Letter: Don't Deny Trans Youth Access to Sports
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To the Editor:
Last night [Thursday], I attended the Berkshire Transgender Rights Town Hall at Pittsfield's Unitarian Universalist Church. And I am so grateful that I did.
In a room packed with members of the local trans community, allies and Massachusetts state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, trans neighbors from across the county shared heartbreaking, powerful, profound, inspiring and eye-opening personal testimonials about their childhood struggles; battles to survive cruelty, abuse, depression; and in several cases, the very real and transformative power of participating in sports as young people.
In April of this year Massachusetts passed a budget bill that included a transgender sports ban, which, if it becomes law, will limit trans youth to participating only on teams that align with their biological sex. Transphobic media would have us believe that allowing trans kids to participate will create a lack of fairness in school sports, but there is no scientific evidence to prove this. Athletic abilities vary greatly from person to person, and there are many misconceptions about testosterone levels and their impact on performance. (Visit genderjustice.us for more information.)
What would be truly unfair is to deny any young person the opportunity to participate fully in school life. Athletics provide an important place of social connection and belonging. They support physical, mental and emotional health and often lead to greater academic success. In addition, allowing cisgender and trans kids to interact in this way provides a crucial opportunity for increased understanding, acceptance and respect.
Trans people are in the crosshairs in countless ways right now. Fueled by well-funded and vicious propaganda meant to create a political wedge by sowing fear and division, this administration is working hard — and succeeding — in threatening their rights, safety, livelihood and very existence. The goal seems to be to obliterate them entirely, to make them unwelcome in our society, and to render them invisible.
As North Adams City Councilor and trans activist Ashley Shade said last night, we must demand civil rights for all. That is what this country represents — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — for every one of us.
Please contact your representatives and tell them that you support trans youth's right to participate in sports and that you demand equal rights for all, across Massachusetts and across the United States. Injustice for one is injustice for all.
Jurian Hughes
Pittsfield, Mass.
