When it comes to negative transgender news coverage, it always seems that it is the trans women and trans girls, as opposed to the trans men or boys, who either get vilified or get the brunt of the bad press. I am, of course, a bit biased, but Google such news stories for yourself and see what you find.
An assault at the Loudoun County High School in Virginia is currently in the news. According to news reports, a male student put on a skirt and wig, went into the girls’ restroom, and sexually assaulted a female student. I think it goes without saying, that just because you put on a wig and skirt, it does not make you a female, nor does it make you a transgender female.
This is an immense cop-out and just muddies up the water surrounding the whole transgender bathroom discussion that has needlessly been raging for years.
Before there even were any recognized transgender people, there was little to stop a predatory man from dressing in women’s clothing, going into a private women’s space, and assaulting an unsuspecting woman. The presence of transgender women and girls has not changed this iota and they are not responsible for the actions of a determined, predatory, male. There is no reason to restrict access to female restrooms to transgender women and girls, individuals who just want to take care of a basic human need. Enough said.
Texas, like a number of other states, has decided to keep transgender girls from playing on school girls’ sports teams. This is not surprising: it seems to be part of the anti-trans agenda in many red states, and it points to both their specific ignorance and cruelty toward transgender girls, specifically and the transgender community in general.
As a transgender woman, nothing means more to me than to be accepted by my female peers and to be invited to participate in their activities. I have been blessed by having some wonderful, supportive, friends who accept me as “one of the girls,” something I’ve longed to be for most of my 50-plus years. While it has been wonderful for me, my friends seem to appreciate it as well. It’s always nice to have a new “sister-friend” in your ranks, no matter how she happened to get there.
I’m very certain that transgender girls feel the same way when it comes to participating in girl’s sports. I think I can probably speak for most trans girls playing school sports: it is not about unfairly breaking school records given any real or perceived advantage they may have on the sports field. Instead, it is about having fun with female peers, getting some exercise, and feeling included. Banning trans girls from competing in school sports punishes both the transgender girl and her teammates.
Were we talking about national or world competitions such as the Olympics, we might be having a very different discussion. Trans woman at that level of competition may or may not have a performance advantage over cis-gendered women, but I doubt most trans women are competing just to exploit any possible advantage. In my case, not that I am a competing athlete, I will say the following: I may be taller than many cis-gendered women, but I’ve lost a great deal of muscle mass and strength while taking estrogen. Were I in competition with cis-gendered women, I think any advantage I may have once had over cis-gendered women would now be a wash. However, when we’re talking say, high school sports, isn’t having fun the most important thing?
I am looking forward to a day, hopefully in the not-so-distant future, when we can get past all these issues. For now however, it sometimes feels like I am treading water in a sea of ignorance.
Mariel Addis is a native of Florence.