Collegiate athlete Lia Thomas, a male swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, was applauded after winning the NCAA women’s championship in the 500-yard freestyle in March 2022. CeCe Telfer, a male runner, was similarly commended after winning the NCAA Division II national championship in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 2019. And the media cheered as Laurel Hubbard, a 43-year-old male weightlifter from New Zealand, became the first athlete to compete against the opposite sex in the Olympics during the 2021 Tokyo Games.

You’ll notice that all these athletes have one thing in common: they are all males competing in women’s sports. It’s not often that you hear of a controversy involving female athletes competing in men’s sports. And the reason for that is simple and obvious: males have a physical advantage over females in athletics.

But those who simply state this truth are often met with vile attacks online and in the media. That’s because the fact that men and women are different and have different strengths and weaknesses has become taboo in our culture today. But this difference isn’t a bad thing—and it's necessary that we recognize it to preserve the integrity of women’s sports.