Protect Trans Youth in Sports

So many new policies and bans are in place restricting trans youth from playing sports, let's talk about it.

The first policy for transgender athletes in the Olympics was made in 2003. Before this, transgender athletes were not able to compete in the events. The policy stated that for the athlete to be eligible to compete, the transgender individual must go through reassignment surgery and have had hormone therapy for at least two years. They also have to identify as their gender identity for at least four years. This big Olympic step may be seen as a good movement in sports for the trans community but the requirements aren't as progressive as LGBTQ+ activists hoped for and still hold back some trans athletes from doing what they love.

This movement starting from the olympic level is still good for trans athletes, but it's been hard for local sports and school teams to follow. Many transphobic people and politicians are pushing to not allow trans athletes to play for teams with which they identify. People think that these athletes have some sort of advantage over other cisgender athletes. This thought has been proven incorrect. When people have this stance, they tend to talk about trans women athletes, saying they're "too masculine" and have an advantage because of hormones or build. When in reality every woman has different levels of testosterone, estrogen, and muscle, the levels of these hormones or the person's build does not affect their skill within a sport. Certain characteristics that any individual has may not align perfectly with their identified gender, many cisgender people have levels of hormones that are not similar to other cisgender individuals. Many cisgender athletes, for example Micheal Phelps having much larger lungs, a longer body, and is more flexible than his competitors, have obvious advantages over others but are never criticized for them, this is advantage stance it only brought up when gender and trans individuals are involved. Trans individuals' skills can be different from another trans athlete, similarly with cisgender athletes, one can simply be more athletic than another and another could have more knowledge about the sport. Skills and advantages, with any gender expression, are also caused by the environment the ahlete is raised in. Some athletes can have more supportive parents that have the funds and time to support their athletic hobbies, with training, equipment, help and time, while other families don't.

This idea that trans athletes should not be allowed in sports not only hurts trans women (and men) but also all athletes in general. This can hurt any athlete with accusations being made questioning their skills, biological sex, and can put them at risk for needing invasive tests. It also further pushes on the idea (in womens sports, for instance) that women are weak and need 'saving' or 'protection' from trans athletes. 'Protection' also comes into play when politicians and transphobic people talk about the use of restrooms for trans individuals, saying that cisgender people are at risk for 'predatory behavior,' which has time and time been debunked and shown that it is just transphobia.

Many transphobic people think that trans athletes should be discriminated and segregated from other cisgender athletes to have their own teams and leagues. This pushes an old way of thinking, separate but not equal, and is not ethically right. This would only hurt young athletes, because they would feel as though they are not real women or real men and have to be separated from others with which they identify. It is not fair to trans youth and it shows them that they are not seen as how they identify, this way of thinking is extremely harmful and unethical.

According to this New York Times article, 18 states have banned or limited trans youth from the ability to participate in sports. When in a school sport setting, in Texas athletes are not allowed to play for teams outside of the teams of biological sex that they were assigned at birth. Many other states are in the process or are about to pass bills and policies on trans youth in sports. These policies are mostly being pushed by republican politicians and supported by red transphobic voters. More needs to be done to protect the human rights of trans individuals and their rights should not be up for debate or seen as a political view.