In the wake of outright discriminatory bans on trans youth (especially trans girls) from competing in gendered sports, I’ve once again found myself and my identity to be a “hot topic”. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to defeat these laws, but a glance at the comments says too many Americans already made up their minds- “trans girls are boys”.
Gendered sports are already questionable in necessity in my opinion, especially before puberty, (we’d all play sports together at recess, so why did soccer practice have to be “girls’”?), but more importantly trans boys/transmasculine kids are also affected by this ideology.
After interacting with a few of the commentors, it’s evident they are obsessed with minors’ genitals. Seriously. “I’m worried about born girls with ovaries’ right to compete against other born girls with ovaries, not a boy with an unfortunate mental disorder”, I was told. As I just mentioned, I don’t think there IS a “right” for CHILDREN to only play against CHILDREN with the same reproductive capacities. That’s creepy!
There comes a point where comment wars become too much, especially as an empath. That point has been reached, but I keep pushing past it, unhealthily riling myself up. The amount of people who just HATE literal KIDS for being trans is very, very depressing. There is genuinely a population that looks at a kid and thinks “do they have a penis??? or ovaries????” and that’s acceptable. Glorified, even.
If you’re going to reply like “muscle mass varies by sex!! basic biology”, not exactly. Muscle mass varied by hormone balance, which yes is influenced by your dominant sex hormone, but isn’t the same for everyone. Some cis individuals have differing amounts/levels of hormones (testosterone/estrogen) naturally and have been allowed to compete. That said, remember how I mentioned sex hormones and their impact on muscle mass? That’s another reason TRANS MINORS NEED HRT! Yet the same people that argue trans women have unfair advantages are opposed to trans kids/minors taking hormones. Suddenly, those are “dangerous, untested voodoo” despite being used for hormone deficiencies and other medical purposes for hundreds of years.
All of what I have written also applies to trans adults- trans people are not predatory, or at an advantage (no, “men” are not “taking over womens’ sports”). Trans people have the disadvantages of having to interact with you and fight for healthcare and respect.
In conclusion, there is no valid reason to oppose trans kids playing sports.
There is no justifiable reason you should want to reduce kids to what’s in their pants.
Let trans kids play.
