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Lawmakers can't cite local examples of trans girls in sports

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  john-russell  •  4 years ago  •  28 comments

By:   DAVID CRARY and LINDSAY WHITEHURST (MSN)

Lawmakers can't cite local examples of trans girls in sports
Legislators in more than 20 states have introduced bills this year that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls' sports teams in public high schools. Yet in almost every case, sponsors cannot cite a single instance in their own state or region where such participation has caused problems. The Associated Press reached out to two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring such measures around the country as well as the conservative groups...

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



Legislators in more than 20 states have introduced bills this year that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls' sports teams in public high schools. Yet in almost every case, sponsors cannot cite a single instance in their own state or region where such participation has caused problems.

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The Associated Press reached out to two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring such measures around the country as well as the conservative groups supporting them and found only a few times it's been an issue among the hundreds of thousands of American teenagers who play high school sports.

In South Carolina, for example, Rep. Ashley Trantham said she knew of no transgender athletes competing in the state and was proposing a ban to prevent possible problems in the future. Otherwise, she said during a recent hearing, "the next generation of female athletes in South Carolina may not have a chance to excel."

In Tennessee, House Speaker Cameron Sexton conceded there may not actually be transgender students now participating in middle and high school sports; he said a bill was necessary so the state could be "proactive."

Some lawmakers didn't respond to AP's queries. Others in places like Mississippi and Montana largely brushed aside the question or pointed to a pair of runners in Connecticut. Between 2017 and 2019, transgender sprinters Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood combined to win 15 championship races, prompting a lawsuit.

Supporters of transgender rights say the Connecticut case gets so much attention from conservatives because it's the only example of its kind.

"It's their Exhibit A, and there's no Exhibit B — absolutely none," said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a prominent trans-rights attorney.

The multiple sports bills, he says, address a threat that doesn't exist.

There's no authoritative count of how many trans athletes have competed recently in high school or college sports. Neither the NCAA nor most state high school athletic associations collect that data; in the states that do collect it, the numbers are minimal: No more than five students currently in Kansas, nine in Ohio over five years.

Transgender adults make up a small portion of the U.S. population, about 1.3 million as of 2016, according to the Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law that specializes in research on LGBTQ issues.

The two dozen bills making their way through state legislatures this year could be devastating for transgender teens who usually get little attention as they compete.

In Utah, a 12-year-old transgender girl cried when she heard about the proposal, which would separate her from her friends. She's far from the tallest girl on her club team and has worked hard to improve her times but is not a dominant swimmer in her age group, her coach said.

"Other than body parts, I've been a girl my whole life," she said.

The girl and her family spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to avoid outing her publicly.

Those who object to the growing visibility and rights for transgender people, though, argue new laws are needed to keep the playing field fair for cisgender girls.

"When the law does not recognize differences between men and women, we've seen that women lose," said Christiana Holcomb, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed the Connecticut lawsuit on behalf of four cisgender girls.

One of those girls, Chelsea Mitchell, defeated Terry Miller — the faster of the two trans sprinters — in their final two races in February 2020.

The ADF and others like it are the behind-the-scenes backers of the campaign, offering model legislation and a playbook to promote the bills, most of them with common features and even titles, like the Save Women's Sports Act.

When asked for other examples of complaints about middle or high school transgender athletes, ADF and the Family Policy Alliance, cited two: One involved a Hawaii woman who coaches track and filed a complaint last year over a trans girl competing in girls' volleyball and track. The other involved a cisgender girl in Alaska who defeated a trans sprinter in 2016, then appeared in a Family Policy Alliance video saying the trans girl's third-place finish was unfair to runners who were further behind.

Only one state, Idaho, has enacted a law curtailing trans students' sports participation, and that 2020 measure is blocked by a court ruling.

Chase Strangio, a transgender-rights attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, notes that in several states with proposed sports bans, lawmakers also are seeking to ban certain gender affirming health care for transgender young people.

"This is not about sports," he said. "It's a way to attack trans people."

