tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/transgender-rights-37238/articlesTransgender rights – The Conversation2024-01-16T19:15:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207742024-01-16T19:15:21Z2024-01-16T19:15:21ZDave Chappelle has built a reputation for ‘punching down’ on trans people – and now he’s targeting disabled people<p>Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special, The Dreamer, opens with a story about meeting Jim Carrey, who, at the time, was method acting and portraying comedian Andy Kaufman. </p>
<p>Chappelle recalls being “very disappointed” at having to pretend to be speaking to Kaufman, when he could clearly see it was Carrey. The punchline? “That’s how trans people make me feel.”</p>
<p>Whether or not non-transgender people find it funny, it is a joke that stabs at the fundamental insecurity of being trans. It takes the stance of <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095507973">biological essentialism</a>: that people have innate and intractable traits by virtue of their biology. </p>
<p>Biological essentialism <a href="https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sipr.12099">has been used</a> by the <a href="https://commonslibrary.org/the-anti-trans-movement/">anti-trans</a> lobby to deny that trans women are women and trans men are men, and to justify sexism and racism <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-essentialism-and-how-does-it-shape-attitudes-to-transgender-people-and-sexual-diversity-203577">before that</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-essentialism-and-how-does-it-shape-attitudes-to-transgender-people-and-sexual-diversity-203577">What is essentialism? And how does it shape attitudes to transgender people and sexual diversity?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Chappelle’s Netflix specials have become notorious for his jokes targeting the transgender community, but Chappelle has claimed his comedy is <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/dave-chappelle-netflix-speech-whats-in-a-name-1235311467/">more nuanced</a> and artistic than his critics allow.</p>
<p>He claims to be an equal opportunity offender, “punching down” (his words) to all minorities equally. To prove this point, in The Dreamer he takes on what he calls “handicapped jokes”.</p>
<h2>Mirroring prejudice</h2>
<p>While the word “handicapped” was once used to describe people with disability, it is <a href="https://adata.org/factsheet/ADANN-writing">now considered offensive</a>. Chappelle is either unaware or just doesn’t care that the term is decades out of date.</p>
<p>Comedy, at its best, draws from and reveals insight into the human condition. It slips into mockery when, bereft of understanding, it does nothing more than mirror prejudice.</p>
<p>Chappelle’s first disability joke has the potential to be clever and insightful. He says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>there’s probably a handicap in the back right now ’cause that’s where they make them sit.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U6k6PJE_Hv0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>A joke about the placement of people with disability at the back of the theatre is clever as it unmasks social disadvantage. In different hands, it could be a reflection on the <a href="https://pwd.org.au/resources/models-of-disability/">social model of disability</a>.</p>
<p>The social model of disability says the problem of disability is not “handicapped” bodies but the social environment designed to exclude and marginalise them. For example, a wheelchair user is not disabled because they cannot walk (they have wheels for mobility), but because of a lack of access to ramps – or a theatre which insists they sit at the back of the room.</p>
<p>But clever turns to mockery with a visual punchline, as Chappelle twists his hand and walks like a “cripple”. It is mockery bereft of understanding.</p>
<p>A crass attack on paraplegic sexual function follows: “Who the fuck invites a paraplegic to an orgy?”. It’s ableism masquerading as comedy. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/ableism-and-disablism-how-to-spot-them-and-how-we-can-all-do-better-204541">Ableism</a> refers to stereotypical attitudes and behaviours that dehumanise people with disability, treating them as different, less than, incapable, foolish, laughable, excludable. In this case, Chappelle repeats <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-023-00873-5">the damaging and false stereotype</a> that people with disability are asexual and unsexy. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ableism-and-disablism-how-to-spot-them-and-how-we-can-all-do-better-204541">Ableism and disablism – how to spot them and how we can all do better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia’s Disability Royal Commission <a href="https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-03/Public%20hearing%2028%20-%20Counsel%20Assisting%20submissions%20-%20SUBM.0047.0001.0105.pdf">heard</a> how ableism, especially as propagated in the media, drives violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability. It noted we learn our language and attitudes from the media and popular culture, which often leads to abusive behaviour in public and online.</p>
<p>When comedy relies on humiliation and cruelty to earn its laughter it can have serious consequences. Rather than propagate ableism, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Film-Comedy-and-Disability-Understanding-Humour-and-Genre-in-Cinematic/Wilde/p/book/9780367587680">comedy can deconstruct it</a>, revealing the absurdity of discrimination, and questioning notions of normality, abnormality and ideas of difference.</p>
<p>But watching the special, it feels like disability is not Chappelle’s real target. Instead, it seems he embraces being an “equal opportunity” offender who mocks disability as a defence for his long-running transgender jokes.</p>
<h2>The impacts of mockery</h2>
<p>Witty transgender comedy might highlight the social issues trans people face, but Chapelle exemplifies those issues. In The Dreamer, he makes the tired joke that if he was arrested in California he’d claim in court that he identified as a woman to be sent to women’s jail so he could have sex with women.</p>
<p>His jokes rely on prevailing disgust about transgender bodies and increasingly politicised insistence that transgender people are not real women or men. These views shared in popular culture are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10570314.2019.1615635">coming to inform</a> anti-trans policy in healthcare, education and the justice system. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RWgL63c80X4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>As the majority of the general population <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2023-06/Ipsos%20Global%20Advisor%20-%20LGBT%2B%20Pride%202023%20-%20AUSTRALIAN%20Press%20Release.pdf">do not know a trans person</a>, the media has significant influence over perceptions of trans people. </p>
<p>Throughout four Netflix specials, Chapelle has made no effort to understand the object of his jokes or the impact of his mockery on their daily lives. While trans representation in the media is improving, trans people are still exposed to a plethora of <a href="https://doi.org/10.36828/newvistas.226">negative depictions</a> of their identities in the media across a range of mediums. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7826438/">Research</a> shows this is significantly associated with clinical levels of depression, anxiety and psychological distress. </p>
<p>Near the end of The Dreamer, Chappelle paints himself as the victim of the “unjust” LGBTQI+ campaign against his comedy, which included Chappelle being <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096547296/dave-chappelle-video-attacked-onstage-performance-hollywood-bowl-netflix">physically attacked</a> on stage at a 2022 show. </p>
<p>Physical violence is never justified. However it should be noted comedy which “punches down” on trans people <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-017-0280-2">helps to drive</a> the negative perceptions that lead to <a href="https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-022-01632-5">violence</a> against queer people that we see on social media feeds and in the daily experience of transgender people globally. </p>
<p>Chappelle is an influential comedian who proudly punches down. It is true he is an egalitarian bully. In The Dreamer, he laughs at disability, bisexuality and gay men. But his jokes continue to come back to one target: the transgender community. When will we say enough is enough? When will we stop laughing?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-words-can-harm-young-trans-people-heres-what-we-can-do-to-help-176788">Yes, words can harm young trans people. Here's what we can do to help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220774/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In The Dreamer, Chapelle laughs at disability, bisexuality and gay men. But his jokes continue to come back to one target: the transgender community.Shane Clifton, Associate Professor of Practice, School of Health Sciences and the Centre for Disability Research and Policy, University of SydneyJemma Clifton, Research officer, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157452024-01-09T13:26:06Z2024-01-09T13:26:06ZLGBTQ+ workers want more than just pride flags in June<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563397/original/file-20231204-22-q8cyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C40%2C5398%2C3571&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Recognition helps. Benefits may help more.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/worried-woman-in-lgbt-organisation-office-royalty-free-image/618025276">Kosamtu/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, more and more companies seem to recognize <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/pride-month-54582">Pride Month</a>. But a recent analysis shows that LGBTQ+ workers expect more than this once-a-year acknowledgment from their employers. In fact, some employees actually criticize such behavior as <a href="https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/what-is-pinkwashing/">mere pinkwashing</a>.</p>
<p>So, what do LGBTQ+ workers want? In 2023, the jobs website Indeed conducted a <a href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/news/lgbtq-legislation-affect-work">survey of LGBTQ+ full-time workers</a> from across the U.S., and the results provide a clear picture of their needs.</p>
<p>As a lesbian transgender woman and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dorian-rhea-debussy-517479">queer studies scholar</a>, I wasn’t surprised by what Indeed found. Even so, non-LGBTQ+ workers – particularly managers – can learn a lot from this survey. It may help them realize what LGBTQ+ workers already know: Employers must do better if they want to retain talent.</p>
<p>Workers are troubled by three big issues, the survey found: the impact of new anti-LGBTQ+ laws, workplace discrimination, and benefits packages that don’t meet their needs.</p>
<h2>Workers say anti-LGBTQ+ laws derail careers</h2>
<p>With a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/31/650-anti-lgbtq-bills-introduced-us/11552357002/">historic rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation</a>, 2023 proved to be a particularly challenging year for LGBTQ+ rights – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/17/anti-trans-bills-map/">especially transgender rights</a>. In its survey, Indeed found that nearly two-thirds of respondents were concerned about how anti-LGBTQ+ laws could hurt their work opportunities. </p>
<p>In fact, more than three-quarters of respondents said they would hesitate to apply for a new job in a state with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. More than half said they would never apply for a position in such a state.</p>
<p>With anti-LGBTQ+ bills now becoming law across the country, their impact on states’ economies is still uncertain. However, we’ve long known that discrimination is <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-costly-business-of-discrimination/">bad for business</a>. In fact, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco recently found that systemic racial and gender wage gaps – which distort labor markets, reduce productivity and harm job satisfaction – have cost the U.S. economy <a href="https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/working-papers/2021/11/">nearly US$71 trillion</a> since 1990. </p>
<p>Whatever effects this rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation will have, history suggests it <a href="https://time.com/6297323/malaysia-1975-matty-healy-lgbt-economic-costs/">won’t be good</a>. </p>
<h2>LGBTQ+ people face workplace discrimination</h2>
<p>Along with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, discrimination continues to harm LGBTQ+ workers. Sixty percent of respondents reported that they lost a promotion because of anti-LGBTQ bias, while a similar number said they were targeted with a performance improvement plan because of their identity. More than half said that they’re paid less than their similarly qualified cisgender and straight colleagues.</p>
<p>The reality is that LGBTQ+ people do encounter <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/discrimination-and-barriers-to-well-being-the-state-of-the-lgbtqi-community-in-2022/">workplace discrimination</a>. For instance, transgender people face bias at work at <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/being-transgender-at-work">alarming rates</a>. And while all LGBTQ+ workers are statistically likely to <a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/the-wage-gap-among-lgbtq-workers-in-the-united-states">encounter a wage gap</a>, transgender people – especially women and people of color – face <a href="https://19thnews.org/2022/01/transgender-workers-wage-gap-lowest-paid-lgbtq/">even wider disparities</a>.</p>
<h2>Culturally responsive benefits are crucial</h2>
<p>More than half of survey respondents said that it was important for employers to offer LGBTQ-specific benefits such as family planning support and comprehensive transition-related health care coverage. However, less than one-quarter said their own employer did so. In terms of transgender-specific benefits, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they worked for a company that didn’t offer any.</p>
<p>When asked to share what benefits they looked for in a job posting, respondents cited health care services with LGBTQ+ friendly medical providers and fertility assistance, among others. Transgender respondents said they looked for two specific benefits: health insurance plans with coverage for gender-affirming surgical treatments, and financial assistance for gender-affirming treatments that insurers often deem “cosmetic.”</p>
<p>In this survey, LGBTQ+ workers were quick to share what benefits appealed most to them. But the fact remains that many employers don’t offer such benefits. In fact, the Human Rights Campaign’s <a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index">2022 Corporate Equality Index</a> notes that more than one-third of Fortune 500 companies still don’t offer trans-inclusive benefits. They also report that only about 72% of Fortune 500 companies require LGBTQ+ competency training.</p>
<p>However, LGBTQ+ employees increasingly expect more of their employers, as organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/employer-support-lgbtq-workers-employee-benefits.aspx">have observed</a>. And on the heels of the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/">“great resignation,”</a> employers would be wise to take notice. At this <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/tools-and-strategies/anti-lgbtq-bills-are-impacting-children-families-and-schools">fraught moment</a> for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., workers aren’t likely to be content with pinkwashed companies that won’t offer real support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215745/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dorian Rhea Debussy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Less hype and more health care, please.Dorian Rhea Debussy, Lecturer of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983702023-11-07T15:13:05Z2023-11-07T15:13:05Z‘Conversion therapy’: UK government kicks ban down the road – and there’s a major problem with what’s been proposed so far<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557735/original/file-20231106-17-2u8fk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C68%2C3702%2C2086&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/psychologist-making-notes-during-therapy-session-1486344695">Motortion Films/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the first time in four years, the king’s (or queen’s) speech has left out a promise to ban so-called “conversion therapy”. This widely <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/ConversionTherapyReport.pdf">discredited set of practices</a> aims to “cure” LGBTQ+ people by changing or repressing their sexuality or gender identity.</p>
<p>The government first promised a ban in July 2018, but has stalled on introducing draft legislation. The director of external affairs at LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall called it an “act of frightful negligence” that the government has not yet banned the practice.</p>
<p>The king’s speech on November 7 <a href="https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/11/06/conversion-therapy-kings-speech-uk-lgbtq/">did not mention</a> the topic. But past <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapy/banning-conversion-therapy">proposals</a> indicate that any forthcoming bill will come with one huge caveat: that people over 18 can give their informed “consent” to “conversion therapy”. </p>
<p>Such an exception, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/30/activists-warn-against-loophole-in-uk-ban-on-conversion-practices">campaigners have warned</a>, would render the ban almost wholly ineffective. Many LGBTQ+ people consent to these practices even when they recognise them as harmful, due to social, familial or religious pressures. Typically, their consent is shaped by powerful influences in their social environment: they want to belong and feel “normal” within their <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conversion-therapy-an-evidence-assessment-and-qualitative-study/conversion-therapy-an-evidence-assessment-and-qualitative-study">religious or social communities</a>. </p>
<p>The widely-used term “conversion therapy” is itself problematic. It suggests that a person’s sexuality or gender identity, or their expression of these identities, are a condition that can be cured or treated. Therapy also conveys the misleading idea that there is sound medical or scientific evidence backing conversion practices, as there is with legitimate therapies. These ideas are patently false: LGBTQ+ identities are not illnesses or pathologies, nor is there any evidence that they can be <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00013-1/fulltext">changed through “treatment”</a>. </p>
<h2>Why the consent loophole contradicts the law</h2>
<p>To be valid in law, consent must be informed and voluntary. As the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapy/banning-conversion-therapy">consultation documents</a> on conversion practices correctly note, this means that a person “must be given all of the information about what the therapy involves, including the short and longer term risks”. </p>
<p>So, informed consent in this context would require the “therapist” to tell the recipient that there is extensive scientific evidence that conversion practices can cause grave, lifelong physical or psychological harm. This evidence has come from the <a href="https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/mou/">NHS</a>, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35893729">World Psychiatric Association</a>, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/ConversionTherapyReport.pdf">United Nations</a> and the <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/nothing-to-cure-putting-an-end-to-so-called-conversion-therapies-for-lgbti-people">Council of Europe</a>, to name just a few.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A protester's hand holds a handmade sign reading 'conversion therapy' ban it now!" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557728/original/file-20231106-29-fmyqm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Campaigners have called for a conversion therapy ban for years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-united-kingdom-january-18-2023-2251394055">Howard Cheng/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The recipient must also be told that there is incontrovertible evidence that “conversion therapy” does not work. This is another point that the government’s proposals <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapy/banning-conversion-therapy">expressly recognise</a>. There is no debate, really, among experts on either of those two points. </p>
<p>So, to give their informed consent, recipients must be told that “conversion therapy” puts their health at grave risk and that it does not work. It is difficult to imagine a situation where a “therapist” would or could offer such information. In fact, most people interviewed in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conversion-therapy-an-evidence-assessment-and-qualitative-study/conversion-therapy-an-evidence-assessment-and-qualitative-study#conclusions-1">the government’s own research</a> were not given accurate information about the risks, nor were they offered an alternative.</p>
<h2>When consent isn’t voluntary</h2>
<p>But here is the rub: even if a provider of “conversion therapy” did offer this information, evidence shows that many LGBTQ+ people <a href="https://outrightinternational.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/ConversionFINAL_Web_0.pdf">would still consent to undergo such practices</a> in order to avoid exclusion or rejection from their communities. </p>
<p>This takes us to the second requirement for informed consent: it must be voluntary. Voluntary here means that the decision to consent must be made by the person, and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapy/banning-conversion-therapy">not be influenced by others</a>. </p>
<p>However, truly voluntary consent is not possible here. “Conversion therapy” takes place in a context of historical stigmatisation of LGBTQ+ people, and always involves a strikingly asymmetrical power relationship. Both those points are important. As a 2020 UN report <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3870697?ln=en">puts it</a>, “conversion therapy” is a relationship between “enlightened” providers – typically religious authorities, counsellors and psychotherapists – and “benighted converts”.</p>
<p>In a study by the international LGBTQ+ human rights group OutRight, interviewees described enormous family and cultural pressure to undergo “conversion therapy”. As one participant described, this can go on for many years:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘Conversion therapy’ is not a single event – it is a process of continued degradation and assault on the core of who you are. There are often repeated violations in the form of psychological and sometimes physical abuse … It is not one instance – it is a continued sense of rejection. The pressure is enormous.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Conversion practices are objectively humiliating for all LGBTQ+ people, even for those who never experience them themselves. These practices portray LGBTQ+ people as abnormal and disgusting, and their choices in the most intimate spheres of life as an appropriate subject for therapeutic intervention. “Conversion therapy” builds on longstanding stigma and shame felt by LGBTQ+ people, who repeatedly hear (and may internalise) the message that their sexuality or gender identity is inferior to others’, and that it can and should be cured.</p>
<h2>‘Conversion therapy’ and coercive control</h2>
