A video capturing a transgender high school athlete outpacing her competitors at a track and field event has ignited a firestorm of debate online.
The footage was initially shared by Reduxx, a feminist magazine. It showcases Aayden Gallagher, a sophomore at McDaniel High School. He swiftly overtakes a group of biological female athletes and maintains a considerable lead until crossing the finish line at the 25.49-second mark.
It takes the remaining competitors around 31 seconds to reach the finish line.
Gallagher won the second position in the Girls 200 Meters Varsity event at the Sherwood Need for Speed Classic in Oregon. Aster Jones secured the top spot, according to official race results.
The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) policy “endeavors to allow students to participate for the athletic or activity program of their consistently asserted gender identity while providing a fair and safe environment for all students.”
Additionally, once a student has disclosed their gender identity, “the student shall be consistently treated as that gender for purposes of eligibility for athletics and activities, provided that if the student has tried out or participated in an activity, the student may not participate during that same season on a team of the other gender.”
Gallagher has also said he will consider hormone replacement treatment as he will feel “a lot more confident because right now I’m just going to keep on getting more and more masculine — more facial hair, stuff like that. And I don’t want that.”
A popular account named Libs of TikTok wrote: “These high school girls just had their dreams stolen from them because the school is catering [to] the delusions of a boy who pretends to be a girl”
Canadian novelist and podcaster Meghan Murphy criticized the video as well, calling it “sick and disgusting.”
Parents of competing athletes voiced outrage, condemning what they perceive as an unfair advantage conferred upon transgender athletes.
One parent wrote: “How on earth is this fair to ANYONE?”
She predicted that Saturday’s results will probably send Gallagher to the state tournament where “will beat all the girls (except maybe one), break records and be called a hero — for being a male who races against the girls and wins.”
She called for separate categories or races based on biological gender to ensure equity in high school sports.
The mother stated: “We must demand a third category in high school competitions, or races must be by biological gender. Anything else is making a mockery of female athletics.”