Some states' school athletic organizations already have rules about trans participation in sports: 19 states allow full inclusion of trans athletes; 16 have no clear-cut statewide policy; seven emulate the NCAA's rule by requiring hormone therapy for trans girls; and eight effectively ban trans girls from girls' teams, according to attorney Asaf Orr of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Texas is among those with a ban, limiting transgender athletes to teams conforming with the gender on their birth certificate.

That policy came under criticism in 2017 and 2018, when trans male Mack Beggs won state titles in girls' wrestling competitions after he was told he could not compete as a boy.

While Beggs, Miller and Yearwood were the focus of news coverage and controversy, trans athletes more commonly compete without any furor — and with broad acceptance from teammates and competitors.

In New Jersey's Camden County, trans 14-year-old Rebekah Bruesehoff competes on her middle school field hockey team and hopes to keep playing in high school.

"It's all been positive," she said. "The coaches have been really helpful."

While New Jersey has a trans-inclusive sports policy, Rebekah is distressed by the proposed bans elsewhere — notably measures that might require girls to verify their gender.

"I know what it's like to have my gender questioned," Rebekah said. "It's invasive, embarrassing. I don't want others to go through that."

The possibility that any athlete could have to undergo tests or examinations to prove their gender was among the reasons that Truman Hamburger, a 17-year-old high school student in North Dakota, showed up at the statehouse to protest a proposed ban.

"Once you open up that door on gender policing, that's not a door you can easily shut," he said.

Sarah Huckman, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of New Hampshire, ran track and cross country for three years at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, after coming out as trans in seventh grade.

Huckman showed great talent in the sprints and hurdles but was not dominant on a statewide level. In her senior year, she won several events in small and mid-size meets, and had sixth place and 10th place finishes in the Division II indoor state championships.

The proposed bans appall her.

"It's so demeaning toward my group of people," she said. "We're all human beings. We do sports for the love of it."


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JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1  seeder  JohnRussell    4 years ago

I dont think that by itself trans in girls sports is a good enough reason to deny trans people equal rights.  It is not a major problem in this country. 

 
 
 
zuksam
Junior Silent
1.1  zuksam  replied to  JohnRussell @1    4 years ago

Playing in sports isn't a right. Kids are excluded from sports for many reasons mostly poor performance but sometimes medical reasons also poor grades, misbehavior in school or on the field, Steroid use, and cheating. Since it would be Cheating for a transexual to compete against girls on girls sports teams if they were allowed to join the team they couldn't actually compete without cheating which would get them kicked of the team and possibly get the whole team in trouble with the league. The world is an unfair place, it would be nice if it wasn't but it is so we should try to minimize the unfairness whenever possible. It is crazy to create a unfair condition for thousands of girls because you are afraid to be unfair to one or two transexuals. Whether something is a major problem depends on whether it is or could directly have a negative effect you, no private citizen in America has ever owned a nuke but it is illegal just the same.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.1.1  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  zuksam @1.1    4 years ago

If you have a state where maybe 50,000 girls compete in middle school and high school sports  and maybe 50 out of those 50,0000 are trans, do you think that justifies discrimination against all trans girls in that state whether they play sports or not? 

Rights should not be denied based on numbers that are miniscule. 

 
 
 
zuksam
Junior Silent
1.1.2  zuksam  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.1    4 years ago

Don't the 50,000 Biological Girls have the right to Fair Competition. It is not discrimination, Girls sports are for Girls and Transexuals are a different gender altogether. If they want to play sports they need their own league.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.1.3  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  zuksam @1.1.2    4 years ago

The Associated Press wrote an entire long story about how they could find few examples of trans competing in girls sports.  The article speaks for itself. 

 
 
 
zuksam
Junior Silent
1.1.4  zuksam  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.3    4 years ago

It has happened and it was a big problem. The two in Connecticut won 1st and 2nd in the State Championships because of their unfair advantage, they unfairly stole those victories from biological women. How many times should biological women be victimized before we act?

