Many will fondly remember Bethany Hamilton from the memoir and 2011 film adaptation “Soul Surfer” – the true story of Hamilton’s recovery and faith-based journey to return to professional surfing after losing her arm in a shark attack.

Hamilton has been an inspiration to millions for her courage and resilience in the face of tragedy and hardship.

In 1999 when she was just 9 years old, Bethany signed with popular Australian surfing brand Rip Curl and has been a central figure for the brand since.

However, that 24-year relationship just ended in November 2023, when Hamilton spoke out against the World Surfing League’s new policy that would permit men to compete in women’s surfing divisions as long as their testosterone levels were below a certain level.

"I personally think that the best solution would be to create a different division so that all can have a fair opportunity to showcase their passion and talent," Hamilton stated in a video, being careful also to say that she loves and supports everyone.

But the mere suggestion that trans-identifying men should have their own division to protect the integrity of women’s sports was enough to get her dropped from the label and replaced with trans surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson.

“I’m fired up about this,” says Allie Beth Stuckey, who thinks Hamilton deserves “kudos” for “using her platform … to speak up on behalf of women.”

“Even if you go through estrogen therapy, even if you change your name, you grow your hair, you start wearing a skirt and lipstick, you're still a man, [and] you will always be a man. The fact that you went through male puberty means that you will have a physical advantage when it comes to athletics,” says Allie.

Not only is Lowerson clearly a biological man – “you see the jaw, you see the shoulders, you see the biceps, you see the chest,” says Allie – but he was also a professional athlete before his transition, giving him an undeniable advantage in the women’s surfing division.

In one picture, Lowerson poses holding a first-place trophy next to his female competitors, and it’s obvious “how much bigger he is than these other women.”

Further, according to Allie, it seems that what Lowerson is really dealing with is well beyond gender dysphoria.

“If you look at this person's social media, you can see that this is a fetish for him; you can see the kind of sexualized pictures that he is posting of himself” revealing that he “sees womanhood as objectification,” says Allie.

“I don’t know if that’s the case with [Lowerson], but it certainly looks to be the case if you look at his social media,” which features several highly sexualized images.

To hear more about Sasha Jane Lowerson and how other athletes, including professional swimmer Riley Gaines, are responding to the situation, watch the video below.

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