Transgender girls are at the center of America's culture wars, yet again [View all]
National
Transgender girls are at the center of Americas culture wars, yet again
By
Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and
Samantha Schmidt
Jan. 29, 2021 at 8:25 p.m. EST
On the day that President Biden signed an executive order allowing transgender people to serve in the military, Republican lawmakers 2,100 miles away in Montanas capital advanced a law to ban transgender youth from competing in girls sports.
Less than a month into their 2021 sessions, GOP state legislators across the United States are relaunching campaigns to restrict transgender peoples access to medical care and school athletics. But this time, their efforts are clashing with the agenda of a Democratic president who has been called the most pro-transgender in history.
Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office to reinstate protections for gender identity that were curbed by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, lawmakers in at least a dozen states have proposed bills in recent weeks that challenge such protections. Some were carried over from 2020 sessions, when a record number of anti-trans bills were filed in state legislatures, according to the ACLU. ... Many of those bills target youth and collegiate athletes, with supporters arguing that transgender girls have an unfair physiological advantage in girls sports, an edge that can affect access to scholarships.
Tennessee state Rep. Bruce Griffey (R), who has a cisgender daughter on a school golf team, is co-sponsoring a bill that would allow school competition only based on the sex listed on ones birth certificate. ... What if one of the boys is not doing well, so he pretends to be transgender to win? he asked. Im protecting a discriminated class: thats girls and women in sports.
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Emily Wax-Thibodeaux
Emily Wax-Thibodeaux is a National staff writer who covers national news, with a focus on gender issues and social movements for the America desk. She is an award-winning former foreign correspondent who covered Africa and India for nearly a decade. Follow
https://twitter.com/emily_wax
Samantha Schmidt
Samantha Schmidt is a reporter covering gender and family issues for The Washington Post. Follow
https://twitter.com/schmidtsam7