Blog Post 1 - Transgender Rights and Protections
The topic of transgender rights has been at the forefront of debate for quite some time now, first, with the use of bathrooms that align with the gender they identify as, and now, with transgender individuals being banned from certain aspects of athletic competition, unable to get the hormone medications needed to complete their transitions, and being forced to go through years of therapy to “make sure they know what they are doing” to being their transition.
Over the last couple of months, Ohio lawmakers passed a bill that would prohibit transgender girls and women from high school and collegiate athletic competition. The statement also indicates that there is a "verification process." The process calls for any athlete that is suspected to be transgender to submit to a genital check, in which the athlete would be forced to show a doctor their genitals as well as go through other forms of invasive testing to prove their gender and have the results be given to their school officials.
The bill is called HB61 with the short title of “Enact Save Women’s Sports Act,” and it states, “if a participant’s sex is disputed, the participant shall establish the participant’s sex by presenting a signed physician’s statement indicating the participant’s sex-based upon only the following: (1) the participants internal and external reproductive anatomy; (2) The participant’s normal endogenously produced levels of testosterone; (3) An analysis of the participant’s genetic makeup.” This bill applies to athletes in secondary schools, colleges, public and private universities, and interscholastic organizations, which means athletes as young as 11 years of age could fall subject to this bill.
This bill affects more than just transgender athletes. This bill also impacts intersex athletes or athletes who were born with both sets of genitals and possibly underwent gender reassignment at birth. This bill also sets back athletes of color and minority athletes more than they already have been. Athletes of color and minority backgrounds lose opportunities, accolades, and scholarships more than any other group due to the racism and discriminatory practices and policies that have been instituted by secondary schools, colleges, public and private universities, and interscholastic organizations.
Many will argue that biological females are losing scholarships, accolades, and opportunities unjustly to biological males due to discriminatory policies that allow for them to compete with one another. They will also argue that this bill’s goal is to aid in the fight for equal rights for women. Still, neither of these arguments justify this overzealous, unnecessary, overly invasive bill. In fact, there is only 1 transgender athlete in the state of Ohio, a high school student, and as of current policy, transgender female athletes are required to have completed a full year of hormone treatment before they are allowed to compete, or they have had to show no signs of physical or physiological advantage.
The solution to the non-existent issue that we face with transgender athletes, specifically in the case of Ohio, where there is only 1, and there has only ever been 1 for the last 7 years, would be to keep the policies that they currently have in place. The policy they have ensures presently that there is no advantage and also protects the athlete from unnecessary medical procedures. Another solution would be to simply mind our business. It’s free. Whether or not a child participates in sports and what gender that child is biologically has absolutely nothing to do with anyone else. That is a discussion between parent and child. The final solution I can offer is to let your children feel disappointment and defeat. By eliminating all competitors that have the potential to be better than you or your child, you are setting them up to believe that life has no challenges, no disappointments, and no stiff competition, which is incredibly unrealistic and ultimately hurts the child who was able to compete as well as the child who was not only pulled from the competition but probably embarrassed and harassed as well.