<p>This combination of humiliation, social stigma and power imbalance places all forms of “conversion therapy” squarely within the definition of <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/section/76/enacted">coercive controlling</a> behaviour in UK law. </p>
<p>Coercive controlling behaviour includes acts of humiliation or intimidation that cause distress to a person. In a relationship of <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-intimate-or-family-relationship">coercive control</a>, perpetrators typically gaslight victims into blaming themselves for any abuse they suffer, or understanding the abuse to be beneficial to them. </p>
<p>Coercive controlling behaviour in the context of domestic abuse is illegal in the UK, regardless of whether someone consented to it. The same should be true of “conversion therapy”.</p>
<p>In terms of international law, the fact that conversion practices combine a proven risk of grave harm with direct discrimination against LGBTQ+ people means that they <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ojls/article/42/1/104/6333646">amount at least to degrading treatment</a>. This is prohibited in international human rights law regardless of whether someone consented to it.</p>
<p>That is why <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3870697?ln=en">the UN</a> asked states in 2020 to “prohibit all practices of ‘conversion therapy’, including faith-based organisation counselling, by any person for any reason”. The UK must follow the <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/which-countries-have-already-banned-conversion-therapy">many countries</a> that have comprehensively banned “conversion therapy” without exceptions for individual consent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198370/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ilias Trispiotis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Allowing people to consent to ‘conversion therapy’ would contradict UK and international law.Ilias Trispiotis, Professor of Human Rights Law, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2151082023-10-24T19:44:28Z2023-10-24T19:44:28ZEducated voters in Canada tend to vote for left-leaning parties while richer voters go right<p>It is hard to miss the increasing attention dedicated to transgender rights in contemporary politics. </p>
<p>In 2015, Justin Trudeau made <a href="https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/10/20/pro-lgbt-trudeau-defeats-incumbent-canadian-prime-minister/">a quick reference</a> to including discrimination on the grounds of gender identity in the Canadian Human Rights Act, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-transgender-rights-1.3584482">implementing the change</a> after the 2015 election.</p>
<p>There wasn’t a significant political reaction to the trend, however, until this summer when three Conservative provincial governments — in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick-trans-lgbtq-higgs-1.6889957">New Brunswick</a>, <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2023/august/22/education-minister-announces-new-parental-inclusion-and-consent-policies">Saskatchewan</a> and <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/parents-must-be-fully-involved-in-student-s-decision-to-change-pronouns-ontario-education-minister-says-1.6537959">Ontario</a> — moved to adopt policies that restricted the independence of schools to recognize or affirm students’ gender identities and ensuring parental participation. </p>
<p>Clearly, an electoral divide is emerging on the issue. </p>
<h2>Left vs. right voters</h2>
<p>We argue this conflict results from a “diploma divide” in the Canadian electorate similar to what has been seen in other countries. Since the 1990s, parties of the left have increasingly been supported by educated voters, while parties of the right have increasingly been supported by richer voters and the less educated.</p>
<p>While political scientists initially noted this trend, it has been popularized more recently by <a href="http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/GMP2022QJE.pdf">noted French economist Thomas Piketty and his colleagues</a>.</p>
<p>So why would educated voters turn to parties that traditionally support more working-class voters?</p>
<p>One answer is that higher education tends to push people to become both more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2022.102471">socially liberal</a> and more economically right wing. </p>
<p>Piketty and his colleagues argue that as parties of the left become dominated by educated voters, they adopt socially liberal positions that alienate their traditional working-class base. These less educated voters long supported leftist parties and their promises to redistribute income and wealth, but those promises have faded as leftist parties court the well-educated. </p>
<p>We extended Piketty’s research into the Canadian context in a recent article in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102648"><em>Electoral Studies</em></a>, using <a href="http://www.ces-eec.ca/">Canadian Election Study</a> data from 1965 to 2019. The graph below compares the probability that voters with university degrees voted for the “left” — the NDP or Liberals — versus the “right,” including candidates running for the Conservatives, Progressive Conservatives, the Reform Party or the Canadian Alliance. </p>
<p>This is exactly the pattern Piketty and his colleagues identified. Educated voters are increasingly turning to the “left.” Meanwhile, less educated voters, along with richer voters, are turning to the right.</p>
<p>But Canada isn’t like other countries since we don’t have a standard left-right party system. Instead, the Liberals have dominated electoral politics as an amorphous party at the centre of the political spectrum — sometimes shifting to the left, sometimes to the right — that always builds a big tent in the middle. </p>
<p>Analyzing these parties’ support separately shows that they have very different bases of support. The graph below shows the effects of the same variables (education and income) but broken out by party. </p>
<p>A different pattern emerges in this graph. While Liberal and Conservative support fits Piketty’s pattern, the NDP is increasingly attracting support from educated but also poorer voters. </p>
<h2>Sources of division</h2>
<p>What are we to make of all this? </p>
<p>With this long view, ongoing societal conflicts since the 1980s about abortion and same-sex rights take on an outsized significance. </p>
<p>Those issues were major sources of division among voters choosing between the Liberals and the Conservatives. The current divide over transgender rights is just the latest episode in the long trend of educated voters increasingly supporting the Liberals (and sometimes the NDP) with less educated voters <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423922000439">increasingly supporting the Conservatives</a>.</p>
<p>However, people concerned with economic redistribution should not despair. Redistributionist politics are not absent from this configuration, particularly in the form of the NDP. For all the talk about <a href="https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/jivani-liberal-ndp-coalition-excludes-the-anti-woke-left">a new “woke” NDP</a>, its base is increasingly dominated by poorer voters. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/03/22/delivering-canadians-now">supply and confidence agreement</a> the NDP signed with the Liberals, four of the seven policy points were explicitly about material gains for workers. This included a transformative dental benefits plan for all Canadians. </p>
<p>If culture war conflicts benefit Liberals <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-trans-protests-the-conservative-party-could-use-ideological-polarization-to-win-voters-214934">and Conservatives</a> in terms of the differences in education, the agreement shows how delivering redistribution is central to the NDP’s electoral ambitions, especially amid an ongoing <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9985761/food-insecurity-poverty-report-canada/">cost-of-living crisis</a>. </p>
<p>The so-called “diploma divide” we identified is going to ensure that cultural and social conflicts will persist indefinitely and will continue to cause political conflict in Canada. </p>
<p>But material and redistributionist concerns are in the mix as well, assisted by the NDP, a social democratic party that is very different from the other “left” party, the Liberals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Kiss receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for research into the New Democratic Party. He is a long-time member of the New Democratic Party of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Polacko receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, and Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQSC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Graefe's research on Canadian parties is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He is a member of the NDP.</span></em></p>Does the ‘diploma divide’ make politics more about culture than economic inequality?Simon Kiss, Associate Professor Human Rights and Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityMatt Polacko, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Political Science, University of TorontoPeter Graefe, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2063522023-06-22T12:32:59Z2023-06-22T12:32:59ZUS talks sanctions against Uganda after a harsh anti-gay law – but criminalizing same-sex activities has become a political tactic globally<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529849/original/file-20230602-25-fcm11k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C31%2C5168%2C3399&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The annual gay pride parade in Entebbe, Uganda, in 2014.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/ugandan-man-with-a-sticker-on-his-face-takes-part-on-august-news-photo/453376520?adppopup=true">Isaac Kasamani/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Uganda recently signed an anti-gay bill into law. Called by some the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/22/un-urges-uganda-to-block-worst-in-the-world-anti-lqbtq-bill">worst of its kind in the world</a>,” the law imposes life imprisonment for same-sex relations while using <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341430">colonial language that such acts are “against the order of nature</a>.” </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZhtxQY6cJo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Politicians can often present anti-homosexuality laws as being necessary for ‘protection’ of values.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It calls for the death penalty for a category called “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes relations with minors and those considered to be vulnerable. It also criminalizes the “promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities.” </p>
<p>For Uganda, this is a third round of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative furor, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2015.1137479">following similar bills</a> that were passed by the Parliament in 2009 and 2014 and then overturned on technicalities. Still, the 2023 act is unique in its severity and reach. <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/29/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-enactment-of-ugandas-anti-homosexuality-act/">The Biden administration has called for immediate repeal</a> – and threatened to cut aid and investment to Uganda. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sth/profile/nicolette-d-manglos-weber/">a scholar of politics and religion</a> in the region, I have been working with Ugandan community activists and NGO leaders since 2017. These leaders express growing concerns about state corruption and abuse of civil rights. </p>
<p>Leaders pushing anti-LGBTQ+ laws claim to be protecting their citizens from foreign cultural threats, but the 2023 law is better understood as a political tactic to retain power by distracting the public from failures of governance. I argue that it is an example of what sociologists call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920518803698">a moral panic</a>, and part of a worrying global trend. </p>
<h2>Globalizing anti-LGBTQ+ politics</h2>
<p>Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been on the rise globally and is often used by political factions to gain public support. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AOjtrFpgq3Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In May 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited a private Christian school in Tampa to sign five bills into law that affect LGBTQ+ communities in the state.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many authoritarian heads of state play up the cultural threat of so-called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/696691">gender ideology</a> and LGBTQ+ rights, describing them as foreign or <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.31920/2050-4306/2019/8n2a3">Western “perversion</a>” that will <a href="https://doi.org/10.3917/polaf.168.0075">undermine their citizens’ values</a>. </p>
<p>In Russia in 2022, Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-signs-law-expanding-russias-rules-against-lgbt-propaganda-2022-12-05/">ratified a law</a> against LGBTQ+ propaganda, using language that is strikingly like Uganda’s new bill. This law makes it illegal to promote same-sex relations <a href="https://time.com/6236822/russia-gay-propaganda-law-discrimination/">or suggest they are normal</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RUbU16qWZXc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law that makes it illegal to talk about or promote LGBTQ+ relationships or transgender rights.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2014, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan likewise <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/13/nigerian-president-signs-anti-gay-law">signed a law</a> against the public display and promotion of same-sex relationships. And in Brazil, former <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02470-3">President Jair Bolsonaro weakened HIV/AIDS medical care systems</a> and pushed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10714839.2022.2084988">laws to ban gender and sexuality education</a> in schools. </p>
<p>In each case these leaders stoked anxieties about LGBTQ+ groups and then took forceful action against the perceived moral danger. They positioned themselves as protectors of core cultural values while expanding their executive power. In other words, they fed and manipulated a moral panic.</p>
<h2>Moral panic as distraction tactic</h2>
<p>In sociology a moral panic is described as a surge in social anxieties about certain deviant groups. </p>
<p>Moral panics start as social norms that are inflamed into something larger: a sense of diffuse and imminent threat from categories of people like delinquents, foreigners or minority groups, seen as agents of broader moral decay.</p>
<p>There is a difference between cultural norms against divergent forms of sexuality and gender expression, and a moral panic over LGBTQ+ groups. Moral panics over sexual minorities are not automatic in religious or conservative cultures. They are usually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.559">triggered by larger social disruptions or political events</a>. This happened in South Africa, for example, <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526164025/">when public concern over same-sex relations among men</a> peaked in the later years of apartheid. </p>
<p>Moral panics can also be manipulated by political leaders to distract from material problems and failures of governance. If a moral panic starts to drive citizens’ views of political leadership, they may support leaders who affirm their anxieties, even as those leaders violate civil rights and democratic systems. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yEWefG-456A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Moral panic and culture wars as political strategy in Florida.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For leaders who are under fire or seeking to increase their power, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/psj.12239">moral panics can provide</a> a way for them to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-019-09446-8">show strength by taking legislative action</a> against the perceived threat. </p>
<h2>History in Africa</h2>
<p>Sexuality in Africa is a complex terrain and ripe for the eruption of moral panics.</p>
<p>In the colonial period, European powers often interpreted examples of same-sex relations in Africa as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3884572">evidence of those cultures’ so-called primitivism</a>. Colonial laws enforced the heterosexual, monogamous and conjugal family model by criminalizing homosexuality and other common practices like polygamy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four people stand outside the Commonwealth headquarters in Central London, carrying pro-LGBTQ+ signs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529855/original/file-20230602-25-6ase8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Activists and campaigners stage a protest outside the Commonwealth headquarters in central London against discrimination and criminalization of LGBTQ+ people across Commonwealth member countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/activists-and-campaigners-stage-a-protest-outside-the-news-photo/948726170?adppopup=true">Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then in the HIV/AIDS era of the 1980s and 1990s, <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/19/africa-uganda-evangelicals-homophobia-antigay-bill/">U.S. evangelical missionaries</a> brought extensive humanitarian aid to the region, promoting the belief that HIV/AIDS was caused by homosexual activity and the so-called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00584-9">gay rights agenda</a>. They worked closely with local partners in African religious life and politics, many of whom became the sponsors of current anti-LGBTQ+ laws. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ims7_3wud7A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for ‘God Loves Uganda,’ a film exploring the role of the American evangelical movement in Uganda.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today anti-LGBTQ+ moral panics serve an added function. Many African economies are growing through state-managed capitalism and foreign trade. Political power means access to these channels of wealth, which creates incentives for leaders like Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to resist democratic changes in leadership. </p>
<p>For such leaders, passing laws in response to anti-LGBTQ+ moral panics can shift the focus away from these more systemic problems. It is a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/04/tainted-imperial-legacy-that-fuels-oppression-of-gay-people-in-africa">public show of governance</a> to cover for broader failures and abuses.</p>
<h2>The Uganda case</h2>
<p>President Museveni has led Uganda for nearly 40 years, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uganda-politics-idUSL2N1540SW">many citizens are frustrated at his tightfisted hold on power</a>. In recent years Museveni has become more explicit in silencing dissent.</p>
<p>Community activists and NGO leaders, LGBTQ+ and otherwise, are directly in the line of fire. From my research, I have learned that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/24/sixteen-lgbt-activists-arrested-in-uganda-as-hate-crimes-soar">these activists are regularly jailed</a> without due process. Even leaders of churches and mosques now avoid discussing politics publicly for fear they will be harassed. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/education/govt-in-school-drive-to-protect-learners-from-lgbt-promoters--4171946">rumors about homosexual groups targeting children in school</a> are rampant. As is common with moral panics, it is hard to verify or pinpoint the source of such rumors. They spread the idea that LGBTQ+ groups are trying to force the vulnerable into homosexual relationships, stoking protective anxieties among parents. </p>
<p>The wording of the 2023 act, focusing on “aggravated homosexuality” as abuse of minors, and the “promotion and funding” of homosexuality by people and organizations, appears to play into such fears. The use of this language can serve to portray the act’s sponsors as protectors of children and families, even as the government becomes more blatant in its violations of civil rights and freedoms. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person wearing yellow sunglasses, taking part in a protest, raises a fist and holds a red and yellow sign saying 'Uganda: Kill the bill not the gays. Equality!'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529861/original/file-20230602-29-56jc66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ugandan queer activist Papa De raises a fist outside the Uganda High Commission during a picket against the country’s anti-homosexuality bill in Pretoria, South Africa, on April 4, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/ugandas-queer-activist-papa-de-raises-a-fist-outside-the-news-photo/1250761596?adppopup=true">Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regional activists like Stella Nyanzi and the Rev. Kapya Kaoma have been fighting anti-LGBTQ+ moral panics for decades. And <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/uganda-anti-homosexuality-act-2023-petition-constitutional-court/">Ugandans are already challenging the act in the courts</a>, not just as an LGBTQ+ rights issue, but as part of their push for a different political future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolette Manglos-Weber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of politics and religion explains how anti-LGBTQ laws are being used to distract the public from governance failures in many parts of the world.Nicolette Manglos-Weber, Associate Professor of Religion & Society, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065702023-06-05T12:07:50Z2023-06-05T12:07:50ZBaseless anti-trans claims fuel adoption of harmful laws – two criminologists explain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529672/original/file-20230601-29-zn4nbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C56%2C4716%2C3087&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kansas legislators Brenda Landwehr, left, and Chris Croft confer during a vote on an anti-transgender bathroom bill, which both support.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TransgenderHealthKansas/63880be5083f47a499bd396dee2a3631/photo">AP Photo/John Hanna</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has been seven years since North Carolina made headlines for enacting a “<a href="https://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/46/2/232.full.pdf">bathroom bill</a>” – legislation intended to prevent transgender people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity. </p>
<p>After boycotts threatened to cost the state more than <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/bathroom-bill-to-cost-north-carolina-376-billion.html">US$3.7 billion</a>, legislators <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/north-carolina-transgender-bathrooms.html">repealed the law</a> in 2017. Since then, however, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000270">religious</a> <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/rag/11/1/article-p67_5.xml">and</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2021.1">political</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/politics/transgender-laws-republicans.html">conservatives</a> have successfully spread an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/opinion/america-is-being-consumed-by-a-moral-panic-over-trans-people.html">anti-trans</a> <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/anti-trans-moral-panics-endanger-all-young-people/">moral panic</a>, or irrational fear, across the United States.</p>
