Anti-Trans Legislation

Dana Oshiro & Christine Xiang

Table of Contents

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02

03

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ANTI-TRANS BILLS

AT-RISK YOUTH

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

DISCUSSION

Sports, curriculum, etc

How anti-trans legislation will affect youth

Current administration stance

Topics of Discussion

“Thirty-three states have introduced more than 100 bills that aim to curb the rights of transgender people across the country, with advocacy groups calling 2021 a RECORDING BREAKING YEAR for such legislation”

—Priya Krishnakumar, CNN

TYPES OF BILLS BEING PASSED OR DISCUSSED

PARTICIPATION IN SAME-GENDER SPORTS

CURRICULUM BANS, ID RESTRICTIONS

GENDER-AFFIRMING HEALTHCARE FOR MINORS

PARTICIPATION IN SAME-GENDER SPORTS

• 31 states have introduced bills
• THREE STATES HAVE PASSED
• Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee
• “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” (Arkansas) - ban on all trangender girls and women from school, intramural or club sports with their same-gender peers
• Intended to be proactive and prevent unfair advantage -- especially in women’s sports
• SOME EVIDENCE → May have muscle-mass advantages even after suppressing testosterone for a year, if they went through puberty before starting hormone therapy.

BAN ON GENDER-AFFIRMING HEALTHCARE

• 21 states introduced bills that impede or prohibit gender-affirming therapy to minors
• Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act - (Introduced in Alabama) Made it a felony for medical providers to provide transition-related care
• The Arkansas Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act (SAFE) - (Arkansas) 1st bill passed law that would prohibit health care professionals from administering gender-affirming care
• Framed as protecting children but not entirely supported

Gender-Affirming Healthcare: A Summary

• Socially transition: allow the prepubescent child to use the name, pronoun, style of dress and so on that matches their gender identity
• Associated with lowered rates of anxiety and depression, improved health
• Puberty blocker: medication that pauses puberty to buy adolescents more time to decide whether they want to later take estrogen or testosterone
• Associated with lower risk of suicide
• Safe and reversible treatments
• Estrogen and testosterone not recommended until age 16 or earliest 14
• Genital surgeries for transgender patients are never offered before adulthood
• Easier access to puberty blockers could eliminate the need for these surgeries altogether

MORE ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION

Curriculum Bills

ID Card Restrictions

• (IOWA) - Requires that parents give written consent for teachers to discuss gender identity while their children are present in the classroom AND potential harm of “social and medical outcomes”
• Give parents the option to opt children out of this education
• (ARKANSAS) - BIll that educators must refer to students by “biological sex”

• (Arizona, Montana, South Dakota) - Restrict reflection of gender identity
• (Iowa) - Removes gender identity as a protected class

IMPACTS ON TRANS YOUTH

Mental Health Trends

Grandfather Clause

Emotional Toll

Treatment Benefits

TW: Higher odds of suicidal ideation and attempt than their cisgender peers

Arkansas bill lacks a grandfather clause, meaning that transgender youth currently undergoing treatment must be withdrawn

Demoralizing, invasive(some bills require that girls prove their gender through hormone testing), demeaning

Gender-affirming care improves mental health and overall well-being for transgender people, associated with lower odds of suicidal ideation

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Signed Executive Order

Affirms Supreme Court Ruling

prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation

Workplaces can’t fire sometone for being gay or transgender

Pentagon

Allows transgender Americans to serve openly

“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports”

THE EQUALITY ACT

• Introduced in February
• Amend the 1963 Civil Rights Act
• Include gender identity and sexuality as protected classes along with race, color, religion, sex and national origin, and diability
• Passed in the Democratic House
• Fate uncertain in Republican majority Senate

Discussion

The strongest evidence for transgender ban in sports is the biological advantage in older cohorts. How can this be mediated if at all? Or should we wait for more evidence?

Is there a right age to change one’s sex?

Thanks!

Dana Oshiro & Christine Xiang

GHU

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