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Nancy Hogshead-Makar vs. transgender people

Nancy Hogshead-Makar is an American lawyer, former Olympic swimmer, and sex segregationist. Hogshead-Makar is a prominent opponent of transgender athletes competing in sex-segregated competitive sports.

Hogshead-Makar is founder of Champion Women and is affiliated with other anti-trans sports organizations.

Background

Nancy Lynn Hogshead-Makar was born on April 17, 1962 in Iowa City, Iowa. At age 11, Hogshead-Makar began training under Randy Reese in Jacksonville, Florida. Hogshead-Makar qualified for the 1980 Olympics but did not participate due to the US boycott.

Hogshead-Makar attended Duke University on a swimming scholarship and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1984. While there, Hogshead-Makar was sexually assaulted while out running.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Hogshead-Makar won three gold medals and one silver medal.

Hogshead-Makar has been involved with the Women’s Sports Foundation since 1985, serving as a trustee from 1987 to 1993 and as president from 1993 to 1994. Hogshead-Makar earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, then practiced law in Florida at Holland & Knight. Hogshead-Makar frequently represented clients in Title IX matters.

From 2001 to 2013, Hogshead-Makar was a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law.

Hogshead-Makar married lawyer Scott Makar in 1999. They have three children.

Anti-transgender activism

Hogshead-Makar is founder of Champion Women and is affiliated with Women’s Sports Union, International Consortium on Female Sport, and other anti-trans sports organizations.

Hogshead-Makar is a member of the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group. Hogshead-Makar has contributed to anti-trans group blog Stronger Women edited by Mariah Burton Nelson and appeared on the anti-trans tour organized by Our Bodies, Our Sports and a 2022 conference held by Independent Council on Women’s Sports. Hogshead-Makar also signed a petition created by Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism supporting anti-trans psychologist Kenneth Zucker.

References

Patterson, Steve (April 21, 2022). In transgender sports war, Jacksonville’s Nancy Hogshead-Makar builds support for nuanced rules. Florida Times-Union https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/jacksonville-olympic-medalist-touts-new-way-transgender-sports-fight/7192987001/

Lohn, John (April 12, 2022). Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Champion Women Facing Lawsuit For Promoting Safety of Female Athletes; GoFundMe Set Up. https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/nancy-hogshead-makar-champion-women-facing-lawsuit-for-promoting-safety-of-female-athletes-gofundme-set-up/

Thomas, Louisa (March 17, 2022). The Trans Swimmer Who Won Too Much. New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/how-one-swimmer-became-the-focus-of-a-debate-about-trans-athletes

Ennis, Dawn (March 12, 2022). The Radical Act Of Someone Transgender Saying, ‘I Am A Woman.’ Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2022/03/12/the-radical-act-of-someone-transgender-saying-i-am-a-woman/

Anti-trans coverage

Hays, Charlotte (August 5, 2024). Nancy Hogshead: Olympic Swimmer and Women’s Sports Champion. Independent Women’s Forum https://www.iwf.org/people/nancy-hogshead/

Barney, Justin (June 20, 2022). Olympic gold medalist Hogshead-Makar: Transgender ruling positive news for female swimmers. News4JAX https://www.news4jax.com/sports/2022/06/20/olympic-gold-medalist-hogshead-makar-transgender-ruling-positive-news-for-female-swimmers/

Staff report (May 31, 2022) Olympian Nancy Hogshead Fires Back At Trans Athlete Lia Thomas
 ‘it Isn’t Fair.’ TMZ https://www.tmz.com/2022/05/31/nancy-hogshead-lia-thomas-trans-athletes-evidence/

Halloran, Jessica (April 1, 2022). Fair game: The woman who called out trans advantage. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/olympic-champion-nancy-hogsheadmakar-on-why-trans-women-get-an-unfair-advantage-in-sport/news-story/88ea22784c6cdb593e902d4e052ce8c1

Hobson, Will (April 15, 2021). The fight for the future of transgender athletes. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/15/transgender-athletes-womens-sports-title-ix/

Selected writing by Hogshead-Makar

Hogshead-Makar, Nancy (December 25, 2021). Guest Editorial: Sex Matters: Why Transgender Athletes Must Not Compete Against Biological Females. Swimming World https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/nancy-hogshead-makar-explains-problems-with-lia-thomas-situation/ reposted in 2024 at https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/sex-matters-why-transgender-athletes-must-not-compete-against-biological-females/

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Olympics (olympics.com)

Florida Coastal School of Law (fcsl.edu) [archive]

  • Nancy Hogshead-Makar
  • fcsl.edu/users/nhogshead [archive]

Champion Women (championwomen.org)

Facebook (facebook.com)

U.S. Olympians & Paralympians Unbroken (usopu.info) [archive]

X/Twitter (x.com)