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.1.5  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  zuksam @1.1.4    4 years ago

Fact Check: Does Biden's Executive Order Allow Transgender Athletes to Compete With Gender of Their Choosing?

Fact Check: Does Biden's Executive Order Allow Transgender Athletes to Compete With Gender of Their Choosing? (msn.com)
original

On his first day in office, newly inaugurated President Joseph Biden enacted 17 executive orders.

BB17GaBw.img?h=534&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f A stock image shows the transgender flag. Researchers believe transgender and gender-diverse people may be more likely to be autistic. One combats discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The policy addresses Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other gender discrimination policies such as Title IX and the Fair Housing Act and section 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
This is what happens when you pretend men and women are the same.

This is what happens when you ignore biology.

Biological men don't belong in women's sport. Any person who suggests otherwise doesn't live in reality. #BidenErasedWomen — Sydney Watson (@SydneyLWatson) January 21, 2021

The Claim

Shortly after this executive order was released, the hashtag #BidenErasedWomen was trending on   Twitter . Some people expressed concern that the order will allow transgender female athletes to compete on women's sports teams.

Abigail Shrier, author of "IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters," said in a tweet that the order" eviscerates women's sports" and places a "new glass ceiling" over girls because allowing transgender women have a biological advantage on women's sports teams.
On day 1, Biden unilaterally eviscerates women's sports. Any educational institution that receives federal funding must admit biologically-male athletes to women's teams, women's scholarships, etc. A new glass ceiling was just placed over girls. — Abigail Shrier (@AbigailShrier) January 21, 2021

The Facts

The executive order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation states that begins by stating that "all persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation."

Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment circumstances on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, or national origin.

The order references the holding in the 2020   Supreme Court   case   Bostock v Clayton   County that employs a broad interpretation of Title VII to protect employees against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The order also references Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." This has largely been regarded as the policy that allows women's sports to receive equal funding and treatment.


Video: By the Numbers: New Congress is the most diverse in US history (ABC News)

Biden's order states that heads of federal agencies will have to review their own policies that deal with Title VII or gender discrimination and consider to revise, suspend or rescind existing actions or create new ones to fully implement statutes that prohibit discrimination outlined in the order.

The order does not explicitly address athletics in any great detail. The only reference to sports briefly mentioned that "children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports."

Transgender athletes who compete at the college and Olympic levels already are subject to special requirements.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) does not require gender-confirming surgery or legal recognition of a player's transitioned sex in order for transgender athletes to participate on a team that matches their identity, according to Transathlete.com. The NCAA Policy on Transgender Student-Athlete Participation sets separate hormone requirements for trans male and trans female athletes.

A trans female student-athlete must complete one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment in order to compete on the women's team.

A trans male student-athlete who received a medical exception for treatment with testosterone may compete on the men's team but is no longer eligible to compete on the women's team.

Individual colleges, universities and programs may have their own policies regarding transgender athletes.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) updated its policy for transgender athletes in 2015 to be more inclusive and also remain fair to all athletes. "Surgical anatomical changes" are no longer required as that policy may "be inconsistent with developing legislation and notions of human rights."

Transgender male athletes are eligible to compete in the male category without restriction. In order to compete in the female category, transgender female athletes must declare that their gender is female for a minimum of four years and must monitor their testosterone level below 10nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to their first competition and below 10 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.

These guidelines are meant to be "living documents" and are intended to comply with the World Anti-Doping Code and the WADA International Standards.

The main issue comes down to state laws about transgender athletes at the high school sports level. According to Transathlete.com, there are 16 states with policies that are friendly to the full inclusion of transgender, non-binary and gender-non-confirming students in high school athletics. Medical proof or disclosures are required in 14 states. There are 11 states with less-inclusive gender identity policies and 10 states that either do not have statewide policies, allow schools to create their own policies or rely on a single person to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

There are already legal battles across the country over laws that include and exclude transgender women from women's sports teams. While Biden's executive order does not outline a specific ruling on this issue, the broader interpretation of Titles VII and IX may lead to new legal challenges of laws and policies concerning transgender athletes.

