When it comes to transgender people playing sports, there are a lot of controversial views. The opinion of not wanting these people playing on sports teams of their preferred gender is the side of the story that is talked about most in a dominantly conservative town like Warsaw, so it’s important for me to highlight the opposing side. Something that is more than just important, but also an essential necessity when it comes to this topic, is research. Speaking about this rather sensitive topic without doing any prior research is incredibly insensitive to those affected.
According to NBC News, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed a law banning transgender women and girls from competing in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity, making the state the second to approve such a restriction so far this year.
To start things off, lets talk about how transgender people are already globally mistreated. In many places, transgender people aren’t allowed to use the bathrooms they prefer, join the army, get suitable healthcare or even protection over keeping their jobs. People don’t understand why most transgender people are overly shy and keep to themselves, but then they turn around and strip them of everything good about life. How does one expect someone to enjoy their life and be outgoing without being allowed their basic human rights?
An argument that is often used when addressing this issue is that it is unfair for
transgender women to compete on female sports teams because they are more likely to win due to the fact that they were born as males. But what is being overlooked is that, not only is it possible, but also seen multiple times in sports history, cisgender females are outperforming transgender women (Scientific American “Trans Girls Belong on Girls’ Sports Teams” by Jack Turban). This just proves that the argument that is used so passionately is wrong.
“Attempts to force transgender girls to play on the boys’ teams are unconscionable attacks on already marginalized transgender children, and they don’t address a real problem. They’re unscientific, and they would cause serious mental health damage to both cisgender and transgender youth,” said Yale graduate Dr. Jack Turban in his Scientific America piece about transgender sports.
What a lot of people fail to realize is that before transitioning, a lot of transgender people are interested in sports and are very passionate about being active. It is unfair to not allow someone to play a sport they love without being allowed to be who they truly are. The laws put into place forcing trans athletes to play on the opposite teams that they identify with is overwhelmingly transphobic and so degrading to the transgender community.
Something that is often used against trans athletes is the fact that they have different hormonal make-up compared to cisgendered athletes. But, in reality, when a transgender person starts to transition they are given the same amount of hormones that a cisgender person has. There really is no comparison when it comes to sports.
I am tired of transgender people being looked down on and having all the good things in life taken from them, something needs to change.