<p>As far back as 2001, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-republican-transgender-laws-pile-up-setting-2024-battle-lines-2023-05-18/">Republican lawmakers</a> proposed the first of what are now <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/politics/anti-lgbtq-plus-state-bill-rights-dg/index.html">nearly 900 anti-LGBTQ+ bills</a>. <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights">More than 500 of these</a> were introduced in 49 state legislatures and the U.S. Congress during the first five months of 2023. To date, at least <a href="https://translegislation.com/">79 have passed</a>.</p>
<p>Many of these anti-trans laws are <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/inside-playbook-transgender-health-bills-99475030">written</a> <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/165403/groups-pushing-anti-trans-laws-want-divide-lgbtq-movement">and</a> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/31/anti-trans-bills-2023-america">financed</a> by a group of far-right interest groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel and the American Principles Project. </p>
<p>These groups claim their proposed laws would protect cisgender women and girls – those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth – from the sorts of violent trans people that are often depicted in <a href="https://perma.cc/W43F-7YKZ">movies</a> <a href="https://www.glaad.org/new-york-times-sign-on-letter-from-lgtbq-allied-leaders-and-organizations">and</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/entertainment/transgender-jk-rowling-media-intl/index.html">other</a> <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/kayla-denker-speaks-out-against-death-threats-transphobic-backlash">media</a>. </p>
<p>But as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SYMKKZQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">criminologists</a>, <a href="https://healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org/scholars/alexis-rowland/">we</a> know these claims are without merit. No reliable data supports the argument that transgender people commit violent crimes at higher rates than cisgender men and women. In fact, transgender people are more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306099">four times</a> as likely to be the victim of a crime as cisgender people.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C4758%2C3165&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people walk down a sidewalk carrying flags promoting equality and LGBTQ+ rights" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C4758%2C3165&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529654/original/file-20230601-20-9b3l28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Demonstrators protest against a Tennessee proposal to ban drag shows, one of many anti-trans proposals across the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PrideFestivals/156f97554dbe49df84b950452bee9569/photo">John Amis/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Expanding reach</h2>
<p>Anti-trans laws like the one enacted in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-law-kansas-b3d068afa2bc02bb15314ee04e8e3899">Kansas</a> over the governor’s veto reach beyond restrooms to limit access to many sex-segregated spaces, including “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-law-kansas-b3d068afa2bc02bb15314ee04e8e3899">locker rooms, prisons, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers</a>,” based on the sex assigned at birth to a person who seeks to use those spaces.</p>
<p>As of the end of May 2023, at least <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/map-gender-affirming-care-targeted-us/story?id=97443087">18</a> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/18/gender-affirming-health-care-bans-transgender-lgbt">states</a> had enacted laws within the preceding 12 months that limit medically age-appropriate gender-affirming health care for trans minors, with similar bills pending in 14 more states. And Florida’s barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ regulations even prohibits the mere discussion <a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-dont-say-gay-ban-684ed25a303f83208a89c556543183cb">of sexuality and gender identity in schools</a> through the 12th grade. Journalist Adam Rhodes called these efforts a “<a href="https://theappeal.org/anti-trans-bills-transgender-state-legislation/">centrally coordinated attack on transgender existence</a>.” </p>
<p>We believe these laws and bills illustrate the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/politics/anti-lgbtq-plus-state-bill-rights-dg/index.html">increasingly</a> <a href="https://www.thecanary.co/us/us-analysis/2023/05/23/floridas-desantis-issues-slew-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation-ahead-of-presidential-campaign/">hostile</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/24/politics/montana-drag-story-hour-ban/index.html">legislative</a> landscape for LGBTQ+ people despite polls showing that most people in the United States <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/">want trans people to be protected from discrimination</a> in public spaces on the basis of their gender.</p>
<h2>What the data shows</h2>
<p>A variety of <a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/myths-and-facts-battling-disinformation-about-transgender-rights">myths</a>, <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/03/31/we-must-fight-anti-trans-disinformation">false narratives</a>, <a href="https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/31/trans-myths-debunked-science/">bad science</a>, <a href="https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol104/iss7/2/">misconceptions</a> and <a href="https://aninjusticemag.com/are-50-of-trans-women-in-prison-sex-offenders-512f949c365a">outright</a> <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/41-per-cent-trans-transgender-trans-women-prisoners-sex-offenders-false-study-statistic-this-is-why-a8072431.html">misrepresentations</a> undergird anti-trans laws. The reality, however, is that trans-exclusionary laws do not protect cisgender women and girls from harassment or violence. Rather, they result in dramatic increases in violent victimization for transgender and gender-nonconforming adults and children.</p>
<p>When laws permit transgender people to access sex-segregated spaces in accordance with their gender identities, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z">crime rates do not increase</a>. There is <a href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/file/bathroom-ban-laws.pdf">no association</a> between trans-inclusive policies and more crime. As one of us wrote in a recent paper, this is likely because, just like cisgender folks, “<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4419750">transgender people use locker rooms and restrooms to change clothes and go to the bathroom</a>,” not for sexual gratification or predatory reasons.</p>
<p>Conversely, when trans people are forced by law to use sex-segregated spaces that align with the sex assigned to them at birth instead of their gender identity, two important facts should be noted. </p>
<p>First, no studies show that violent crime rates against cisgender women and girls in such spaces decrease. In other words, cisgender women and girls are no safer than they would be in the absence of anti-trans laws. Certainly, the possibility exists that a cisgender man might pose as a woman to go into certain spaces under <a href="https://perma.cc/C7DB-63RL">false pretenses</a>. But that same possibility remains regardless of whether transgender people are lawfully permitted in those spaces.</p>
<p>Second, trans people are <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306099">significantly more likely</a> to be victimized in sex-segregated spaces than are cisgender people. For instance, while incarcerated in facilities designated for men, trans women are <a href="https://perma.cc/N9QG-3BML">nine to 13 times</a> as likely to be sexually assaulted as the men with whom they are boarded. </p>
<p>In women’s prisons, correctional staff are responsible for 41% of women’s <a href="https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/sexual-victimization-prisons-and-jails-reported-inmates-2011-12-update">sexual victimization</a>, with cisgender women committing the balance of nearly all prisoner-on-prisoner violence. Similarly, trans boys and girls who are barred from using the washrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity are respectively <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542%2Fpeds.2018-2902">between 26% to 149% more likely</a> to be sexually victimized in the locations they are forced to use than cisgender youths.</p>
<p>In society at large, between <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf">84% and 90%</a> of all crimes of sexual violence are perpetrated by someone the victim knows, not a stranger lurking in the shadows – or the showers or restroom stalls. But trans and nonbinary people feel very unsafe in bathrooms and locker rooms, though others experience relative safety there. In fact, the <a href="https://perma.cc/ZZJ9-78M7">largest study of its kind</a> found that upward of 75% of trans men and 64% of trans women reported that they routinely avoid public restrooms to minimize their chances of being harassed or assaulted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person cries out while being handled by police officers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529657/original/file-20230601-29-9sd8yv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Qween Jean, a transgender rights activist, is arrested May 31, 2023, during a trans-rights demonstration in New York City.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/queen-jean-is-arrested-during-a-weekly-protest-in-support-news-photo/1258341307">Stephanie Keith/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lies drive harm</h2>
<p>Because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-021-09590-0">criminological data does not support trans-exclusionary laws or policies</a>, advocates of anti-trans laws often resort to <a href="https://www.houstonpress.com/news/mass-shooters-are-almost-never-trans-13743586">lies</a>, flawed anecdotal evidence, or what fact-checkers have called “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-transgender-nashville-shooting-misinformation-cd62492d066d41e820c138256570978c">extreme cherry-picking</a>” to support their position. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4419750">one of us documented</a> how isolated news stories, often from notoriously <a href="https://perma.cc/N6XV-B3HD">transphobic tabloids</a>, conflate the actions of sexual predators with the “dangerousness” of trans women. Although there are undeniably examples of actual transgender people committing crimes, even deeply troubling ones, they are not evidence of any behavioral trends among the broader class of trans people. <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/tennessee-school-shooting-trans-people-guns/">No such</a> <a href="https://issuu.com/sfgnissues/docs/sfgn_04-06-23-smalls/s/22221040">data exists</a>.</p>
<p>We believe the spate of anti-trans proposals represents a textbook example of crime-control theater – an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000099">unnecessary</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000302">ineffective</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016817710695">harmful</a> legislative response to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2021.1952971">unfounded fearmongering</a>.</p>
<p>Anti-trans laws are not just baseless. They’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2019.1659048">hurtful and damaging</a>, especially to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/anti-trans-moral-panics-endanger-all-young-people/">LGBTQ+ teenagers</a>. <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/">Recent polls</a> indicate that more than 60% of these people experience <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2023/05/01/mental-health-lgbtq-youth/">deteriorating mental health</a> – including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts – as a result of laws and policies aimed at restricting their personhood.</p>
<p>The criminological research is clear that anti-trans laws do not help the people they are claimed to protect. In fact, these laws inflict harm on people who are even more vulnerable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry F. Fradella has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice, but not with regard to anything relevant to the subject matter of this piece.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexis Rowland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Transgender people are more than four times as likely to be the victim of a crime as cisgender people.Henry F. Fradella, Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Affiliate Professor, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law., Arizona State UniversityAlexis Rowland, Ph.D. Student in Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047842023-05-04T12:14:47Z2023-05-04T12:14:47ZMontana House Rep. Zooey Zephyr’s censure shows that American standards of political decorum are failing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524180/original/file-20230503-26-8ehlde.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr raises a microphone on the House floor as protesters chant, "Let her speak," in April 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v1/items/9366c31b6193494eb0e6f9f0bfd5af2c/preview/AP23117697027235.jpg?wm=api&tag=app_id=1,user_id=904438,org_id=101781">Amy Beth Hanson/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Montana District Court <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-rejects-trans-lawmaker-zooey-zephyrs-effort-to-return-to-montana-house">judge has rejected</a> Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr’s attempt to return to the House floor following Republican lawmakers’ moves that blocked her from entering or speaking in the House chamber at the end of April 2023. </p>
<p>Zephyr sued Republican leaders of the Montana House of Representatives for barring her from proceedings on the floor. The Montana judge, a <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Menahan#:%7E:text=Mike%20Menahan%2,0is%20a%20judge,District%20from%202009%20to%202013.">former Democratic state legislator himself</a>, ruled on May 2, 2023, that reinstating Zephyr was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/zooey-zephyr-montana-transgender-lawsuit-cce3cfcf6ec2e71abee383b2ad1d4b72">not within the court’s power</a> and would “interfere with legislative authority.” The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana <a href="https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1653042063397486592">represented Zephyr</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/01/zooey-zephyr-lawsuit-montana-reinstatement/">four of her constituents</a> in the lawsuit. </p>
<p>The ACLU said the removal and silencing of Zephyr, the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-condemns-baseless-censure-of-state-rep-zooey-zephyr">violates democratic principles</a> of freedom of expression and political participation. </p>
<p>It might also violate the spirit of legislative rules set by none other than Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of this country, more than 200 years ago. Those rules were written to protect minority views, which the majority in power in the Montana House did not choose to do.</p>
<p>I am a political scientist focusing on American politics, minority politics and prejudice reduction. I have <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/alaunasafarpour/bio">written and researched</a> about the impact of prejudice in American politics as well as how public policy affects minorities. </p>
<p>It’s clear that rules and customs in U.S. politics and state legislatures have evolved since Jefferson first drafted a set of procedural rules. But previous standards of decorum appear now to be diminishing in state politics.</p>
<p>Zephyr’s punishment, as well as the recent <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/07/1168705480/tennessee-expel-three-other-states-law">expulsion of two Black legislators in Tennessee</a> for speaking without being recognized and leading gun control protests, highlight a trend in which parliamentary rules are used to silence and expel minority lawmakers from legislatures. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A few white people with grey hair wear blue tee shirts and hold up signs that say 'Montanans want freedom not authoritarians' and 'let her speak.' One man holding a sign has tape over his mouth." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524175/original/file-20230503-20-7kogpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporters of transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr hold signs in Livingston, Mont., on April 29, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1252429853/photo/rally-held-in-support-of-montana-transgender-lawmaker-zooey-zephyr.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=eDJSNDd4CnZckYtPzDeKJmCltfQzzhD_yXzBumK5LTA=">William Campbell/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What happened</h2>
<p>Republicans leading the Montana House say Zephyr broke rules of decorum after she <a href="https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZZ-Compl.-FINAL.pdf">raised a microphone above her head</a> as protesters chanted, “Let her speak,” in the House chamber on April 24, 2023. </p>
<p>House Speaker Matt Regier and other Republicans voted on April 26, 2023, to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/26/1172158461/montana-gop-transgender-zooey-zephyr-punishment-banned-speaking-lgbtq">stop Zephyr from speaking</a> on the House floor after the protest and after she refused to apologize for saying <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/tampa/news/blood-on-your-hands-montana-lawmakers-words-not-unusual/">eight days earlier </a> that lawmakers who restricted access to gender affirming care would see <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/26/1172158461/montana-gop-transgender-zooey-zephyr-punishment-banned-speaking-lgbtq">“blood on their hands.”</a>. </p>
<p>With this vote, the Montana House of Representatives <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/27/us/montana-trans-legislature-zephyr.html">barred Zephyr</a> from the House floor for the remainder of the session, which normally ends in May. This means that while Zephyr can vote remotely on measures, she <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/zooey-zephyr-montana-anti-trans_n_64498702e4b03c1b88cafa18">cannot speak</a> on the House floor. It also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/zooey-zephyr-montana-transgender-0515fc9dec749bc7df78928b32edd3e6">blocks her</a> from other work areas in the legislative building. </p>
<p>Republicans have said <a href="https://apnews.com/article/zooey-zephyr-transgender-montana-house-updates-3054b6bed9ac04920249e6302821e130">they censured Zephyr</a> because she incited protesters in the House chamber. </p>
<p>“The choice not to follow House rules is one Rep. Zephyr has made. The only person silencing Rep. Zephyr is Rep. Zephyr. The Montana House will not be bullied,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MTHouseGOP/status/1650930857954385920/photo/1">Regier wrote on Twitter.</a> </p>
<p>Zephyr’s censure comes amid a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights">wave of efforts nationwide</a> to restrict access to gender-affirming health care. Lawmakers have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/17/anti-trans-bills-map/">introduced 400 anti-trans bills</a> nationwide since January 2023.</p>
<h2>Understanding rules of decorum</h2>
<p>The U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures have specific rules governing decorum, or how lawmakers should behave while in and outside of legislative sessions. These <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/HMAN-112/pdf/HMAN-112-pg741.pdf">include rules</a> allowing the House speaker or other political leaders to choose who can speak and for how long. </p>
<p>Legislatures, at both the state level and Congress, can choose to reprimand – or remove – members who breach the rules. In the U.S. House, <a href="https://history.house.gov/Institution/Discipline/Expulsion-Censure-Reprimand/">members have been censured</a> for sharing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/what-is-censure-congress-/2021/11/18/20245326-4889-11ec-b8d9-232f4afe4d9b_story.html">violent videos</a> about harming colleagues and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/21/us/house-censures-crane-and-studds-for-sexual-relations-with-pages.html">for engaging in sexual misconduct</a>, among other things. </p>
<p>Legislative leaders have <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/95-563">wide discretion</a> about whether to allow elected officials to speak. Legislators have equally broad discretion over whether to censure or remove members who break these rules. </p>
<p>In Zephyr’s case, Montana House Speaker Regier, <a href="https://leg.mt.gov/content/Sessions/68th/2023-Rules.pdf">according to the legislature’s rules,</a> did have the authority to bar Zephyr from speaking. This decision is drawn from the Montana House’s documented rules. </p>
<p>Yet, Zephyr’s censure was <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2023/04/26/montana-republicans-discipline-transgender-lawmaker-zooey-zephyr-for-breaching-decorum/">unprecedented in modern Montana politics</a>, and similar breaches of decorum have <a href="https://www.ktvq.com/news/68th-session/banning-of-zephry-has-little-precedent-in-montana-experts-say">gone unpunished</a> there. </p>
<p>Preventing minority legislators from participating fully in legislative debates <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-condemns-baseless-censure-of-state-rep-zooey-zephyr">violates democratic principles</a> of free debate and equal representation.</p>
<p>Using parliamentary rules to silence and censure lawmakers also violates the spirit of those rules, according to Jefferson. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white drawing shows four men with old fashioned clothing sitting around a table. One of them stands next to the table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524182/original/file-20230503-1264-1ecqyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thomas Jefferson, pictured on the far right, intended to establish a set of legislative rules to help provide order during a tumultuous time in the country’s founding years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/545706723/photo/john-adams-robert-morris-alexander-hamilton-thomas-jefferson.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=8FalQHIEjdWYV7vgiFv2vYTGx5pxJquH6oMK97rgUAQ=">ullstein bild/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>These rules have a long history</h2>
<p>The U.S. House and many state legislatures, including Montana’s, <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/rules-procedures/jeffersons-manual.htm">largely follow rules</a> written by <a href="https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/manual-parliamentary-practice/#:%7E:text=On%20February%2027%2C%201801%2C%20the,announced%20in%20a%20Washington%20newspaper.">Jefferson and published in 1801</a>.</p>
<p>Current Senate rules are also <a href="https://www.monticello.org/research-education/blog/jefferson-s-manual-and-the-modern-rules-of-the-u-s-congress/">heavily influenced</a> by Jefferson’s manual.</p>
<p>Jefferson <a href="https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/manual-parliamentary-practice/">wrote these rules</a> during a tumultuous time in the nation’s history. He worried that the divisiveness of politics in his era might rip the young country apart. </p>
<p>His manual <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/idea-of-the-senate/1801Jefferson.htm">includes behavioral guidelines</a> like, “No one is to disturb another person who is speaking by hissing, coughing, spitting, speaking or whispering to another.”</p>
