Photo: stitoday.com
BY: EMMA LEV AND PHOENIX MINTUS, SUMMER 2021 COLLABORATORS AT POWER IN PLACE
June is known throughout the United States as Pride Month. All throughout the country, LGBTQ+ people celebrate their identities through parades and other gatherings. Over time, it seemed as if LGBTQ+ acceptance by society was making progress. More and more corporations change their logos to rainbow versions for June and many have even come out with pride collections. However, these past few months have been a nightmare for transgender people in the United States as anti-trans bills have been passed in many states. A particularly troubling bill was passed in Florida, which proposes banning transgender women from women’s sports, to the extent of recommending “genital checks” on female athletes.
The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” was signed into law by Florida governor Ron DeSantos on June 1st, a shocking start to Pride Month. The bill enacts a statewide ban on transgender female athletes from all levels of sports. If a student is suspected of being a transgender female, this bill would allow schools to “check” if this is true through physical examinations, genetic testing, or measuring testosterone levels. However, these methods were tried in the past as international policy in the Olympics and have proven to be controversial or ineffective. Genital checks had to be replaced due to widespread complaints of its invasiveness. The testing of chromosomes is problematic because it excludes a variety of intersex athletes, including women born with both X and Y chromosomes. The latter group of women are androgen insensitive, and gain no competitive advantage from their natural testosterone. So these methods of “testing” whether a girl is transgender may hurt cisgender and transgender girls alike.
Along with the destructive language of the bill, the suggestion that schools should be allowed to perform “physical examinations” on students suspected of being transgender is disturbing. The act of suspecting and “guessing” one’s sex at birth is inappropriate itself, but forcing students to having their genitals examined is inhumane. No one should ever be put in that situation, regardless of the circumstances. This also may cause female athletes to be unnecessarily exposed to adults and exploited by predators, especially by putting already marginalized transgender girls in further danger.
Lawmakers who supported the bill argued that it was not meant to be discriminatory, but instead intended to protect female athletes. But the very language of this bill is significantly harmful to the transgender community. A quote from this act states that this bill “maintains opportunities for female athletes.” These very words suggest that transgender women are not real women, a degrading and damaging statement to transgender women around the world.
What most people do not understand is that the transgender community has been harmed time and time again simply by living in an unaccepting world and being met with hate in their everyday lives. As a transgender man, I, Phoenix, have had my fair share of hate comments, especially from people on the internet who have never met me in real life. I’ve had to private my social media accounts or turn off comments whenever I post because I’ve chosen to be publicly out on my platforms. I even have close friends, best friends, that refuse to use my preferred name. Myself and other members of the transgender community have faced so much pressure and pushback from people who don’t even know us, and this bill will provide people with another excuse to justify their own personal biases against the LGBTQ+ community.
The truth is that transgender women belong in sports. Transgender women are real women, and they deserve the chance to participate in group activities and learn teambuilding skills just like everyone else. Sports are so much more than just a game. They offer people opportunities to make friends, learn how to work together, and get some exercise. Denying someone the opportunity to participate based on the body they were born in is unfair and insensitive to transgender students, and we must do everything we can to oppose and challenge this legislation.
The Human Rights Campaign has recently announced that they plan to sue the Florida governor in court for passing this legislation. Their president, Alphonso David, made a statement:
“Gov. DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are legislating based on a false, discriminatory premise that puts the safety and well-being of transgender children on the line. Transgender kids are kids; transgender girls are girls. Like all children, they deserve the opportunity to play sports with their friends and be a part of a team. Transgender youth must not be deprived of the opportunity to learn important skills of sportsmanship, healthy competition, and teamwork.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has also defended transgender female athletes, stating that most people’s assumptions about transgender women competing on women’s sports teams are based on bias, not fact. They explained this statement as “the assumption that all male-bodied people are taller, stronger, and more highly skilled in a sport than all female-bodied people is not accurate.” The NCAA plans to withdraw its events from states that contain anti-transgender legislation.
With the help of the Human Rights Campaign and the support of the NCAA, activists and lawmakers are working to take down this bill to protect transgender youth and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
References:
[1] Carter, Ashleigh. “Florida Anti-Trans Bill Could Require ‘Genital Inspections’ Of Students.” NowThis News, 16 Apr. 2021, nowthisnews.com/news/florida-anti-trans-bill-could-require-genital-inspections-of-students.
[2] Chen, Victoria. “Ethical Issues Concerning Transgender Athletes.” Penn Bioethics Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, Fall 2018, pp. 15–18.
[3] TheAdvocateMag. “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Anti-Trans Bill in Time for Pride.” ADVOCATE, Advocate.com, 1 June 2021, www.advocate.com/transgender/2021/6/01/florida-gov-ron-desantis-signs-anti-trans-bill-time-pride.
Phoenix Mintus is an incoming sophomore student at Denison University. He is majoring in Communications and Public Affairs. He is passionate about LGBTQ+ rights and women’s rights. He enjoys reading, writing, and learning new things everyday. On campus, he plans to volunteer and join the student newspaper.
Emma Lev is a rising sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in English with a certificate in Creative Writing. She enjoys writing short stories, reading books, and drawing in her free time, but her career aspirations lie in editing. She is passionate about feminism, social issues and justice, and journalism.