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Three trans girls playing sports is an emergency for Kansas Republicans

When it comes to trans people playing sports, the people pushing anti-trans legislation dress up their bigotry in the language of women’s rights

According to the Kansas State High School Activities Association,?about 106,000 students participate?in the organization’s sports and activities. Guess how many of those students are transgender girls? Three. That’s right, just three.

Three transgender girls enjoying sports is apparently an emergency for?Kansas?Republicans. For the last few years they’ve been trying to pass a bill that would ban transgender girls and women from participating in female sports at public schools and colleges. The Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, vetoed the bill but, on Wednesday, the Republican-dominated Kansas legislature finally got enough votes to override the veto. Not only are transgender students now restricted from participating in school sports, parents can sue if they think their daughter didn’t make a team because a transgender girl took their place. (The focus of the bill is very much on transgender girls and doesn’t say much about trans boys.)

Republicans excel at passing?deliberately vague bills, whose main purpose is seemingly to terrorize minorities rather than lay out clear law. This bill is no exception:?it is very short?and doesn’t say how they would determine whether someone is trans. This has led some people to provide their own interpretations.

“Kansas Republicans have successfully overridden the Governor veto to now authorize genital inspections of children in order for kids to play sports,”?a viral tweet?claimed. While that tweet got thousands of likes it should be noted that the bill doesn’t say anything explicit about genital inspections. However, it’s certainly not a gigantic leap to think something like this might be implemented. A?2021 version?of the bill contained language stating that a dispute regarding a student’s sex might be resolved by a “health examination”. Further, during a House meeting in February, state representative Barbara Wasinger, who introduced the legislation,?was asked how it would be enforced?and answered that it would be via a “sports physical”. Does this mean a “genital inspection”, a Democrat asked. Wasinger said she couldn’t recall. I don’t know about you, but if I introduced legislation that would have a massive impact on people’s lives, I’d try and recall a few details about it.

Kansas isn’t the only state trying to block trans girls’ participation in sports. More than 14 states have passed bills targeting trans people in sports. And, of course, it’s not just sports that are being targeted. Republicans want to stop trans people existing in public at all.?At?least 452 anti-LGBTQ+ bills?have been introduced in state legislatures across the US since the start of this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), with a large number of these targeting trans people.

When it comes to trans people playing sports, the people pushing anti-trans legislation dress up their bigotry in the language of women’s rights. The Kansas bill is predictably and disingenuously called “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act”. Let’s be very clear here: banning trans girls from playing sports at school has nothing to do with fairness and everything to do with malice. In 2021 the Associated Press contacted two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring bills that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in public high schools.?In almost every case the sponsors?couldn’t cite any examples in their state where trans participation in sport had caused a problem.

It’s perfectly reasonable to have a good faith discussion about whether transgender women who have gone through male puberty might retain an?unfair advantage?in professional women’s sports. It’s a complex subject and many experts believe regulations should be made on a sport-by-sport basis. But that’s professional sport. School sports are meant to be about inclusivity and team work and having fun. Laws like the one in Kansas aren’t being made because of a scientific consensus, they’re not being made because of ‘fairness’ – they’re being made to hurt and humiliate young trans people. And these laws, I can’t stress enough, will not just affect trans people: they’ll impact everyone who doesn’t conform to rigid gender stereotypes. Indeed, cisgender women who don’t present in a?“feminine” way are already being harassed in public bathrooms because of anti-trans hysteria. There is no clear line between trans rights and women’s rights and gay rights: Republicans are coming for all of us.

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