<p>At the turn of the 19th century, the House and Senate were not governed by a set of distinct rules, and there was only <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/HMAN-117/pdf/HMAN-117.pdf">limited guidance dictated by the Constitution</a>. Jefferson worried that the lack of specific rules of procedure gave too much latitude to legislative leaders. </p>
<p>Codifying the rules, he surmised, would help to protect the minority. He saw the rules as <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044097910368&view=1up&seq=19">“the only weapons by which the minority can defend themselves against”</a> the abuses of the majority.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large group of men in suits sit around tables with microphones." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524183/original/file-20230503-1198-rp105s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Montana legislators convene about a motion to censure Zooey Zephyr on April 26, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tommy Martino/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The censuring is a failure in political civility</h2>
<p>Yet, these parliamentary procedures failed to protect the minority viewpoint when it came to Montana’s first transgender lawmaker. </p>
<p>I believe this is because of a breakdown in civility and a lack of empathy in American politics. </p>
<p>While Zephyr may have broken the Montana legislature’s rules of decorum with what she said or did, political scientists have recognized that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/22/579670528/how-democracies-die-authors-say-trump-is-a-symptom-of-deeper-problems">democracy requires forbearance</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12771">restraint in the exercise</a> of political power, which House leaders did not do in the face of Zephyr’s violation. When politicians exercise their authority without restraint, democracies break down. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12771">Informal norms</a> in American politics – such as civility toward all colleagues – tend to promote political cooperation and contribute to the functioning of a healthy democracy.</p>
<p>Democracy also performs better when opposing sides exercise compassion toward one another. </p>
<p>The failure to exercise <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/22/579670528/how-democracies-die-authors-say-trump-is-a-symptom-of-deeper-problems">mutual toleration and forbearance</a> toward members of the opposing party only heightens divisions and degrades the country’s democracy. During <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2023/01/20/the-polarization-paradox-elected-officials-and-voters-have-shifted-in-opposite-directions/">such a polarizing time</a>, I think it is more important than ever to exercise political restraint and compassion toward those unlike ourselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204784/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alauna Safarpour has previously volunteered for organizations promoting LGBTQI equality and is currently a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research's (AAPOR) Inclusion and Equity Committee.</span></em></p>Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, first established a set of political decorum rules in legislatures to help establish stability during the country’s early years.Alauna Safarpour, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Kennedy SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2017522023-03-27T12:25:04Z2023-03-27T12:25:04ZGender-affirming care has a long history in the US – and not just for transgender people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516795/original/file-20230321-2376-1glr1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2953%2C1971&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Enforcement of binary gender norms has led to unwanted medical interventions on intersex and cisgender children.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/doctors-carrying-newborn-baby-girl-at-hospital-royalty-free-image/668808357">Javier Valenzuela/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1976, a <a href="http://lgbthistory.pages.roanoke.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2020/02/Long-Road-from-Man-to-Woman.pdf">woman from Roanoke, Virginia, named Rhoda</a> received a prescription for two drugs: estrogen and progestin. Twelve months later, a local reporter noted Rhoda’s surprisingly soft skin and visible breasts. He wrote that the drugs had made her “so completely female.” </p>
<p>Indeed, that was the point. The University of Virginia Medical Center in nearby Charlottesville had a clinic specifically for women like Rhoda. In fact, doctors there had been prescribing hormones and performing surgeries – what today we would call gender-affirming care – for years.</p>
<p>The founder of that clinic, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/milton-edgerton-trailblazing-plastic-surgeon-for-children-and-transgender-patients-dies-at-96/2018/07/16/28bcae0a-8836-11e8-8aea-86e88ae760d8_story.html">Dr. Milton Edgerton</a>, had cut his teeth caring for transgender people at Johns Hopkins University in the 1960s. There, he was part of a team that established the nation’s first university-based Gender Identity Clinic in 1966.</p>
<p>When politicians today refer to gender-affirming care as new, “<a href="https://www.advocate.com/health-care/mississippi-governor-ban-transgender-care">untested</a>” or “<a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/07/iowa-lawmakers-approve-gender-affirming-care-ban-for-transgender-youth/69980950007/">experimental</a>,” they ignore the long history of transgender medicine in the United States. </p>
<p>It’s been nearly 60 years since the first transgender medical clinic <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/">opened in the U.S.</a>, and 47 years since Rhoda started her hormone therapy. Understanding the history of these treatments in the U.S. can be a helpful guide for citizens and legislators in a year when <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d378d/anti-trans-bills-2023">a record number of bills</a> in statehouses target the rights of transgender people.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Christine Jorgensen standing before a set of microphones at a press conference" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516765/original/file-20230321-2462-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christine Jorgensen, who received gender-affirming treatments in the 1950s, was one of the first trans celebrities in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/new-york-new-york-christine-jorgensen-arriving-at-idlewild-news-photo/515992248">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Treating gender in every population</h2>
<p>As a trans woman and a <a href="https://gsrosenthal.com">scholar of transgender history</a>, I have spent much of the past decade <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469665801/living-queer-history/">studying these issues</a>. I also take several pills each morning to maintain the proper hormonal balance in my body: spironolactone to suppress testosterone and estradiol to increase estrogen.</p>
<p>When I began HRT, or hormone replacement therapy, like many Americans I wasn’t aware that this treatment had been around for generations. What I was even more surprised to learn was that HRT is often prescribed to cisgender women – women who were assigned female at birth and raised their whole lives as women. In fact, many providers in my region already had a <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469665801/living-queer-history/">long record of prescribing hormones to cis women</a>, primarily women experiencing menopause.</p>
<p>I also learned that gender-affirming hormone therapies have been prescribed to cisgender youths for generations – despite what contemporary politicians may think. Disability scholar Eli Clare has written of the history and continued practice of <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/brilliant-imperfection">prescribing hormones</a> to boys who are too short and girls who are too tall for what is considered a “normal” range for their gender. Because of binary gender norms that celebrate height in men and smallness in women, doctors, parents and ethicists have approved the use of hormonal therapies to make children conform to these gender stereotypes <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292342/normal-at-any-cost-by-susan-cohen/">since at least the 1940s</a>.</p>
<p>Clare describes a severely disabled young woman whose parents – with the approval of doctors and ethicists from their local children’s hospital – administered puberty blockers so that she would never grow into an adult. They deemed her mentally incapable of becoming a “real” woman. </p>
<p>The history of these treatments demonstrates that hormone therapies and puberty blockers have been used on cisgender children in this country – for better or for worse – with the goal of regulating the passage from girlhood to womanhood and from boyhood to manhood. Gender stereotypes concerning the presence or absence of secondary sex characteristics – too tall, too short, too much body hair – have all led parents and doctors to perform gender-affirming care on cisgender children.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5dJduGC3HyQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Enforcement of binary gender norms has led to unwanted medical interventions on intersex children.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For over half a century, legal and medical authorities in the U.S. have also approved and administered surgeries and hormone therapies to force the bodies of intersex children to conform to binary gender stereotypes. I myself had genital surgery in infancy to bring my anatomy into alignment with expectations for what a “male” body should look like. In most cases, intersex surgeries are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2021.550">unnecessary for the</a> <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/science-and-technology/2019/10/24/medically-necessary-or-cruel-inside-the-battle-over-surgery-on-intersex-babies">health or well-being</a> of a child.</p>
<p>Historians such as Jules Gill-Peterson have shown that <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/histories-of-the-transgender-child">early advances in transgender medicine</a> in this country are deeply interwoven with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trans-kids-in-the-us-were-seeking-treatment-decades-before-todays-political-battles-over-access-to-health-care-157481">nonconsensual treatment of intersex children</a>. Doctors at Johns Hopkins and the University of Virginia practiced reconstructing the genitalia of intersex people before applying those same treatments on transgender patients.</p>
<p>Given these intertwined histories, I contend that the current political focus on prohibiting gender-affirming care for transgender people is evidence that opposition to these treatments is not about the safety of any specific medications or procedures, but rather their use specifically by transgender people.</p>
<h2>How transgender people access care</h2>
<p>Many transgender people in the U.S. have deeply complicated feelings about gender-affirming care. This complexity is a result of over half a century of transgender medicine and patient experiences in the U.S.</p>
<p>In Rhoda’s time, medical gatekeeping meant that she had to live “full time” as a woman and prove her suitability for gender-affirming care to a team of primarily white, cis male doctors before they would give her treatment. She had to mimic language about being “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460717740258">born in the wrong body</a>” – language invented by cis doctors studying trans people, not by trans people themselves. She <a href="https://ojs.stanford.edu/ojs/index.php/intersect/article/view/2056">had to affirm</a> she would be heterosexual and seek marriage and monogamy with a man. She could not be a lesbian or bisexual or promiscuous. </p>
<p>Many trans people still need to jump through similar hoops today to receive gender-affirming care. For example, a diagnosis of “<a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria">gender dysphoria</a>,” a designated mental disorder, is sometimes required before treatment. Many trans people argue that these preconditions for access to care should be removed because being trans is an identity and a lived experience, not a disorder.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KomI-XiiJw0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Transgender people undergo more evaluations to obtain gender-affirming care than do cisgender people.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Feminist activists in the 1970s also critiqued the role of medical authority in gender-affirming care. Writer Janice Raymond decried “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/transsexual-empire-the-making-of-the-she-male/oclc/29548586">the transsexual empire</a>,” her term for the physicians, psychologists and other professionals who practice transgender medicine. Raymond argued that cis male doctors were making an army of trans women to satisfy the male gaze: promoting iterations of womanhood that reinforced sexist gender stereotypes, ultimately ushering in the displacement and eradication of the world’s “biological” women. The origins of today’s gender-critical, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-words-we-use-matter-when-describing-anti-trans-activists-130990">trans-exclusionary radical feminist</a>, movement are visible in Raymond’s words. But as trans scholar Sandy Stone wrote in her <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/02705346-10-2_29-150">famous reply to Raymond</a>, it’s not that trans women are unwilling dupes of cis male medical authority, but rather that we have to strategically perform our womanhood in certain ways to access the care and treatments we need.</p>
<h2>The future of gender-affirming care</h2>
<p>In many states, especially in the South, where I live, governors and legislatures are introducing bills to ban gender-affirming care – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/28/anti-trans-bills-gender-affirming-care-adults/">even for adults</a> – in ignorance of history. The consequences of hurried legislation extend beyond trans people, because access to hormones and surgeries is a basic medical service many people may need to feel better in their body.</p>
<p>Prohibitions on hormone therapy and gender-related surgeries for minors could mean ending the same treatment options <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/gender-affirming-care-isnt-just-for-trans-people-rcna54651">for cisgender children</a>. The <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2023/03/06/kentucky-anti-trans-bill-impacts-intersex-kids-forces-gender-choice/69965192007/">legal implications for intersex children</a> may directly clash with <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb180_00_0000.pdf">proposed legislation</a> in several states that aims to codify “male” and “female” as discrete biological sexes with certain anatomical features. </p>
<p>Prohibitions on hormone replacement therapy for adults could affect access to the same treatments for menopausal women or limit access to hormonal birth control. Prohibitions of gender-affirming surgeries could affect anyone’s ability to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-bill-ban-gender-affirming-care-transgender-adults/">access a hysterectomy or a mastectomy</a>. So-called cosmetic surgeries such as breast implants or reductions, and even facial feminization procedures such as lip fillers or Botox, could also come under question. </p>
<p>These are all different types of gender-affirming procedures. Are most Americans willing to live with this level of government intrusion into their bodily autonomy? </p>
<p>Almost every <a href="https://searchlf.ama-assn.org/letter/documentDownload?uri=%2Funstructured%2Fbinary%2Fletter%2FLETTERS%2F2021-4-26-Bill-McBride-opposing-anti-trans-bills-Final.pdf">major medical organization</a> in the U.S. has come out against new government restrictions on gender-affirming care because, as doctors and professionals, they know that these treatments are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.xcrm.2022.100719">time-tested and safe</a>. These treatments have histories reaching back over 50 years.</p>
<p>Trans and intersex people are important voices in this debate, because our bodies are the ones politicians opposing gender-affirming care most frequently <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/arkansas-lawmaker-hearing-asks-transgender-woman-penis-rcna70787">treat as objects of ridicule and disgust</a>. Legislators are developing policies about us despite the fact that most Americans say they <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/27/rising-shares-of-u-s-adults-know-someone-who-is-transgender-or-goes-by-gender-neutral-pronouns/">do not even know a trans person</a>. </p>
<p>But trans and intersex people <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/23/transgender-adults-transitioning-poll/">know what it is like</a> to have to fight to access the care and treatment we need. And we know the joy of finally feeling comfortable in our own skin and being able to affirm our gender on our own terms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201752/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>G. Samantha Rosenthal is co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project</span></em></p>The first transgender medical clinic opened in the US in the 1960s. But cisgender and intersex children began receiving similar treatments even earlier – often without their consent.G. Samantha Rosenthal, Associate Professor of History, Roanoke CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2021182023-03-21T20:57:52Z2023-03-21T20:57:52ZDoes public safety trump free speech? History suggests there is a case for banning anti-trans activist Posie Parker from NZ<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516543/original/file-20230321-16-ol5gge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=88%2C8%2C5830%2C3928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The impending arrival of <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/23299549.posie-parker-anti-trans-founder-standing-women/">Kelly-Jean Keen-Minshull</a> – aka Posie Parker – has put the spotlight on the tension between free speech and protecting vulnerable communities. In particular, it raises questions about Immigration New Zealand’s role in <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/immigration-nz-reviewing-anti-transgender-activist-kelly-jay-keen-minshull-s-travel-to-nz-after-chaos-in-melbourne.html">limiting who can visit and speak</a> in Aotearoa New Zealand. </p>
<p>Keen-Minshull is an anti-transgender rights activist and founder of a group called Standing for Women. On the back of a controversial Australian tour, she is planning to speak at a series of events across Aotearoa at the end of March. </p>
<p>But Immigration New Zealand is now reviewing her status after about 30 members of the far-right Nationalist Socialist Movement <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/300834638/australian-state-to-ban-nazi-salutes-after-farright-rally">supported her rally</a> in Melbourne, clashing with LGBTQI supporters. </p>
<p>The Melbourne police were also <a href="https://mals.au/2023/03/20/statement-of-concern-policing-of-opposing-anti-trans-rally-trans-rights-rallies">criticised by legal observers</a>, accused of protecting and supporting the neo-Nazis while focusing “excessive violence” on the LGBTQI supporters. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, National Party leader <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/anti-trans-activist-posie-parkers-nz-visit-national-leader-luxon-says-not-a-good-enough-reason-to-ban-her-cites-free-speech/25G32W25Q5GWLL4CFNGWVRH7EQ/">Chris Luxon has said</a> Keen-Minshull should be allowed into New Zealand on the grounds of free speech. He argued there should be a “high bar” to stop someone entering the country because of what they say.</p>
<p>At the same time, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has said he condemned people who used their right to free speech in a way that deliberately sought to create division. Therein lies the core of the debate.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1637817553497014276"}"></div></p>
<h2>Threat to public order</h2>
<p>Keen-Minshull has allegedly had ties to white supremacist organisations, featuring in <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/23299549.posie-parker-anti-trans-founder-standing-women/">videos with Jean-François Gariépy</a>, a prominent far-right YouTuber, and posting a selfie with Hans Jørgen Lysglimt Johansen, a Norwegian neo-Nazi known for Holocaust denial. Keen-Minshull has also tweeted <a href="https://womansplaceuk.org/2018/05/30/changes-to-cornwall-meeting/">racist diatribes against Muslims</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/being-transgender-is-not-a-mental-illness-and-the-who-should-acknowledge-this-63182">Being transgender is not a mental illness, and the WHO should acknowledge this</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The key question is whether the threat of unrest seen at Keen-Minshull’s events poses sufficient risk to public order to justify revoking her visa. It turns out there is a precedent for blocking entry to controversial figures. </p>
<p>In 2014, hip hop collective Odd Future was prevented from entering New Zealand on the grounds they and their audience had been implicated in violence against police and directing harassment towards opponents. </p>
<p>In one instance, members of Odd Future reportedly urged fans to <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/odd-future-banned-from-new-zealand-73529/">attack police</a>, leaving one officer hospitalised. Odd Future member Tyler the Creator also unleashed a tirade against an activist who tried to have his <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/tyler-the-creator-3-48-1251877">Australian concert cancelled</a>. Both instances were offered as reasons to prevent the collective from entering New Zealand.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516791/original/file-20230321-28-cnpffm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rapper Tyler the Creator of the Odd Future collective was banned from entering New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand said the group posed a risk to public order.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Dudelson/FilmMagic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Character judgements</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0051/latest/whole.html#DLM1440303">Immigration Act stipulates</a> that individuals who are likely to be “a threat or risk” to security, public order or the public interest should not be eligible for a visa or entry permission. </p>
<p>In the past, <a href="https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/preparing-a-visa-application/character-and-identity/good-character/good-character-temporary">good character requirements</a> outlined by the act, including criminal background or deportation from other countries, have been used as a reason to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/106644202/chelsea-manning-what-immigration-rules-stop-her-from-entering-new-zealand">block controversial speakers</a> from entering New Zealand. </p>
<p>For example, Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church was denied entry to New Zealand after being <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/10/us-preacher-says-new-zealand-is-under-the-wrath-of-god-for-refusing-his-visa-application.html">deported from other countries</a>. Anderson has been known to promote Holocaust denial and has confirmed he believes in “hating homosexuals”. </p>
<p>On the flip side, alt-right speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern were <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/alt-right-speakers-lauren-southern-and-stefan-molyneux-granted-entry-to-nz/JHZHTSFXTBHMUI7Y4TRYDDIGU4/">granted entry visas</a> in 2018 after meeting character requirements, despite calls for the pair to be banned from entering New Zealand. </p>
