Trans athletes—particularly trans girls—are now directly in the crosshairs of America’s raging culture wars, writes Madeleine Carlisle (maddiecarlisle2)
Lizzie Heintz—Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Sipa USAn the spring of 2020, Idaho became the first state in the United States to ban transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports. Two years later, fifteen states have enacted similar laws. Trans athletes—particularly trans girls—are now directly in the crosshairs of America’s raging culture wars, as bills targeting trans and gender-expansive young people proliferate across the country.
The idea of trans girls and women competing against cisgender female athletes tends to trigger emotional responses, playing on stereotypes about gender and biology. The issue acts as “sort of a gateway drug for people into the larger debate around gender and who gets to call themselves a woman,” says a conservative who works on Title IX issues, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the rise in legislation.
In that context, expansive state-level bans are both unnecessary and cruel, argues Cathryn Oakley, state legislation director and senior counsel at the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, which hasstate-level sports bans in court. “The rules can’t be the same for fourth grade kickball as they are for sixth grade JV lacrosse as they are high school track,” she says. “The idea that painting them all with one really broad brush is somehow going to ensure fairness is absurd.
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