfortable
“Given the current shift, a man—perhaps a domestic violence perpetrator with no history of gender dysphoria—could potentially follow his female victim to a women-only shelter, and those in charge of protection would be powerless to deny him access to what was once a sacred place. safe space.
“After all, all he has to say is that he identifies as a woman to enter.”
Scanlan, who was reportedly a victim of sexual assault in a bathroom as a 16-year-old, previously shared that Thomas’ presence brought up previous traumas from her adolescence.
“In general, the bathroom was a place where I felt very uncomfortable,” she told the New York Post. “I was just reliving the situation I went through when I was 16.
“I was standing by my locker and suddenly heard a man’s voice, and I just jumped. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, someone’s come in here’.”
“It’s incredibly fragile,” Scanlan continued. “I had nightmares for weeks about men being there while we got dressed.”
Thomas sparked a wave of controversy after switching to the women’s team in 2021.
She set seven UPenn women’s team records (five individually) and won three individual events at the Ivy League championships in February 2022.
Thomas set records as a women’s swimmer at UPenn after his transition
Although Thomas’ college career is over, Scanlan still believes the issue is important
Thomas defended her place in women’s swimming last year in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“I’m a woman, just like everyone else on the team,” she said.
“I’ve always seen myself as a swimmer. This is what I’ve been doing for so long; it’s what I love.’
Her critics, however, even include people from the transgender community, with Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner disagreeing that Thomas should be allowed to compete as a woman.
“I’ve been consistent in the way I’ve approached trans athletes and it depends on the sport. Every sport is different,” she told Fox News earlier this year.
“Clearly we saw in Lia Thomas that she had gone through male puberty and had a larger cardiovascular system. It just wasn’t fair.”
Although Thomas’ college career is over, Scanlan still believes the issue is important.
“If there had been a guy on my team in high school, I would have dropped out and literally have nothing,” she told The Post. ‘I would never have ended up at a good university. My whole life would be derailed.
“If this discourages even one girl from playing sports, we’ve failed,” added Scanlan. ‘It’s so important to give girls the same opportunities.’