<h2>Potential harm</h2>
<p>Arguably, Keen-Minshull should not be granted entry under the banner of free speech. Rallies like those recently held in Australia do appear to cause concrete harm. </p>
<p>Research after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-christchurch-call-is-just-a-start-now-we-need-to-push-for-systemic-change-117259">Christchurch Call</a>, a political summit initiated by former prime minister Jacinda Ardern in 2019 after the Christchurch massacre, found expanding extremist communities increased the risk of physical <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-020-00008-2">attacks in the future</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/polarising-sensational-media-coverage-of-transgender-athletes-should-end-our-research-shows-a-way-forward-187250">Polarising, sensational media coverage of transgender athletes should end – our research shows a way forward</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>According to the 2018 <a href="https://countingourselves.nz/2018-survey-report/">Counting Ourselves</a> survey, some 71% of trans people reported experiencing high or very high rates of mental distress, and 44% experienced harassment during the 2018 survey period. </p>
<p>Research shows that trans people experience “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5685272/">minority stress</a>” – high levels of chronic stress faced by socially marginalised groups, caused by poor social support, low socioeconomic status and prejudice. A key part of “minority stress” is linked to anticipating and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734137/">attempting to avoid discrimination</a>. </p>
<h2>Being consistent</h2>
<p>Beyond the question of free speech, Immigration New Zealand needs to be consistent in its application of the law. In the case of Odd Future, an Immigration official admitted it was unusual to ban musical acts:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Generally it’s aimed at organisations like white supremacists and neo-Nazis, people who have come in here to be public speakers, holocaust deniers – those kinds of people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, Immigration stood by its decision based on the lead singer’s incitement of violence against police and harassment of an activist. Considering the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/editors-picks/9997356/The-story-behind-the-Odd-Future-ban">ruling on Odd Future</a> as a risk to public order, it would surely be inconsistent to allow Keen-Minshull entry.</p>
<p>In 2018, she was spoken to by UK police for <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8686165/misgendering-second-woman-police-transgender-social-media/">making videos</a> criticising the chief executive of transgender charity Mermaids. And, in 2019, Keen-Minshull recorded herself in Washington DC confronting <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/prominent-transgender-activist-harassed-anti-trans-feminists-video-shows-n966061">trans advocate Sarah McBride after breaking into a private meeting</a>. </p>
<h2>Encouraging the far-right?</h2>
<p>In the post-COVID era, New Zealand has already seen a more visible <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/a-new-wave-of-anti-lgbt-hate">far-right anti-LGBTQI movement</a>. There has been a rise in harassment and attacks against LGBTQI communities across the country, including the arson of the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/arsonists-who-torched-tauranga-rainbow-youth-and-gender-dynamix-building-sentenced/O6WBUFV5CZFDRFVPKYJOHTFRME/">Tauranga Rainbow Youth and Gender Dynamix building</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trans-rights-and-political-backlash-five-key-moments-in-history-187476">Trans rights and political backlash: five key moments in history</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We need to listen to those <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/124558007/listen-to-those-targeted-by-the-hate-groups">targeted by hate groups</a> – it is their safety that is at risk from speakers who deny their existence and humanity.</p>
<p>The line between free speech and causing harm is complicated to draw. But this case seems clear cut. Whether you agree or disagree with the 2014 decision to bar Odd Future entry to New Zealand, the precedent has been set for visitors who pose a threat to public order.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Veale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Immigration NZ banned hip hop collective Odd Future on the basis of public safety in 2014. Will it do the same for anti-transgender rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull?Kevin Veale, Lecturer in Media Studies, part of the Digital Cultures Laboratory in the School of Humanities, Media, and Creative Communication, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1998512023-02-23T13:16:58Z2023-02-23T13:16:58ZWhat’s going on with the wave of GOP bills about trans teens? Utah provides clues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510906/original/file-20230217-26-nih602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C3%2C1017%2C683&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A pride flag flies in front of the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City during a 2015 protest against church policy toward same-sex couples. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pride-flag-flies-in-front-of-the-historic-mormon-temple-as-news-photo/497172074?phrase=utah%20pride&adppopup=true">George Frey/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2022, Republican politicians proposed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/14/anti-trans-bills/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">over 150 bills</a> limiting trans rights in state legislatures across the country. By February 2023, the GOP <a href="https://www.equalityfederation.org/tracker/cumulative-anti-transgender">had already surpassed</a> that record by proposing over 200 similar bills.</p>
<p>Many of these bills would legislate access to hormone replacement therapy for transgender individuals, making it illegal – and <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb12_00_0000.pdf">in some cases</a>, criminal – for adolescents to receive such treatments. The first to make it into law in 2023 was Utah’s SB 16, “<a href="https://le.utah.gov/%7E2023/bills/static/SB0016.html">Transgender Medical Treatments and Procedures</a>,” which Gov. Spencer Cox signed on Jan. 28.</p>
<p>Across the country, though, <a href="https://www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRRI-Oct-2022-AVS_FINAL.pdf">just over half</a> of Americans are opposed to such laws. In a survey of 2,500 adults conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in September 2022, only 1 in 4 strongly favored laws that prevent parents from allowing their child to receive medical care for gender transition. </p>
<p>Why, then, is there a surge in laws targeting medical treatments for transgender youth? We think Utah offers some answers. One of us is <a href="https://kelsyburke.com">a sociologist</a>; the other is <a href="https://cehs.usu.edu/psychology/people/lefevor-tyler">a Utah-based psychologist</a>. Both of us study Christianity, sexuality and LGBTQ communities. Understanding how religion and politics intersect can provide insight into the broader national push against transgender rights.</p>
<h2>Evolving views</h2>
<p>In Utah, where <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/">just over half</a> of adults belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church is a powerful political force. Church teachings <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-religion-legislature-utah-state-legislature-a5a7ac925a507a7d993fd63cb3ba1ecf">often shape</a> legislation, such as strict liquor laws.</p>
<p>The church’s <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/intro?lang=eng">official policies</a> consider sex to be acceptable only within <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng">a marriage between a man and woman</a>, and binary gender is an important component of its theology. More than a decade ago, the church <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/us/politics/15marriage.html">was a major force</a> in promoting Proposition 8, a California ballot measure to block same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>Yet the church has become increasingly supportive of LGBTQ rights. In 2015, its leaders <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/us/politics/utah-passes-antidiscrimination-bill-backed-by-mormon-leaders.html">endorsed a Utah bill</a> that prohibited housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2020, the state enacted a ban on <a href="https://theconversation.com/conversion-therapy-is-discredited-and-increases-risk-of-suicide-yet-fewer-than-half-of-us-states-have-bans-in-place-161330">conversion therapy</a> for minors, which prohibits any intervention, other than spiritual counseling, to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. At the time, Utah was “<a href="https://www.kuer.org/utah-politics/2019-12-03/how-a-bill-became-a-rule-the-journey-of-utahs-conversion-therapy-ban">the only Republican-controlled state</a>” to have passed such laws, according to <a href="https://faculty.utah.edu/u0625806-CLIFFORD_ROSKY/hm/index.hml">law professor Clifford Rosky</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps because of this recent support for LGBTQ nondiscrimination, in 2022 Utah’s governor <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/22/utah-governor-veto-transgender-sports-ban-00019417">vetoed a law</a> banning trans youth from participating in sports. And most recently, <a href="https://www.kuer.org/race-religion-social-justice/2022-11-15/lds-church-comes-out-in-support-of-same-sex-marriage-law">the church itself supported</a> 2022’s Respect for Marriage Act. This federal legislation protects same-sex marriages performed in any state where they are legal, while also protecting religious institutions from having to perform them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a blazer signs something on a table with a sign reading 'The Respect for Marriage Act' as people look on." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510908/original/file-20230217-14-m5omw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer conduct a ceremony after the U.S. House passed the Respect for Marriage Act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/speaker-of-the-house-nancy-pelosi-d-calif-and-senate-news-photo/1245569074?phrase=%22respect%20for%20marriage%20act%22&adppopup=true">Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Joining the trend</h2>
<p>The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/transgender-understanding-yourself/what-is-the-churchs-position-on-transitioning?lang=eng">advises against gender transition</a> and notes that transgender people who medically or socially transition may incur restrictions to church membership. Yet it simultaneously acknowledges that some people are prescribed hormone therapy “to ease gender dysphoria” – a sense of incongruence between one’s internal sense of gender and one’s primary sex characteristics – or to “reduce suicidal thoughts.” The church urges members to research “the potential risks and benefits” for themselves or their child.</p>
<p>Utah’s recently passed bill, <a href="https://le.utah.gov/%7E2023/bills/static/SB0016.html">SB 16</a>, begins by aligning with the church’s guidelines of needing to understand potential risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy. As part of the law, the state will “conduct a systematic review of the medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments and provide recommendations to the Legislature.” </p>
<p>Until that review is complete, however, the bill implements a complete moratorium on any subsequent gender-affirming medical interventions for minors in Utah. </p>
<p>To be clear, gender-affirmative care, including hormone replacement therapy, has been deemed a medically necessary, safe and evidence-based treatment by the <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-reinforces-opposition-restrictions-transgender-medical-care">American Medical Association</a>, the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/About-APA/Organization-Documents-Policies/Policies/Position-Transgender-Gender-Diverse-Youth.pdf">American Psychiatric Association</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2162">American Academy of Pediatrics</a>.</p>
<p>Therefore, SB 16 seems <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2023/02/02/g-tyler-lefevor-james-s-mcgraw/">unlikely to improve</a> transgender youth’s mental or physical health. Instead, we agree with <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/03/anti-trans-bills-republicans-sports-bathroom-discrimination.html">other commentators</a> that its aims are political. </p>
<p>The focus on transgender health care in <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/party-affiliation/">solidly Republican Utah</a> is representative of how the GOP has turned opposition to transgender rights into a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/3839471-trump-vows-to-punish-doctors-hospitals-that-provide-gender-affirming-care-to-transgender-minors/">core political issue</a> over the past few years. In <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-politics-the-news-and-americans-polarized-attitudes-about-lgbtq-rights/">a 2022 survey from PRRI</a> (Public Religion Research Institute), 61% of Republicans expressed support for laws prohibiting children from gender-affirming health care, compared to 46% of independents and 22% of Democrats.</p>
<h2>Politics plus religion</h2>
<p>But it is this combination of politics and faith – not religion alone – that creates the current recipe for restricting transgender rights.</p>
<p>Consider that nationally, nearly 60% of Latter-day Saints and white evangelical Protestants – the two groups with the greatest religious representation <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/">among Utah residents</a> – support laws that prevent parents from allowing their children to receive gender-affirming medical care. This is a greater percentage than <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-politics-the-news-and-americans-polarized-attitudes-about-lgbtq-rights/">among any other religious group</a>, including Americans with no religious affiliation.</p>
<p>But denominational affiliation is just one factor shaping people’s beliefs. For example, among Latter-day Saints and white evangelicals who report that mainstream news is their most trusted TV news source, as opposed to outlets like Fox News or the far-right Newsmax, <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-politics-the-news-and-americans-polarized-attitudes-about-lgbtq-rights/">the percentage that supports such laws</a> is significantly lower: 49%. </p>
<p>A clear lesson from this data and the recent events in Utah is that legislation limiting LGBTQ rights is not the inevitable outgrowth of conservative religious beliefs. Although the Beehive State has passed laws like SB 16, it has also passed laws <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/12/utah-passes-mormon-backed-lgbt-anti-discrimination-bill">supporting LGBTQ rights</a>.</p>
<p>SB 16’s passage perpetuated a common assumption: that conservative religious beliefs all but guarantee opposition to transgender rights. As Utah illustrates, however, this is but a partial story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsy Burke receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tyler Lefevor receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute. </span></em></p>The relationship between faith, politics and LGBTQ rights is more complicated than it can appear at first glance.Kelsy Burke, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-LincolnTyler Lefevor, Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology, Utah State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1996222023-02-15T15:16:22Z2023-02-15T15:16:22ZWhy The Sims 4’s new inclusion of transgender and disabled sims matters<p>The Sims is one of the <a href="https://simscommunity.info/2020/01/30/the-sims-4-has-become-the-best-selling-base-game-in-the-franchise/">bestselling franchises</a> in gaming history. But unlike <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-of-war-ragnarok-breaks-new-ground-for-accessible-gaming-our-research-explains-what-more-developers-can-do-195401">most other AAA games</a> (high budget and high profile games produced by leading publishers), this open world life simulation game has no clear end goal.</p>
<p>Instead of following a quest format, the Sims offers gamers multiple possibilities for game play. Their simulated characters (known as “sims”) can work, socialise, develop skills and even age without being restricted to a linear path.</p>
<p>For example, players can train their sims to become renowned artists, devious thieves or culinary wizards. Their spare time can be spent on fun skill-building activities such as fishing, computer hacking or even ghost hunting. Sims can make friends, lose friends, get married, start families and eventually meet their end – with a grave their sim relatives can grieve over.</p>
<p>In its simulation of real world living, without real world limits, The Sims offers players the chance to embody characters that represent their true selves, aspirational selves, or an entirely different identity – it’s all down to the player’s choice.</p>
<p>In February 2023, The Sims 4 publisher EA Games released a <a href="https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/update-01-31-2023">free update</a> that added new ways to customise the appearance of sims. This included medical wearables, indluding hearing aids and glucose monitors, as well as <a href="https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-top-surgery-transgender-people">top surgery</a> scars (the scars from surgery which changes the look of a person’s chest), binders and shape wear to denote transgender characters.</p>
<p>The addition of these features enhances the game’s representation of players who identify as transgender or having disabilities – a diversity not offered in the game’s original release in 2000.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2cnHYMrxAhc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A trailer for The Sims 4’s Growing Together expansion pack.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of the nature of the life simulation game and the flexibility in how the game can be played, The Sims offers informal learning opportunities to its players. </p>
<p>The upcoming <a href="https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/news/the-sims-4-grow-together-guided-tour">Growing Together Expansion Pack</a>, for example, emphasises family interactions in which players can explore different ways to strengthen family bonds, take care of family members and raise a happy baby.</p>
<p>Players who identify as gender nonconforming or disabled can now, through The Sims, create a mirror of their reality and explore choices that may be more restricted in their real lives.</p>
<h2>How The Sims overcomes gamer stereotypes</h2>
<p>Gamers have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/feb/19/video-games-industry-diversity-women-people-of-colour">long been stereotyped</a> as white, male and heterosexual. Thanks to the increasing attention to <a href="https://intogames.org/news/edi">equality, diversity and inclusion</a> in the global market, the gaming industry has been including more characters from racial and ethnic minorities.</p>
<p>This includes the award-winning adventure series Life is Strange, which featured an Asian-American main character in its latest release, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/life-is-strange-true-colors-review/">True Colors</a> (2021), and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/uncharted-the-lost-legacy-review-more-of-a-very-good-thing-20170825-gy3znj.html">Uncharted: The Lost Legacy</a> (2017), the two female leads of which are Indian-Australian and African. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PNt1aSkYfWk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A trailer for True Colors (2021).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The representation of <a href="https://techtalk.currys.co.uk/tv-gaming/gaming/diversity-in-gaming/games-and-disabilities.html">disabled</a> and <a href="https://techtalk.currys.co.uk/tv-gaming/gaming/diversity-in-gaming/lgbtq-in-games.html">LGBTQ+</a> characters in games, however, has remained limited. This update from The Sims represents a major step in enabling some players to represent themselves in the gaming environment. </p>
<p>Not all players will find themselves represented, however. There is still no option to play as a sim in a wheelchair, for example, though some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iZp3trbSdQ">creative fans</a> have built <a href="https://www.makeuseof.com/mods-video-games/">mods</a> that allow them to do so.</p>
<h2>What will the impact be on players?</h2>
<p>Being able to play as diverse characters helps gamers to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/DTS-08-2022-0039">build up resilience</a> by exploring their identity through an avatar. The visibility of their identity in The Sims serves as reminder that they are not alone with their feelings of gender or functional diversity.</p>
<p>This diversity of playable characters also helps to <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/5/5462578/gaming-is-my-safe-space-gender-options-are-important-for-the">build connectedness</a> within the gaming community, as <a href="https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/01/the-sims-trans-character-customisation-mastectomy-scars-binders/">many gamers vocally support each other</a> and these developments.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large sign reads The Sims - fans stand beneath." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509449/original/file-20230210-16-b1udzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fans of The Sims attend an expo in Milan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/milan-italy-october-26-people-visit-160521356">Tinxi / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Sims 4 developments educate the values of equality, diversity and inclusion to gamers who don’t identify as minorities. Although not designed as an online multiplayer game – meaning players can’t interact with each other – non-minority gamers’ experiences interacting with the new character builds in The Sims may increase their familiarity and acceptance of others, which can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2013.835600">transferred to the real world</a>.</p>
<p>In the future, we can expect more inclusive and diverse features within character design, particularly in the online multiplayer games where young people interact and socialise with each other.</p>
<p>As a gaming expert, I will be interested to see how non-minority players respond when they can interact with disabled and trans characters within the virtual environment, who may or may not represent the identity of the player behind the screen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee Cheng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In its simulation of real world living, without real world limits, The Sims offers players the chance to embody characters that represent their true selves.Lee Cheng, Associate Professor in Games, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1986442023-02-06T13:29:53Z2023-02-06T13:29:53ZRights of transgender students and their parents are a challenge for schools, courts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507694/original/file-20230201-17339-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5852%2C3291&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The rights of transgender people are often in dispute, including in schools.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TransgenderYouthUtah/c0c366c44c6343c8915f5fd59c22a34d/photo">AP Photo/Rick Bowmer</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/science/transgender-teenagers-national-survey.html">increasing number</a> of elementary, middle and high school students in the U.S. have begun to identify as transgender, school leaders have struggled to figure out how to respond, and how – and whether – to communicate about their actions to parents. </p>