The Ruling

Mostly false.

The executive order addresses that Title VII and Title IX protect against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

While it did not specifically address transgendered women in sports, the order might open the possibility for state and federal laws and policies to be challenged in court, which could lead to transgender women competing on women's sports teams.
 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
1.1.6  sandy-2021492  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.1    4 years ago
If you have a state where maybe 50,000 girls compete in middle school and high school sports  and maybe 50 out of those 50,0000 are trans, do you think that justifies discrimination against all trans girls in that state whether they play sports or not?  Rights should not be denied based on numbers that are miniscule. 

During ordinary season competition, maybe it's not much of a problem.  Get to playoffs and state tournaments, and it becomes a big problem, especially in individual sports like track and wrestling.

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
1.1.7  1stwarrior  replied to  JohnRussell @1.1.5    4 years ago

All humans have 23 chromosomes.  22 of them are the same in male and female.  The last one, 23rd, for the female contains 2 "X" chromosomes and males contain one "X" and one "Y".

Those are the only two genders - male and female.  You are what your chromosomes make you.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
1.1.8  Kavika   replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.7    4 years ago
Those are the only two genders - male and female. 

That is not true among many American Indian tribes.

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Participates
1.1.9  Raven Wing   replied to  Kavika @1.1.8    4 years ago
That is not true among many American Indian tribes.

True. Most, if not all, Native American Tribes believe there are Two Spirit individuals, who are fully accepted and respected by their Tribe. 

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
1.1.10  sandy-2021492  replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.7    4 years ago
Those are the only two genders - male and female.

That is incorrect.

Also, it is incorrect that all humans have 23 chromosomes.  Most have 23 pairs of chromosomes.  Some do not.

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
1.1.11  1stwarrior  replied to  sandy-2021492 @1.1.10    4 years ago

Sorry - got the information off of MedlinePLUS - figured they knew what they were talking about.

They don't?

In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Twenty-two of these pairs, called autosomes, look the same in both males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, differ between males and females. Females have two copies of the  X chromosome , while males have one X and one  Y chromosome .

.

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
1.1.12  sandy-2021492  replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.11    4 years ago

Yes, as I said, 23 pairs of chromosomes, not 23 total.  And that is the usual number.  It does not hold true for those with trisomy (think Down's syndrome), Turner's, and Klinefelter's syndromes.

As far as gender, some are intersex - their gender is ambiguous.  This can be due to chromosomal abnormalities, enzyme deficiencies as a result of mutations, abnormal sensitivity to sex hormones, exposure to excess sex hormones in utero - many reasons.  It's not as black and white as many biology classes make it out to be.

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
1.2  Greg Jones  replied to  JohnRussell @1    4 years ago

Trans  "girls" should compete with other trans "girls", not against biological females

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.2.1  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  Greg Jones @1.2    4 years ago

President Biden made an executive order to protect the rights of transgender people regarding housing ,employment, and educational opportunities. The girls sports issue falls under the banner of "education".  Should a college be able to refuse admission to a transgender person on the basis of the sexual orientation? 

The sports aspect is a byproduct of the application of the equal rights provisions, not the main intent.  In any case it is almost a non existent issue. 

I, by the way, am not in favor of transgenders playing girls sports. 

 
 
 
Nerm_L
Professor Expert
2  Nerm_L    4 years ago

What prompted the legislation to protect transgender rights?  Apparently there hasn't been a need to protect transgender rights either since no examples can be found.  The whole thing has been a concocted political controversy to divide the country.  Who's responsible for that?  And why aren't they held accountable for dividing the country to score political points?

If a transgender woman is convicted of sexual assault, will they serve their sentence in a men's prison or a women's prison?

 
 
 
evilone
Professor Guide
2.1  evilone  replied to  Nerm_L @2    4 years ago
Apparently there hasn't been a need to protect transgender rights either since no examples can be found.

