06/01/2021
We have often reported that despite the activities of a small number of anti-transgender extremists, most women do not have any issues with trans people. In the United States, this has been borne out by a large number of female athletes and sportspeople – nearly two hundred in all – who have pledged their support to an lawsuit against the state of Idaho. Idaho prohibits trans girls and women from taking part in sports matches at schools. In addition, in an attack on the dignity of young women everywhere, female athletes can be subject to intrusive and humiliating genital examinations to ascertain whether they are cisgender or not. The list of female athletes supporting the legal challenge to this law include one of the greatest tennis players of all time, the lesbian hero Billie Jean King. Also supporting the challenge to the transphobic Idaho law is Megan Rapinoe who was voted Sportsperson of the Year by the readers of respected magazine Sports Illustrated in 2019. “As women and LGBTQ+ athletes,” says their brief, “we submit that all youth deserve an equal opportunity to participate in sports alongside their peers. Such equal opportunity benefits the entire sports community.” Thanks to LGBTQ Nation for that report, and also to Lamda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union who are taking the case forward in the US Courts.