Let transgender teens run in high school events
The U.S. Education Department recently threatened to withhold federal funds unless Connecticut bans transgender teens from athletic competition, targeting two transgender runners in our state. As a young woman who participated in Connecticut high school and collegiate track and field, I strongly oppose this discriminatory decision.
Research exploring whether male-to-female transgender athletes have possible advantages is sparse at best. To date, scientific literature cannot conclude that transitioned women have a direct athletic advantage over their cisgender peers. The NCAA and Olympics share similar policies that require hormone therapy for a year prior to competition, as it takes six months to a year for the therapy to reduce muscle mass and aerobic capacity and increase body fat.
According to The Guardian, the ACLU lawyers defending the two transgender girls attacked by this decision have disclosed that both are already undergoing hormone therapy. If the Olympic Games can accommodate transgender women, so can high school sports.
Many transgender women choose to undergo hormone therapy, but there are lots of reasons why they may not, such as its high cost and potential side effects. While more appropriate to require hormone modifications for adult athletes, the 14- to 18year-old students in question are still children and should not be required to undergo this medical intervention simply to play sports. Connecticut’s prior policy of allowing each student’s school district to determine eligibility is the best way of navigating this, as the district is familiar with the student’s gender identity.
An argument against allowing transgender girls to race is that they take college opportunities away from cisgender girls. This is because qualifying for competitive meets with a limited number of entries attracts the attention of college coaches. While there may be some truth to this claim, racing at high-profile meets is just one aspect of becoming a sought-after recruit.
In 2014, the top seven finishers in the Connecticut State Open 1600m ( just less than a mile) ran under 5 minutes, while in 2019, only the winner and runner up broke this time. The talent pool in the state ebbs and flows, and ultimately, university coaches want athletes who can run fast times, regardless of their place on the podium.
Even if the notion that all transgender girls are better athletes than their cisgender peers is true (it isn’t — the transgender runners in Connecticut have lost to many cisgender runners), they should still be allowed to compete because high school track is about so much more than winning championships. I don’t know who I would be today without track and field. High school sports give teenagers a community and the tools to grow into the best versions of themselves.
There is no group more in need of an accepting community and a healthy outlet than transgender youth.
Some people say that they have no problem with transgender girls but don’t think they should be competing in sports. But to ban transgender students from sports is to ban them from the public sphere. It tells them they aren’t welcome in our society.
According to a 2016 literature review on the mental health of transgender youth, transgender teens have significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide attempts than cisgender teens. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey revealed that transgender people who are not accepted by their community experience greater suicidal ideation than those who are accepted. Additionally, the survey indicated that the prevalence of suicide attempts by transgender people denied equal treatment on the basis of their gender identity is more than double that of those who do not face discrimination.
African American transgender women are among the most stigmatized groups in American culture. These teens are especially vulnerable, and it is our responsibility to accept them with open arms in all aspects of society.
We should all be able to agree that transgender people belong in our state, so we must work together to find a solution that is fair and inclusive to everyone. We can begin by contacting our legislators and governor to express that transgender youth inclusion is important and vote at all levels of government for representatives who support the LGBTQIA+ community.
We cannot pretend to support this marginalized group if we remove their basic right to participate in sports.