BREAKING: Former UPenn female swimmer testifies that teammates of Lia Thomas were forced to undergo 're-education' to make them 'comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male'

Paula Scanlan, a spokeswoman and advisor for the Independent Women's Forum, offered testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, speaking about her experience swimming against male athlete Lia Thomas while she was a student athlete at the University of Pennsylvania.

Scanlan, who holds the New England Independent School League record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, discussed what it was like to be on the UPenn women's swim team when a male athlete came onto the team, claiming to be a woman after having begun to take estrogen.

Thomas, she said, "had personal best times in every freestyle event that were faster than the women's world records."

"Once the season began," Scanlan continued, "Thomas was leading the country in multiple events, while only placing in the top 500 in those events on the men's team. Thomas later became an NCAA champion in the 500-yard freestyle, first NCAA champion in our women's team history programs."

Thomas broke records during the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships in Atlanta, GA. At that time, and as Scanlan attested, many women athletes had issues with Thomas' participation, but few spoke out. Those who did were targeted as "transphobic," and video of women athletes who expressed the view that Thomas' participation was unfair was censored and suppressed on Twitter.

"What you do not know," Scanlan said, "is the experiences of the women on the University of Pennsylvania swim team. My teammates and I were forced to undress in the presence of Lia, a 6' 4" tall biological male, fully intact with male genitalia 18 times per week."

"Some girls opted to change in bathroom stalls and others use the family bathroom to avoid this," Scanlan said. "When we tried to voice our concerns to the athletic department, we were told that Lia's swimming and being in our locker room was a non-negotiable and we were offered psychological services to attempt to re-educate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male."

"To sum up the university's response," Scanlan told the House Committee on the Judiciary. "We the women were the problem, not the victims. We were expected to conform, to move over and shut up. Our feelings didn't matter. The university was gaslighting and fear-mongering women to validate the feelings and identity of a male."

Scanlan attempted to speak up, and wrote a column for the school newspaper The Daily Pennsylvanian. After it was published, it was retracted by the paper. That article took a scientific approach to discuss "how Y chromosomes cannot be changed by any surgical procedure or systemic therapy. This biological fact lends itself to athletic advantages that cannot be mitigated by lowering testosterone levels, which are readily apparent in sports competitions and locker rooms."

For speaking biological facts, Scanlan was censored. Her view as a woman was deemed not as important or essential as Thomas' desire to pose as a woman and compete against women in women's athletics, stealing titles and accolades.

Thomas has been outspoken about being trans, and was recently seen sporting an "Antifa Super Soldier" t-shirt. Thomas also expressed a desire to compete in women's Olympic events.