Veronica Lorson Fowler
Feb. 24, 2022 4:14 pm
Misinformation and stereotypes are dominating the conversation surrounding transgender girls in sports. With legislation rapidly moving through Iowa Legislature that would ban transgender girls from participating in high school girls’ sports, it’s time to address some of them.
There is a long history of schools excluding specific groups of people from sports because they're different and predicted to spoil sports programs: 70 years ago Black people were excluded from sports for that very reason; 50 years ago women were excluded from sports programs. More recently, there has been resistance to openly gay students participating in team sports. Athletic programs included these groups and have thrived.
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The bottom line is that trans girls are girls. They are not boys and they are not an "other" that should be excluded. They should be treated like all other girls, and welcomed into girls sports
Trans girls in Iowa have already been able to compete in high school sports legally for the past 15 years, with the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union providing guidance for including trans girls in girls’ sports since at least 2014. Their participation has been hardly noticeable.
Athletes come to their sports with a variety of talent, body sizes, physical strengths, genetic makeup, and mental drive. Many girls, for example, are extremely tall or have exceptional muscle mass, which could give them an edge. Correctly, we do not exclude those girls and we should not exclude trans girls.
Also, just 1 percent of high school students identify as transgender girls, based on CDC data. And only a fraction of those will choose to participate in girls’ sports, hardly a large enough group to “dominate” sports programs.
People perpetuating this myth often point to a specific athlete, like Lia Thomas (who has the formal support of many women in athletics). But the fact that a particular trans person is succeeding in a sport should not be used to exclude all trans athletes.
This is especially true when talking about high school sports. Consider the reasons why we offer high school sports programs. Few people would say it’s to cultivate a small number of students so they can get significant money for college and position themselves for a professional career. We put enormous amounts of time and money into school sports programs because they teach kids important, lifelong lessons about physical fitness, setting personal goals and achieving them, teamwork, and respect for others.
It's not unlike school music programs. We don't sponsor them just so a select few can get high-dollar scholarships or become a pro. We do it to develop personal musical skills, to teach setting and reaching goals, and to cultivate a lifelong appreciation for music.
Efforts to exclude trans girls from playing on Iowa high school girls’ sports teams are discriminatory and harmful. They hurt kids and need to stop.
Veronica Lorson Fowler is the communications director of the ACLU of Iowa. She was offered a college volleyball scholarship and is the mother of three children, including a cisgender girl who played volleyball.
Feb. 24, 2022 4:14 pm
Misinformation and stereotypes are dominating the conversation surrounding transgender girls in sports. With legislation rapidly moving through Iowa Legislature that would ban transgender girls from participating in high school girls’ sports, it’s time to address some of them.
- Myth: Trans girls participating in girls’ sports will ruin athletics for others.
There is a long history of schools excluding specific groups of people from sports because they're different and predicted to spoil sports programs: 70 years ago Black people were excluded from sports for that very reason; 50 years ago women were excluded from sports programs. More recently, there has been resistance to openly gay students participating in team sports. Athletic programs included these groups and have thrived.
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The bottom line is that trans girls are girls. They are not boys and they are not an "other" that should be excluded. They should be treated like all other girls, and welcomed into girls sports
- Myth: Trans girls will completely dominate girls’ sports.
Trans girls in Iowa have already been able to compete in high school sports legally for the past 15 years, with the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union providing guidance for including trans girls in girls’ sports since at least 2014. Their participation has been hardly noticeable.
Athletes come to their sports with a variety of talent, body sizes, physical strengths, genetic makeup, and mental drive. Many girls, for example, are extremely tall or have exceptional muscle mass, which could give them an edge. Correctly, we do not exclude those girls and we should not exclude trans girls.
Also, just 1 percent of high school students identify as transgender girls, based on CDC data. And only a fraction of those will choose to participate in girls’ sports, hardly a large enough group to “dominate” sports programs.
- Myth: Trans girls participating in high school sports will take away opportunities from other girls.
People perpetuating this myth often point to a specific athlete, like Lia Thomas (who has the formal support of many women in athletics). But the fact that a particular trans person is succeeding in a sport should not be used to exclude all trans athletes.
This is especially true when talking about high school sports. Consider the reasons why we offer high school sports programs. Few people would say it’s to cultivate a small number of students so they can get significant money for college and position themselves for a professional career. We put enormous amounts of time and money into school sports programs because they teach kids important, lifelong lessons about physical fitness, setting personal goals and achieving them, teamwork, and respect for others.
It's not unlike school music programs. We don't sponsor them just so a select few can get high-dollar scholarships or become a pro. We do it to develop personal musical skills, to teach setting and reaching goals, and to cultivate a lifelong appreciation for music.
Efforts to exclude trans girls from playing on Iowa high school girls’ sports teams are discriminatory and harmful. They hurt kids and need to stop.
Veronica Lorson Fowler is the communications director of the ACLU of Iowa. She was offered a college volleyball scholarship and is the mother of three children, including a cisgender girl who played volleyball.
Correcting myths about transgender girls in Iowa sports
Trans girls are girls. They should be treated like all other girls, and welcomed into girls sports.
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