<p>In Maryland, for instance, <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/maryland/mddce/8:2020cv03552/487743/60/">three sets of parents filed a federal lawsuit</a> in 2020 that challenged school guidelines allowing students to express their gender identities at school. In some situations teachers and other school staff are asked not to notify parents they are doing so.</p>
<p>The federal trial court ruling, which has been appealed, determined that parents did not have a fundamental right to be informed promptly if their children chose to identify as another gender while at school.</p>
<p>The judge tried to balance both parents’ rights under the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/due_process">due process clause</a> of the Constitution and states’ <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/2014_vol_40/vol_40_no_2_civil_rights/educational_rights_states/">rights to regulate public education</a>, even if they conflict with parental wishes.</p>
<p>The judge found that while school board officials intended to ultimately inform parents, if educators had concerns about a child’s safety they would hold off on doing so.</p>
<p>The board’s rules, the judge wrote, “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23201110-parents-v-montgomery-county_opinion#page=11">keep a student’s gender identity confidential</a> … out of concern for the student’s well-being.” The rules also call for a “comprehensive gender support plan that anticipates and encourages eventual familial involvement wherever possible.”</p>
<p>In short, parents have a general right to know about their children’s activity in school. However, parental rights can be limited by students’ rights to privacy and personal safety.</p>
<p>The Maryland case is by no means the only case in which school officials have been caught between students’ right to privacy and parents’ right to know. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=T3b-g5YAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researchers</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=k_GuRaYAAAAJ">who</a> specialize in education law, we have analyzed similar cases in <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/iowa/iandce/1:2022cv00078/62349/38/">Iowa</a>, <a href="https://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Foote-v.-Ludlow-School-Committee-%20Complaint.pdf">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/wisconsin/supreme-court/2022/2020ap001032.html">Wisconsin</a> and <a href="https://www.whsv.com/2022/12/08/pieces-lawsuit-against-harrisonburg-city-schools-dismissed/">Virginia</a>. </p>
<p>Regardless of how the cases from Maryland and elsewhere play out, this issue is likely to continue to generate additional controversy and litigation.</p>
<h2>Parents’ rights vs. schools’ obligations</h2>
<p>Disagreements between parents and schools over education are not new. In 1925, in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/268/510">Pierce v. Society of Sisters</a>, a dispute from Oregon, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of parents to send their children to schools run outside the public education system.</p>
<p>The justices famously wrote: “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” This signaled clearly that parents have rights over how their children are raised and educated. </p>
<p>But the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet decided clearly where the rights of parents end and the rights of their children begin. As a result, an appellate court in New Jersey observed that courts have held that “<a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nj-superior-court-appellate-division/1473672.html">in certain circumstances</a> the parental right to control the upbringing of a child must give way to a school’s ability to control curriculum and the school environment.”</p>
<p>Courts have even decided that there may be times when school or other public officials have legitimate interests in intervening where parents would typically have free rein, to assist or protect children. For example, educators might choose to keep information about students’ gender identity from parents if school staff members have reason to believe the students would be kicked out of their houses, physically abused, or forced to participate in abusive counseling programs, such as <a href="https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Policy_Statements/2018/Conversion_Therapy.aspx">conversion therapy</a>.</p>
<h2>The role of students’ rights</h2>
<p>At the same time, school officials must ensure protection of students’ rights. In particular, many states have laws requiring school board officials to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/us/gender-identity-students-parents.html">protect their students from discrimination</a> and violations of privacy.</p>
<p>In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/17-1618">Bostock v. Clayton County</a>, interpreting <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964">Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964</a> as applying to people who are gay or transgender, the U.S. Department of Education told school boards across the country that they <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-confirms-title-ix-protects-students-%20discrimination-based-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity">cannot allow discrimination</a> on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.</p>
<p>School staff members have legal obligations to protect students’ privacy. According to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, “<a href="https://casetext.com/case/sterling-v-borough-of-minersville">It is difficult to imagine a more private matter than one’s sexuality</a> and a less likely probability that the government would have a legitimate interest in disclosure of sexual identity.”</p>
<p>Even so, schools often want <a href="https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/training-technical-assistance/education-level/early-learning/family-school-community-partnerships">parents to be involved</a> in their children’s education and the wider school community. This regularly puts educators in the sensitive position of having to protect student privacy while respecting parental rights to raise their children in accordance with their values.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen how courts will balance parental rights to direct the lives of their children and the role of educators in safeguarding the privacy rights of students – and whether the Supreme Court can, or will, ever set clearer rules in this important topic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Parents have a general right to know about their children’s activities in school, but that can be limited by students’ rights to privacy and personal safety.Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law, University of DaytonMaggie Paino, Ph.D. Student in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin-MadisonSuzanne Eckes, Susan S. Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy and Practice, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1934812022-11-30T11:28:03Z2022-11-30T11:28:03ZAs transgender employees become more common, here’s how workplaces can welcome diversity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497080/original/file-20221123-24-i0i9c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=141%2C94%2C2633%2C1353&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A workplace that supports diversity across all levels.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/businesspeople-working-together-office-lgbt-rainbow-2071475957">ProStockStudio / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The process for applying for a gender recognition certificate in the UK has become <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/response-to-gender-recognition-act-2004-consultation">easier</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gender-recognition-certificate-fee-reduced">cheaper</a> due to government changes in recent years. There has been a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gender-recognition-certificate-applications-and-outcomes/gender-recognition-certificate-applications-and-outcomes">slow increase</a> in the the number of people applying as a result. </p>
<p>It is also likely to become even easier to get a certificate in Scotland, where changes to the law governing gender recognition are <a href="https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/gender-recognition-reform-scotland-bill">currently being debated</a>. This will have a knock-on effect for businesses by boosting the participation and visibility of transgender people in the workplace.</p>
<p>But it’s not just legislation that needs to change. Alarmingly, one piece of research found that almost a third of employers said they would <a href="https://www.crosslandsolicitors.com/site/hr-hub/transgender-discrimination-in-UK-workplaces">not employ trans people</a>, with 74% stating they have never knowingly worked with a trans person. </p>
<p>Other research shows 30% of LGBT+ people believe senior management would be <a href="https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/lgbtplus-employees-pressured-to-act-straight-in-order-to-progress">more likely to promote non-LGBT+ colleagues</a> because they have more in common with them, while 28% say they have been actively discriminated against in the promotion process. A further 62% believe they have to code-switch and act “straight” in order to progress at work.</p>
<p>It’s unsurprising then that half of trans people hide their identity at work for fear of discrimination, according to a report by LGBTQ+ rights charity <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/media-statement/stonewall-reveals-coming-out-work-still-problem">Stonewall</a>. As such, as workplace diversity continues to increase, creating a more welcoming company culture should be a priority for businesses.</p>
<h2>Why diversity helps companies</h2>
<p>A diverse workforce can bring many benefits. It fosters innovation, as well as different ways of thinking and acting, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/484855/The_recruitment_and_retention_of_transgender_staff-_guidance_for_employers.pdf">providing a competitive edge</a>. Unsurprisingly, organisations with trans-inclusive workplace policies <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/creating-a-trans-inclusive-workplace">tend to employ more trans people</a> and are therefore more diverse places to work. But research by the <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/1-5-workplaces-do-not-have-any-policies-support-lgbt-staff-tuc-poll">Trades Union Congress</a> shows one in five workplaces still do not have LGBT policies. </p>
<p>Recognising this, <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/top-100-employers-2022">campaign groups</a> and <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/ie-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity/struggle-trans-and-gender-diverse-persons">international organisations like the UN</a> are increasingly promoting best practice for creating more inclusive workplaces. Companies are also being confronted by regulations and rulings in favour of trans employees that have experienced discrimination. </p>
<p>In a 2017 employment tribunal case, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/miss-a-de-souza-e-souza-v-primark-strores-ltd-2206063-2017">de Souza v Primark</a>, the employee was <a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/news/primark-to-pay-47000-over-transgender-discrimination">awarded over £47,000</a> for constructive unfair dismissal and direct discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment based around her preferred name being used at work and the reaction by staff members to this request. </p>
<p>As well as awarding compensation, the tribunal recommended that the employer, the Irish retailer Primark, should:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>adopt a written policy on how to deal with new or existing staff who are
transgender or who wish to undergo gender reassignment</p></li>
<li><p>reference a confidentiality policy for transgender new starters in training materials for managers</p></li>
<li><p>amend the materials used for equality training of staff, management and
HR to include, if not already there, references to transgender
discrimination</p></li>
<li><p>add these references into management training materials for handling grievances</p></li>
<li><p>ensure that transgender discrimination and harassment is referred to in
all equality and harassment policies along with any other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Improving workplace culture</h2>
<p>In line with such rulings, as well as the updates to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gender-recognition-application-modernised">gender recognition application process</a>, HR departments can play a key role in shaping and moulding workplace culture to support trans employees’ needs. The focus should be on making everyone feel welcome in the workplace. </p>
<p>oi<a href="https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/responsible-business/inclusion-and-diversity/lgbt.html">Lloyds Banking group</a> has implemented such policies, including social media campaigns, flying pride flags at 35 of its main locations, promoting Transgender Day of Visibility and creating an LGBT+ colleague network. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A rainbow flag on a flagpole in front of a modern silver building facade -- Lloyds building in the City of London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497083/original/file-20221123-18-8w5m38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rainbow flag in front of Lloyds building, City of London, February 23, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-february-23-2021-rainbow-1953638068">IR Stone / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But it’s also important for companies to avoid the “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258199703_Equal_Opportunities_Policy_and_Practice_in_Britain_Evaluating_the_%27Empty_Shell%27_Hypothesis">empty shell hypothesis</a>”. This is when equal opportunities policies contain nothing of substance or value to the victims of discrimination. To combat this, organisations need to take a continuous approach to instilling the right culture. </p>
<p>To do this, HR departments can:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>use training and education to reduce confusion and lack of knowledge around trans rights</p></li>
<li><p>improve line manager confidence in being able to speak to employees about their rights and how they would like to be treated in the workplace</p></li>
<li><p>address the practical, day-to-day challenges that trans people encounter in the workplace such as providing gender-neutral toilets, having robust data systems with correct details and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/10/british-airways-male-crew-piercings-makeup-gender">updating dress codes to suit all staff</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Getting advice from trans people, trade unions and expert third parties can help make such policies fit for purpose. And any changes should cascade throughout an organisation so they are <a href="https://www.acas.org.uk/supporting-trans-employees-in-the-workplace/html">fully implemented</a>. With company policies embedded at all levels, as well as the use of <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/stonewall-champions">networks and workplace champions</a>, reinforcing cultural change in this way should provide ample support for all employees.</p>
<p>The state also has a role to play in supporting trans employees’ self-esteem and self-respect. Positive actions that promote acceptance in government workplaces could inspire adoption in other sectors. But the biggest impact HR can have on supporting trans employees is by raising awareness and achieving cultural change at all levels of every workplace.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193481/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Making workplaces more welcoming is becoming more important as applying for a gender recognition certification becomes easier.Jonathan Lord, Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Employment Law, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1771972022-03-31T12:44:37Z2022-03-31T12:44:37ZTransgender women are finding some respect in India, but a traditional gender-nonconforming group – hijras – remains stigmatized<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455281/original/file-20220330-5792-b9nwvi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6559%2C4381&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the Association of Transgender and Hijra at Bengal light a lamp to mark Transgender Day of Bengal in Kolkata, India, in 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IndiaTrangenders/150991d3665046a694f2f9d7c125ce8e/photo?Query=hijra%20india&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=15&currentItemNo=13">AP Photo/Bikas Das</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The confirmation of Rachel Levine, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dr-rachel-levine-becomes-first-openly-transgender-person-confirmed-senate-n1262000">the first openly transgender federal official in the U.S., as assistant secretary to Department of Health and Human Services</a>, showed the progress toward acceptance that transgender people have recently made in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/latin-americas-trans-politicians-gain-ground-dangerous-region-2022-03-09/">many parts of the world</a>. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/indiana-iowa-and-texas-advance-anti-transgender-agendas-part-of-a-longtime-strategy-by-conservatives-to-rally-their-base-178377">intense</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/19/hungary-votes-to-end-legal-recognition-of-trans-people">pushback</a>, trans people <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Trans-Lives-in-a-Globalizing-World-Rights-Identities-and-Politics/Ryan/p/book/9780367193348">all over the world</a> are finding more courage to live openly. </p>
<p>There is greater acceptance for transgender people in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-levine-lgbt/factbox-transgender-politicians-and-government-officials-around-the-world-idUSKBN2BH1U4">high-level government positions</a>, <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/package/diversity-in-academe-transgender-on-campus/">colleges</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/us/boy-scouts-transgender-membership/index.html">extracurricular activities</a>, among other areas. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243220932275">my ethnographic research on transgender identities in India</a> shows an intriguing paradox – claiming trans identities can <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/28/us/pride-identity.html">appear progressive</a> for some, but it can also marginalize other gender-nonconforming groups.</p>
<h2>Who are hijras?</h2>
<p>While conducting research in India, I found many people who identified themselves as transgender women. This surprised me, because India has a well-established category for gender-nonconforming people whose gender was assigned as male at birth – a group known as <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo3534006.html">hijras</a>. </p>
<p>The hijra community is said to go back to antiquity. Hijras created their own communities where they live and work together in <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Neither_Man_Nor_Woman.html?id=K1sbAAAAYAAJ">households known as hamaams</a>, as they are excluded from the mainstream society. They often <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo3534006.html">run away from their birth families as teenagers</a> because of abuse for their gender expression or perceived sexuality. Hijras often live in urban areas, but there are also <a href="https://www.fordhampress.com/9780823294718/hijras-lovers-brothers/">those who live in rural areas</a>. </p>
<p>Hijras usually do sex work and solicit money because they are excluded from other employment and educational systems. Among the mainstream public, hijras are perhaps best known for their <a href="https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/lgbt-gender-studies/badhai-hijrakhwaja-siratrans,adnan-hossain-claire-pamment-jeff-roy-9781350174535">uninvited performances</a> at ceremonial occasions, like weddings and birth celebrations, where they request large donations. In 2014, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/supreme-court-recognizes-transgenders-as-third-gender/articleshow/33767900.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst">India recognized</a> hijras and other gender-nonconforming people as part of a “third gender” category. However, despite the court ruling and outreach by nongovernmental organizations, hijras remain a <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo3534006.html">stigmatized and marginalized</a> community. </p>
<h2>Transgender women vs. hijras</h2>
<p>At the same time, throughout India, the number of people who identify themselves as transgender women is growing. Over 18 months, between 2009 and 2016, I spoke with over 75 trans women, hijras and other members of the sexual and gender minority community in Bengaluru. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Indians from the LGBTQ community in colorful dresses walking in a Queer Pride parade, while holding the six-color pride flag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455051/original/file-20220329-19-1u838l5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People from India’s LGBTQ community during a Delhi Queer Pride event in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IndiaQueerPride/8c5b7a4629e0477a87d5a950a8829fce/photo?Query=india%20transgender%20women&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=19&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Saurabh Das</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Media <a href="https://www.shethepeople.tv/drafts/transgender-women-trailblazers-fields">representations</a> depict trans women as enjoying <a href="https://homegrown.co.in/article/44544/meet-7-of-indias-transgender-icons-thriving-despite-social-taboo">newfound</a> <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/first-transgender-police-officer-of-india-969654-2017-04-05">opportunity</a> and <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/list-of-transgenders-firsts-who-made-it-big-in-their-fields-1276415-2018-07-03">social progress</a>. By contrast, popular depictions of hijras show them associated with stigmatized jobs, poverty and backwardness.</p>
<p>Most trans women I spoke with, like hijras, were from working-class backgrounds. These trans women are pursuing the kind of upward mobility and respectability that’s often denied to hijras. They do this partly by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243220932275">emphasizing the ways they are different from hijras</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Trans women position themselves as belonging to the respectable middle class, in contrast to hijras, who face entrenched stigmatization in society. They do this by adopting <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Globalisation-and-the-Middle-Classes-in-India-The-Social-and-Cultural-Impact/Ganguly-Scrase-Scrase/p/book/9780415596145">middle-class markers</a> like education and claims of being “modern.” </p>
<p>During one conversation, I asked a shy young person wearing a deep green sari if she was from the hijra community. Before she could answer, her friend jumped in, explaining, “The people who are … living in the hamaams, following the tradition of the hamaams, they are called hijras. She’s a modern girl; she’s educated, she’s literate. She’s called transgender.” </p>
