Fighting Back Against Anti-Transgender Legislation in the States

The bad news: Across the country, there’s been a rise in hateful legislation that attacks the basic dignity and humanity of transgender youth.

The good news: These bills have already been stopped in states including South Dakota and Florida, and there are resources to help in every state!

Jessie Ulibarri, SiX Co-Executive Director teamed up with Chase Strangio from the ACLU, Katrina Karkazis from Yale University and Florida State Rep. Carlos Smith for a conversation about these bills. Watch or listen below.

The bottom line? Transgender young people know who they are and all of the data shows that when they are affirmed in their gender they have comparable outcomes to their peers. By contrast, when denied treatment and affirmation, transgender people experience high rates of suicidality and negative health outcomes. These bills are based on false and/or deliberately misleading notions of health care for transgender youth and on fear of trans inclusion in public life.

Please reach out if you would like support defeating these bills in your state.

Inspiration from South Dakota and Florida

Check out  this video of FL Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith taking down the false claim that care for transgender youth is experimental or unproven:

As with any issue, stories are the most powerful messengers. If you have five minutes, check out this story from 17-year-old Quinncy Parke, one of the many heroes who helped stop South Dakota’s #HB1057, which sought to ban transition-related care like puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for trans minors.

Resources

See here for a fact sheet developed by the ACLU to help you stop these harmful bills in your state: bit.ly/2wiIDo1.

See the ACLU’s bill tracker of LGBT rights bills here and the Equality Federation’s bill tracker of anti-trans bills here.

Olympic Trans Policy

NCAA Statement on Inclusion of Trans Athletes

U Sport Canada Policy (USport is the collegiate level sports governing body in Canada)

Women’s Sports Foundation Inclusion Statement for Trans and Intersex Athletes (WSF was founded by Billie Jean King and is the major advocate for women in sport in the US)

Athlete Ally FAQ on Trans Inclusion in Sport

Athlete Ally’s FAQ on Trans Inclusion In Sports

Trans Athlete Voices:

• British driver Charlie Martin on being out in motosports
• WNBA Hopeful Kayla Ward to Trans Youth: You Aren’t Alone
• Erica Meacham, Women’s Tackle Football Oregon Hawks on trans inclusion
• Hockey is for Everyone: Elliot’s Story

Overview / Background Articles:

• The Truth About Trans Athletes (Men’s Health)
• Andraya Yearwood Knows She Has the Right to Compete (Bleacher Report)
• CT High School Track Athletes Respond to Discrimination Complaint (Boston.Com)
• Stop Talking about Testosterone, There’s No Such Thing as ‘True Sex’ (The Guardian) 
• Don’t Believe Everything You Read About Trans Women in Sports (Penguin Random House)
• Trans Athletes Welcomed on Teams Despite Hostile State Bills (NewNowNext)