Bullshit! 

 
 
 
Hallux
Professor Principal
3  Hallux    4 years ago

Meh ... everyone knows transfolk breed more quickly than transvermin, transvarmints and Transylvanians ... by tomorrow afternoon they'll be everywhere transfiguring transportation to transanimate the 'grey normals'!

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
4  Tacos!    4 years ago
Supporters of transgender rights say the Connecticut case gets so much attention from conservatives because it's the only example of its kind.

And yet it is deserving of every ounce of attention it receives because it was so outrageous.

"It's their Exhibit A, and there's no Exhibit B — absolutely none," said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a prominent trans-rights attorney.

How many more times should an obvious injustice like that happen before you decide to legislate against it? The fact is if we let a bunch of cases like that go without a reaction, then when we finally got around to outlawing it, advocates would moan and cry that we never had a problem with it before. Well, we do have a problem with it and we are saying so right away.

By the way, you can be a supporter of transgender people and their rights and still have sense enough to see that this particular, very specific circumstance of trans females in girls sports is something that should not be allowed. "Supporting" someone doesn't mean you just let them have absolutely anything they want without examining the consequences.

Muscle strength, size and composition following 12 months of gender-affirming treatment in transgender individuals: retained advantage for the transwomen

Conclusions and implications
Cross-sex hormone treatment markedly affects muscle function, size and composition in transgender individuals. Despite the robust changes in lower-limb muscle mass and strength in TM, the TW still had an absolute advantage at the 12-month follow-up . The question of when it is fair to permit a Transwoman to compete in sport in line with her experienced gender identity is challenging and very little data have been provided to add clarity on the potential performance benefits for TW arising from the lifelong experience of being a biological male. Our results indicate that after 12 months of hormonal therapy, a transwoman will still likely have performance benefits over a cis-woman. These findings add new knowledge that could be relevant for sport-governing bodies when evaluating the eligibility of transwomen to compete in the women’s category of athletic competition

Ultimately, blanket bans may not be necessary, and there may be some fair way athletic organizations can work with the transfemale athlete. But right now, there is a lot of pressure from advocates to just let anything go, and any resistance to that at all is attacked as bigotry.

 
 
 
zuksam
Junior Silent
4.1  zuksam  replied to  Tacos! @4    4 years ago
Ultimately, blanket bans may not be necessary

Any rules that required Cross-Sex hormone treatment could open up liabilities. They could later say they were forced to do it as a requirement to play sports. Right now all they have to do is say they are Trans. I don't want Girls to have to face unfair competition but nether would I want to require, advocate, or incentivize Cross-Sex hormone treatment or surgeries in children.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
4.2  Split Personality  replied to  Tacos! @4    4 years ago

Montana

If you start performing onstage, you are committing to finishing that performance on stage—you can’t abandon it mid-song. I came upon many strange and wondrous things while researching for this article, and the absolute strangest and most wondrous-est was the account of the 1987 court case that followed burlesque dancer Jimmy Lee Laedeke’s violation of this ordinance. Each minute you spend reading it counts as a minute of self-care.

Nebraska

I suppose it’s best for your health in the long run, but in Nebraska you cannot purchase a cocktail that mixes liquor and beer . 2012 cocktail trends clearly have no place in the Cornhusker State.

Nevada

If you’ve ever been skiing or snowboarding, you know that it’s a weird tradition in lots of places to throw Mardi Gras-style beads or similar festive litter from the chairlift into nearby trees. Sit that out in Nevada; it’s illegal to throw anything from a chairlift here.

New Hampshire

Multiple counties in New Hampshire have outlawed picnics in cemeteries . Seems you’re allowed to have take that midnight car picnic you couldn’t take in Delaware, though, so everything balances out in the end.

jrSmiley_90_smiley_image.gif
 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
5  Hal A. Lujah    4 years ago

Preemptive legislation to to fight future assumed leftist circumstances.  This is the child of faux outrage meets conspiracy theory.  How creative!

 
 

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