<p>Many trans women that I spoke with discussed working in “office jobs,” referring to white-collar jobs, especially with NGOs. Office employment is important because it allows trans women middle-class respectability, which is not available to hijras.</p>
<p>Suma, a trans woman in her early 30s, explained how such employment connected with the desire for middle-class status. She observed, “Everyone has to work, but dignity is very important. Begging and sex work are not bringing you any dignity.” </p>
<h2>‘I am not a hijra’</h2>
<p>The distinction between claiming a trans woman identity or a hijra identity is perhaps most apparent in an online media photo series from 2016 titled “<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/andreborges/15-beautiful-confident-transgender-indians-shut-down-stereot">I am Not a Hijra</a>.” The 16 photos in the series show primarily feminine trans people holding signs that claim trans identities and emphasize their difference from hijras. Like the trans women I spoke with, these trans people emphasize how their employment – and, thus, class – status is a key marker of this difference.</p>
<p>For these trans women, identifying as transgender, and not as hijras, is important for upward mobility. They want to be understood as different from hijras, because hijras are stigmatized and excluded. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, in their quest for respect, trans women end up reinforcing the stigma and inequalities suffered by hijras.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Mount received funding from The American Institute of Indian Studies to conduct this research. </span></em></p>A sociologist explains that the ability to claim transgender identities in India may appear progressive, but this can further marginalize historically stigmatized gender-nonconforming groups.Liz Mount, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Flagler CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1783772022-03-04T13:22:17Z2022-03-04T13:22:17ZIndiana, Iowa and Texas advance anti-transgender agendas – part of a longtime strategy by conservatives to rally their base<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449614/original/file-20220302-25-wuo8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C5913%2C3939&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conservatives see anti-transgender bills as fair game.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IndianaLegislatureSchools/d8b9e551455644ec949307a3b5333084/photo?Query=transgender%20school&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=453&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Michael Conroy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Transgender girls in Iowa will no longer be allowed to compete in girls’ sports – the latest in a rash of anti-trans initiatives sweeping across the United States.</p>
<p>On March 3, 2022, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084278181/transgender-girls-and-women-now-barred-from-female-sports-in-iowa">Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law</a> legislation that affects transgender girls and women wanting to compete in accordance to their gender identity.</p>
<p>It comes just days after legislators in Indiana <a href="https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/lawmakers-send-trans-girls-sports-ban-to-governor-holcomb/">advanced a similar bill</a> aimed at K-12 trans students.</p>
<p>That proposed legislation will now go to the Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has previously <a href="https://www.whas11.com/article/news/education/indiana-transgender-athlete-ban-bill-governor-holcomb-lawmakers-sports/417-01596cf5-87f0-4b22-b71d-ea1b2e3d2547">indicated a willingness</a> to sign the bill into law. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Texas, it emerged that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/us/texas-child-abuse-trans-youth.html">officials had begun investigating</a> the parents of transgender boys and girls for alleged child abuse. This follows an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/23/greg-abbott-gender-affirming-care-child-abuse-directive/">order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott</a> requiring “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/science/texas-abbott-transgender-child-abuse.html">doctors, nurses and teachers</a>” to report as child abuse any instance of a young person using puberty blockers or other <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-a-pediatrician-who-cares-for-transgender-kids-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-social-support-puberty-blockers-and-other-medical-options-that-improve-lives-of-transgender-youth-157285">gender-affirming medical treatments</a>. The order allows for criminal penalties to be imposed on those who refuse to comply and on the parents of transgender children. A judge has <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/02/1084092301/a-judge-has-blocked-a-texas-investigation-of-one-transgender-teens-parents">halted the investigation</a> into the parents of one trans teen, but set aside a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/02/texas-transgender-child-abuse-injunction/">broader ruling on the directive</a> until a hearing on March 11.</p>
<p>Indiana, Iowa and Texas are far from being the only states advancing an anti-transgender agenda. More than 30 states initiated anti-trans legislation in 2021 alone, and at least <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/least-7-states-proposed-anti-trans-bills-first-week-2022-rcna11205">seven more have done so this year to date</a>.</p>
<p>These anti-transgender health care bills and legal interpretations are part of a package of initiatives that mark 2021 as a “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-lawmaking-trfn/2021-is-worst-year-for-gay-and-trans-rights-in-war-on-lgbt-americans-idUSKBN2CS2EP">record-breaking year</a>” for anti-LGBTQ policies introduced in state legislatures across the country according to the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. And 2022 is already on track to <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/anti-lgbtq-legislation-2022-equality-act-hrc-philadelphia-20220302.html">surpass this record</a>.</p>
<p>These efforts include bills that will bar transgender athletes from participating in student sports, such as in Indiana and Iowa, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/florida-house-passes-dont-say-gay-bill-rcna17532">and prohibit</a>, or <a href="https://www.wpr.org/republican-bill-would-require-schools-notify-parents-teaching-programs-sexual-orientation-gender">require parental notification</a> of, any school curriculum that references sexual orientation or gender identity. One additional variety – <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/governor-approves-limiting-sex-change-birth-certificates-77429581">signed into law</a> in April 2021 by Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte – requires gender reassignment surgery before any individual can change the sex marker on their birth certificate. </p>
<p>So far, anti-transgender athlete bills have gained the most traction. Despite consistent <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/04/16/987765777/republicans-and-democrats-largely-oppose-transgender-sports-legislation-poll-sho">public opposition</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/least-7-states-proposed-anti-trans-bills-first-week-2022-rcna11205">more than 30 states</a> have now considered barring transgender athletes from playing on teams that match their gender identity. Ten states have already enacted bans on transgender student athletes through <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-12-01/these-states-restrict-how-transgender-students-participate-in-school-sports">legislation or executive order</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://polisci.uoregon.edu/profile/gash/">civil rights scholar</a>, I have found that campaigns that mischaracterize LGBTQ-supportive policies as harmful to young people are a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2018.1441721">staple strategy</a> conservatives use to galvanize their base.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Andrew Bostad, a transgender youth, sitting on the sofa at home with his mother and stepfather." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397964/original/file-20210429-21-lw5psr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Andrew Bostad, center, his mother, Brandi Evans, and stepdad, Jimmy Evans, at their home in Bauxite, Arkansas, on April 15, 2021. Andrew is one of hundreds of transgender youth in Arkansas who could have their hormone therapy cut off under a new state law.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TransgenderYouthMedicalBan/0ebbbee2f72e43f29f4e24de9021f390/photo?Query=transgender%20AND%20youth&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=104&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Save our Children’</h2>
<p>Anti-gay activist and Florida orange juice queen Anita Bryant first perfected the strategy in the 1970s to oppose ordinances prohibiting sexuality-based discrimination. Bryant’s “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/03/27/gay-rights-fight-shaping-up-in-miami/e4f596c1-f8e0-4785-b528-599077a478ba/">Save our Children</a>” campaign demonized gays and lesbians as “recruiting children.” Bryant successfully encouraged voters to oppose legislative attempts to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination and prompted Florida legislators to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132133&page=1">bar same-sex couples from adopting children</a>, a law that was <a href="https://www.eqfl.org/Adoption">overturned</a> in 2010. </p>
<p>In the late 1990s and early 2000s, conservatives prompted over 40 states to bar same-sex marriage on the basis that <a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190201159.001.0001/acprof-9780190201159">all children could be at risk</a> – those raised by same-sex couples and those introduced to marriage equality at school.</p>
<p>In 2015, when the Supreme Court overturned these bans in the landmark case <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/">Obergefell v. Hodges</a>, conservatives began targeting transgender rights. </p>
<p>Conservatives again trained their focus on nondiscrimination measures – this time those prohibiting gender identity discrimination. They misleadingly argued that any measure protecting transgender individuals would place cisgender girls and women – individuals whose gender identity and birth-assigned sex are both female – at risk by <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/health-family/article74652892.html">allowing men dressed as women</a> to use women’s locker rooms and restrooms. </p>
<p>There is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z">no evidence</a> supporting this claim. Yet there is <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/transgender-teens-restricted-bathroom-access-sexual-assault/">significant evidence</a> of health and safety <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/without-federal-protections-trans-students-face-potential-health-crisis-n725156">risks to transgender students</a> if they are prohibited from using bathrooms that reflect their gender identity.</p>
<h2>Significant costs</h2>
<p>Anti-transgender athlete and health care bills follow a similar approach. Advocates for bills targeting trans female athletes claim that transgender teammates will “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transgender-rights-biden-sports/2021/03/03/24d1645e-7c38-11eb-a976-c028a4215c78_story.html">ruin women’s sports forever</a>.” </p>
<p>Supporters of anti-trans health care bills claim that children are being pressured to employ these therapies, by physicians and parents, and <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/flurry-of-bills-aim-to-set-limits-on-transgender-kids-and-their-doctors/">describe the effects as permanent and scarring</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-arkansas-law-and-similar-bills-endanger-transgender-youth-research-shows/">There is little empirical evidence</a> to back up these assertions. Puberty blockers are an increasingly common treatment precisely because they provide a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/22/18009020/transgender-children-teens-transition-detransition-puberty-blocking-medication">reversible and less invasive</a> option for transgender adolescents and are provided only with the patient’s fully informed consent. Cross-gender hormone treatments, which are typically provided in later adolescence, are also <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-arkansas-law-and-similar-bills-endanger-transgender-youth-research-shows/">relatively low-risk</a>. </p>
<p>And there is little evidence to suggest that transgender female athletes in K-12 settings are unfairly outcompeting their cisgender competitors – <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/22334014/trans-athletes-bills-explained">particularly if they have been on puberty blockers</a>. In fact, conservative legislators have pointed to only one instance in their campaigns, when <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/15/transgender-athletes-womens-sports-title-ix/">two trans female athletes</a> in Connecticut took first and second place in a 2017 statewide track tournament. Several cisgender female athletes who lost, unsuccessfully <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/judge-tosses-suit-sought-block-transgender-athletes-rcna758">attempted to sue</a> state officials for permitting transgender athletes to compete.</p>
<p>A far more common story is the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawmakers-unable-to-cite-local-trans-girls-sports-914a982545e943ecc1e265e8c41042e7">relative obscurity</a> of transgender athletes in women’s sports and their similarities with their cisgender teammates. <a href="https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2021/04/09/amid-lgbtq-rights-debate-few-trans-kids-play-in-high-school-sports-in-nc/">Many of the states</a> considering the legislation have no known trans female athletes or have trans female athletes who are performing on par with cisgender female teammates. </p>
<p>And even the cisgender Connecticut athletes who attempted to sue state officials had <a href="https://www.courant.com/sports/high-schools/hc-sp-chelsea-mitchell-terry-miller-55-meter-dash-state-open-20200222-zdwb7shfbnfrxajs2hgmdwutbi-story.html">prevailed</a> in several championship races against their transgender competitors shortly after filing their lawsuit. </p>
<p>But none of this has prevented bill supporters from stoking fears.</p>
<p>Researchers and healthcare providers do know, however, that the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/04/11/beyond-bathroom-report-shows-laws-harm-transgender-students/100265266/">bills will harm</a> transgender young people.</p>
<p>Prohibiting gender-affirming care, like puberty blockers, or barring transgender-inclusive athletic teams imposes <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/04/22/transgender-child-sports-treatments/">real and devastating risks on transgender youths</a>. Transgender people who do not have access to the kinds of hormone therapies that are being outlawed are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.051">four times more likely</a> than cisgender people to struggle with depression.</p>
<p>They are also <a href="https://www.ustranssurvey.org/reports#USTS">nine times</a> more likely than cisgender individuals to attempt suicide.</p>
<p>Put simply, gender-affirming policies and <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-a-pediatrician-who-cares-for-transgender-kids-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-social-support-puberty-blockers-and-other-medical-options-that-improve-lives-of-transgender-youth-157285">supportive health care therapies</a> are <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/puberty-blockers-linked-lower-suicide-risk-transgender-people-n1122101">lifesaving</a>. </p>
<p>Furthermore, if upheld in court, the athlete bills could require any female athlete to “prove” their gender to participate, potentially through <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/548534-floridas-new-ban-on-transgender-students-in-sports-would">invasive physical examinations</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bus, painted with the words 'boys are boys' and 'girls are girls,' is parked on a Boston street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397965/original/file-20210429-21-f9nt1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘Free Speech Bus,’ painted with the words ‘boys are boys’ and ‘girls are girls,’ is parked on a Boston street on March 30, 2017. A spokesman for the group behind the bus said organizers are pushing back against greater acceptance of transgender people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Anti-TransgenderBus/fb0141f0fc0e43e88340a604cabf5566/photo?Query=anti-transgender&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=26&currentItemNo=9">AP Photo/Steven Senne</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Political landscape</h2>
<p>Conservatives may be using these bills – which some describe as “<a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/03/anti-trans-bills-republicans-sports-bathroom-discrimination.html">erasing transgender youth</a>” – to catalyze Republican voters to participate in upcoming <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/05/gop-transgender-rights-women-sports-473746">midterm elections</a>. And the strategy could work. </p>
<p>Attempts to bar transgender athletes appeal to at least some <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/5/20840101/terfs-radical-feminists-gender-critical">self-described feminists</a>. And some high-profile women’s athletes have joined the fray, convening the <a href="https://womenssportspolicy.org/about-us/#mission">Women’s Sports Policy Working Group</a> in order to “<a href="https://ctmirror.org/2019/07/22/transgender-issues-polarizes-womens-advocates-a-conundrum/">protect</a>” cisgender female athletes from trans athlete inclusion.</p>
<p>Conservatives also used anti-trans-athlete talking points to oppose the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/24/969591569/house-to-vote-on-equality-act-heres-what-the-law-would-do">Equality Act</a>, a bill that would have added prohibitions against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination to existing federal civil rights bills. The House passed a similar measure in 2021, but it failed to pass the Senate.</p>
<p>Transgender advocates have some recourse to fight the bills. <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/ncaa-board-governors-statement-transgender-participation">Corporate backlash</a> is one option. Litigation is another. Advocates for transgender rights have secured <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/03/transgender-rights-supreme-court-win-propels-lower-court-victories/5647161002/">legal victories</a> in state and federal court challenges involving bathrooms and locker rooms. More recently, a federal judge in Idaho blocked that state’s anti-<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/us/idaho-transgender-athletes-ban-blocked/index.html">transgender athletes</a> bill passed in 2020. </p>
<p>And the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/bostock-v-clayton-county-georgia/">Bostock v. Clayton County</a>, which protects LGBTQ individuals from certain forms of discrimination, seems at first blush to support transgender student equality. But the Bostock case is relatively new, its application to sports and health care untested and political fervor is mounting. With a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/26/politics/supreme-court-conservative/index.html">solid conservative majority</a> on the Supreme Court – and in <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/majority-of-u-s-appeals-courts-now-have-gop-appointed-edge">federal courts</a> across the country – legal battles may be unreliable.</p>
<p>In the meantime, transgender young people across the country are contemplating a more uncertain and dangerous future for themselves and their parents. Some are working with their parents to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/04/12/arkansas-trans-minors-law-endangers-lives-snubs-doctors-experts-say/7144794002/">find out-of-state sources</a> for puberty blockers. Others are contemplating <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/it-s-not-safe-parents-transgender-kids-plan-flee-their-n1264506">moves to less hostile</a> states. All of this because conservatives have channeled trumped-up claims into harmful legislation that outlaws and endangers transgender youth, in an attempt to further divide American voters.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-transgender-bills-are-latest-version-of-conservatives-longtime-strategy-to-rally-their-base-158296">article originally published</a> on May 6, 2021.</em></p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s Politics + Society editors pick need-to-know stories.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=politics&source=inline-politics-need-to-know">Sign up for Politics Weekly</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Gash does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bills barring transgender teens from girls’ sports and moves to investigate parents of trans children for potential crimes provide an uncertain and dangerous future for many.Alison Gash, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767882022-02-15T00:29:19Z2022-02-15T00:29:19ZYes, words can harm young trans people. Here’s what we can do to help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446205/original/file-20220214-108557-1018797.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-cheerful-woman-expression-sadness-blue-1437974213">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>All children and adolescents <a href="https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version">have the right</a> to live free from discrimination. However, the public debate last week around the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/what-s-the-proposed-religious-discrimination-law-about-20211129-p59d6q.html">proposed religious discrimination bill</a> threatened this right.</p>
<p>While the bill <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/10/whats-happened-to-the-religious-discrimination-bill-and-where-to-next">has been shelved</a>, the debate is a continuation of a discussion in which the existence, rights, and lives of trans children and adolescents have been called into question both in Australia and overseas.</p>
<p>These young people have endured intensified <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003138556-15/australians-diverse-sexual-orientations-gender-identities-cristyn-davies-kerry-robinson-atari-metcalf-kimberley-ivory-julie-mooney-somers-kane-race-rachel-skinner">stigma and discrimination</a> that negatively impacts their health and well-being. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-will-never-be-considered-human-the-devastating-trauma-lgbtq-people-suffer-in-religious-settings-176360">'I will never be considered human': the devastating trauma LGBTQ+ people suffer in religious settings</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Poorer health outcomes</h2>
<p>Trans people make up between <a href="https://gdhr.wa.gov.au/-/2018-6th-national-survey-of-australian-secondary-students-and-sexual-health">2.3%</a> to <a href="https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/research-impact-policy-advocacy/youth-survey">3.7%</a> of Australia’s youth population. </p>
<p>Although many trans people live healthy, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2022/feb/09/young-trans-people-around-australia-are-seeing-the-news-and-hearing-that-they-are-not-worthy-of-protection">fulfilled lives</a>, <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/141/5/e20173845/37843/Mental-Health-of-Transgender-and-Gender">research</a> from overseas shows a disproportionate number have poorer mental health than their peers. </p>
<p>Recent Australian studies paint a similar picture. <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1198945/Writing-Themselves-In-4-National-report.pdf">One study</a> found:</p>
<ul>
<li>90% of trans young people experienced high or very high psychological distress in the previous four weeks</li>
<li>54% had self-harmed</li>
<li>71% reported suicidal ideation</li>
<li>14% had attempted suicide in the preceding 12 months</li>
<li>38% reported having attempted suicide at some point in their life. </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-half-of-trans-young-people-try-to-end-their-lives-how-can-we-reduce-this-alarming-statistic-83221">Almost half of trans young people try to end their lives. How can we reduce this alarming statistic?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lgbtihealth/pages/549/attachments/original/1620871703/2021_Snapshot_of_Mental_Health2.pdf?1620871703">Another study</a> found trans young people in Australia were 15 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population.</p>
<h2>Minority stress</h2>
<p>Minority stress arises from the social, psychological and structural discrimination associated with belonging to a <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003138556-15/australians-diverse-sexual-orientations-gender-identities-cristyn-davies-kerry-robinson-atari-metcalf-kimberley-ivory-julie-mooney-somers-kane-race-rachel-skinner">stigmatised minority group</a>. </p>
<p>Negative media commentary can directly contribute to minority stress among trans people, as can legislation and policies that seek to exclude trans individuals from schools and workplaces. </p>
<p>Negative representations of trans children and adolescents in the media shape public attitudes and practices. This can not only stoke fear and mistrust that further marginalises trans young people, but also lead to violence against them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young trans person writes on a notepad, while listening to music." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446221/original/file-20220214-21-1nhgty4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Negative media representations marginalise young trans people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/transgender-teenager-headphones-microphone-studying-front-2105149364">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Australia, <a href="http://samwinter.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/17-2019-Strauss-Psychological-Medicine-Associations-between-negative-life-experiences-and-the-mental-health-of-trans-and-gender-diverse-young-people-in-Australia.pdf">one study</a> found 89% of trans young people had experienced peer rejection. Some 74% had experienced bullying, while 69% had experienced discrimination. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1198945/Writing-Themselves-In-4-National-report.pdf">Another study</a> found 68% of trans young people in Australia had felt uncomfortable or unsafe in their educational setting because of their gender or sexuality diversity. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lgbtihealth/pages/549/attachments/original/1620871703/2021_Snapshot_of_Mental_Health2.pdf?1620871703">third study</a> found young trans Australians were four times more likely to have experienced sexual violence or coercion. </p>
<p>Public debate about trans young people also impacts their families. For instance, a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-67997-001">recent study</a> reported parents of trans children and adolescents in the United States experienced significant stress as a result of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/15/politics/anti-transgender-legislation-2021/index.html">legislation introduced</a> to prevent young trans people accessing medical and surgical <a href="https://www.transhub.org.au/language">gender affirmation</a>.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, parents viewed these bills as increasing stigma towards their child and the broader trans community. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young trans child washes dishes next to his mother." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446224/original/file-20220214-13-p7ehcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Public debates about trans rights can be distressing for trans young people and their families.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/poor-mature-mother-small-daughter-washing-1940880535">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Health harms of public debate</h2>
<p>Apart from fostering stigma and discrimination, public debate about trans people can also negatively impact their health. </p>
<p>Physical activity in adolescence is important for long-term health. Trans young people already experience multiple <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13573322.2021.1897561">barriers</a> to participating in <a href="https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:55635">sport and physical activity</a>. Public commentary questioning involvement of trans people in sport acts as a further obstacle. </p>
<p>Negative press coverage about affirmative health care for trans young people has also <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2788580">been associated</a> with reduced referral rates to specialist paediatric gender clinics overseas, and highlights the role public debate <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2788585">is likely to play in reducing access to such care</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-way-we-approach-transgender-and-non-binary-healthcare-needs-to-change-149816">Why the way we approach transgender and non-binary healthcare needs to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31964610/">trans young people report</a> exposure to negative news stories adversely affects their mental health by provoking experiences of depression, anxiety, and/or fear. </p>
<h2>So what can we do to help?</h2>
<p>Strikingly, previous research has shown when trans young people are supported and their gender is affirmed, they have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4771131/">similar mental health outcomes</a> to their cisgender peers. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3838484/">parental support no doubt plays a key role</a>, emerging <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2021.1949975">evidence</a> indicates having <a href="https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws%3A59222">safe and supportive schools</a> is critical too. </p>
<p>School safety and connectedness, for example, are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33594611/">protective factors</a> against depression, self-harm, and suicide attempts. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-020-01391-y">peer and school support</a> provide a buffer against the negative impact of gender-related victimisation on mental health. </p>
<p>Policies and procedures that enable a trans young person’s gender, name and <a href="https://www.transhub.org.au/pronouns">pronouns</a> to be accurately recorded are also important. <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanpub/PIIS2468-2667(20)30032-3.pdf">Research</a> shows having identity documents that match one’s affirmed gender is associated with lower rates of serious psychological distress and suicidal thoughts and planning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-gender-pronouns-and-why-is-it-important-to-use-the-right-ones-169025">What are gender pronouns and why is it important to use the right ones?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finally, the media itself may help to promote better health for trans young people. For instance, trans adolescents have reported experiencing <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31964610/">happiness and increased hope</a> after exposure to positive news reports about other trans people. </p>
<p>Trans young people flourish with support from family, friends, and the broader community. Hopefully, future commentary about trans young people’s rights takes this into account. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you or your child, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.</em></p>
<p><em>Correction: this article has been updated since publication to clarify that the protective effects reported in two studies related to suicidality, which is a term that covers suicide attempts, thoughts and/or planning. In the previous version, the term suicidality was replaced at the editing stage with suicide, which has a different meaning.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristyn Davies reports voluntarily being co-chair of the Human Rights Council of Australia; co-chair of the Child and Youth Special Interest Group for the Public Health Association of Australia; an ambassador to Twenty10 Incorporating the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service of New South Wales; and a member of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (and its research committee). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandra Chinsen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ken Pang is a paediatrician at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. He receives research funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation, and the Hugh D T Williamson Foundation. He is a member of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (and its research committee).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Skinner is a paediatrician in Adolescent Medicine at Sydney Children’s Hospital Network and Senior Clinical Advisor in Youth and Wellbeing at the NSW Ministry of Health. She holds research funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. She is a member of the Australian Association for Adolescent Health; the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerry H. Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trans young people flourish with support from family, friends, and the broader community. Future commentary about trans young people’s rights needs to take this into account.Cristyn Davies, Research Fellow in Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of SydneyAlessandra Chinsen, PhD candidate, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteKen Pang, Team Leader, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteKerry H. Robinson, Professor in Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney UniversityRachel Skinner, Professor in Paediatrics, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1733152022-01-18T13:40:06Z2022-01-18T13:40:06ZMore than masks and critical race theory – 3 tasks you should be prepared to do before you run for school board<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440547/original/file-20220112-35588-1rkswn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C0%2C5500%2C3691&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School board elections are increasingly contested. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chris-tough-reacts-in-objection-during-a-portland-public-news-photo/1236153993?adppopup=true">Nathan Howard/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people run for school board these days, they often are motivated to <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Conflicts_in_school_board_elections,_2021-2022">campaign on a controverisial topic</a>. That’s according to Ballotpedia, a nonprofit that tracks political elections in the U.S.</p>
<p>In an analysis of school board elections in <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/School_board_elections,_2021">463 school districts in 2021</a>, the organization found elections that were once uncontested had drawn candidates who were “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-school-boards-e41350b7d9e3662d279c2dad287f7009">galvanized by one issue or another</a>.”</p>
<p>Three issues came up the most. The most oft-cited issue was race in education, more specifically, the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/11/03/school-board-races-show-mixed-results-critical-race-theory/6271364001/">teaching of critical race theory</a>. The second most frequently cited issue was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/politics/school-board-elections/index.html">school policies on the pandemic</a> – that is, requirements to wear masks or get vaccinations, or school reopening. The third most-cited was <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Conflicts_in_school_board_elections_about_sex_and_gender_in_schools,_2021-2022">sex and gender in schools</a>, such as gender-specific facilities.</p>
<p>As of January 2022, Ballotpedia discovered 287 school districts in 25 states where candidates took a position on race in education; 199 school districts in 23 states where candidates took a position on responses to the coronavirus pandemic; and 144 school districts in 18 states where candidates took a position on sex and gender in schools.</p>
<h2>A worrisome trend</h2>
<p>As a former school board member – and as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6gc1wl0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researcher who studies educational leadership and policy</a> – I find it worrisome when polarizing issues generate so much attention from candidates. The reason I worry is that I know from firsthand experience that being an effective school board member is never just about taking a stance on a few hot-button topics. Rather, it’s about much broader issues, such as meeting the educational needs of all students in the school district.</p>
<p>Too often, support for candidates hinges on the positions they take on the most controversial issues. For instance, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking on behalf of his state’s Republican Party, <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/434128-political-apparatus/">pledged</a> to withhold support from “any Republican candidate for school board who supports critical race theory in all 67 counties or supports mandatory masking of schoolchildren.” </p>
<p>As impassioned as people may be about issues like mask requirements, keeping schools open or confronting issues of race in the curriculum, running a school district is about much more than any one of those single issues. With that in mind, here are three actions that future school board candidates should be prepared to take.</p>
<h2>1. Set district policy</h2>
<p>A primary function of the school board is to develop, review and approve district policy. These policies can include implementing state mandates – such as establishing <a href="https://www.ecs.org/high-school-graduation-requirements/">high school graduation requirements</a> – or formulating a <a href="https://kappanonline.org/mapping-teacher-evaluation-plans-essa-close-amrein-beardsley-collins/">plan to evaluate teachers</a>.</p>
<p>Some policies take on broad issues that affect all students. For instance, a policy might express a goal to make sure <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/making-sure-every-child-has-home-internet-access-8-steps-to-get-there/2020/09">all students have access to the internet at home</a>. Other policies might deal with smaller matters, such as whether <a href="https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2017/01/25/should-homeschooled-kids-be-able-to-participate-in-all-school-clubs/">home-schooled students can participate in extracurricular activities</a> at the local public school.</p>
<h2>2. Make tough budget decisions</h2>
<p>One of the most difficult tasks that school board members must do is decide how to spend the school district’s limited revenue.</p>
<p>The vast majority of a district’s budget – about <a href="https://www.aasa.org/uploadedfiles/policy_and_advocacy/files/schoolbudgetbrieffinal.pdf">80% to 85%</a> – goes to personnel costs, such as salaries and benefits for school staff. Paying for these employee expenditures is becoming more challenging because of the <a href="https://www.asbonewyork.org/news/407485/School-District-Health-Care-Costs-Rise-Faster-than-Inflation-and-Total-Spending.htm">rising cost of health insurance</a>. </p>
<p>To stay within budget, school board members may have to cut positions or programs. It’s usually a matter of assessing tradeoffs: Do we cut our gifted and talented program to keep our school safety officer? Do we cut teaching positions to make the budget, and if so, which ones? </p>
<p>Each decision comes with consequences. For instance, cutting a gifted and talented program would make some families upset. Continued funding of a night school program might require a series of budget reductions in other areas, such as field trips or late buses.</p>
<p>A tough budget choice I remember facing as a school board member was deciding whether to renovate an outdated and undersized school theater. The board members all agreed the theater was in desperate need of an upgrade but decided to put off the theater upgrade to deal with other needs. The high school would soon need a new roof and boiler that ultimately took priority.</p>
<h2>3. Select a superintendent</h2>
<p>Selecting a district leader is critically important. So is deciding whether to keep or get rid of one. A good superintendent can make or break a district. The superintendent is the face of the school community and the district’s instructional leader.</p>
<p>Superintendents work with the school board to set the vision and goals for the district and then make sure they are achieved. They also hire and manage principals and other district leaders. Superintendents are expected to provide for the safety of children and staff and be good stewards of district finances.</p>
<p>Finding a good superintendent involves looking for leaders who have a proven track record in the areas of importance. Do they have a history of improving student achievement? Have they created a positive school climate and culture? Are they effective communicators? </p>
<p>If a school board chooses an ineffective superintendent, it usually sets a district back and the board ends up having to spend time and money to replace them.</p>
<p>A key distinction of American democracy is that candidates can develop platforms as they see fit, and it’s up to voters to decide if a particular candidate will represent their concerns. But when it comes to running a school system, it’s important to keep in mind that it involves much more than taking a stance on a few controversial issues. It’s also about making sound financial decisions and implementing policies that ensure all students get the education they deserve.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Casey D. Cobb is affiliated with the National Education Policy Center.</span></em></p>School board elections are becoming increasingly fractious and political events, with candidates focused on one or two issues. An education policy scholar explains why that’s a worrisome trend.Casey D. Cobb, Neag Professor of Educational Policy, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690132021-12-08T13:37:23Z2021-12-08T13:37:23ZTrans people have a long history in Appalachia – but politicians prefer to ignore it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435863/original/file-20211206-15-nrbp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=189%2C395%2C5240%2C2908&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents and activists who support transgender rights rally before a school board meeting on Aug. 10, 2021, in Ashburn, Virginia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/charlotte-mcconnell-of-sterling-va-leads-a-rally-of-parents-news-photo/1234616774?adppopup=true">Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent public debate throughout the South, transness – the fact of being transgender – is <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/political-minds/202012/new-book-irreversible-damage-is-full-misinformation">framed as a kind of new social contagion</a>.</p>
<p>Count me among the afflicted.</p>
<p>When I first moved to Appalachia in 2015, I expected to find a hostile environment for my own transition. Instead, I met trans people of all ages whose stories demonstrate that there is nothing new about being transgender in southwest Virginia.</p>
<p>Yet this remarkable history is all but forgotten. </p>
<p>When politicians frame transgender youth as a new phenomenon, they ignore the fact <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/histories-of-the-transgender-child">that gender nonconforming young people have existed for generations</a>. Without a historical perspective, decisions can be made that negatively impact young people. </p>
<p>For example, recent legislation in the South has focused on <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-transgender-bills-are-latest-version-of-conservatives-longtime-strategy-to-rally-their-base-158296">prohibiting transgender youths</a> from a variety of activities, including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/26/texas-signs-into-law-bill-banning-transgender-athletes-from-school-sports">school athletics</a> and lifesaving <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/states-pursue-wave-anti-lgbtq-laws-cities-move-direction-rcna5890">health care</a>.</p>
<p>In southwest Virginia, <a href="https://wset.com/news/local/russell-co-school-board-unanimously-rejects-vdoe-transgender-issues-model-policy">several county school boards</a> in the <a href="https://newsadvance.com/news/local/education/watch-now-in-split-vote-bedford-school-board-rejects-state-model-policies-on-treatment-of/article_e09bd5c2-f0b7-11eb-9e7b-a78828caa0f9.html">summer of 2021</a> voted to reject new state guidelines aimed at providing support for transgender students. </p>
<p>And in November, Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governorship on a platform of “<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/how-white-women-helped-propel-republicans-victory-virginia-n1283153">parents’ rights</a>,” building on <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/10/29/in-2020-the-legislature-passed-a-transgender-students-rights-law-it-largely-hasnt-been-enforced/">the furor of parents</a> regarding the state’s overreach on curricular matters and policies regarding trans students. </p>
<p>This ongoing panic over transgender bodies is evidence of the increasing visibility of transgender people in rural America. As a <a href="https://gsrosenthal.com/">trans woman</a> who <a href="https://directory.roanoke.edu/faculty/rosenthal">researches and writes about transgender history</a>, I know this history well.</p>
<h2>Local transgender voices</h2>
<p>In my book “<a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469665801/living-queer-history/">Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City</a>,” I write about Miss Carolyn. She grew up in rural West Virginia in the 1950s and 1960s. </p>
<p>As she tells it: “I always been Carolyn from 5 all the way up to 67. But I always been, I always know the way I was.” As a teenager, she would sneak out late at night with a friend, both of them dressed in women’s clothes, and dance sexily down the streets. </p>
<p>But it wasn’t until she moved to Roanoke, Virginia, in 1972 that she was able to become her full self. She started performing on area stages as a queen and worked downtown as a sex worker. In an era of desegregation, she became the first Black queen to win the region’s premier drag pageant in 1975.</p>
<p>When a college student interviewed her in 2018 about her life, she said some people call her “she,” some call her “he,” and she doesn’t mind which you use. She said that the word “transgender” wasn’t a thing when she was growing up and coming out, but if she had known what she knows now she would have claimed “transgender” for herself. </p>
<p>Carolyn was not alone. She mentored several other queens in Roanoke who worked at nightclubs and in the streets.</p>
<p>One of those performers was a young white trans woman named Rhoda who grew up in Roanoke in the 1950s. While attending college, Rhoda underwent “a battery of psychological tests,” as she put it. Ultimately, a doctor at the University of Virginia’s <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/r781wg07h">Gender Identity Program</a> prescribed her with the hormones estrogen and progestin. </p>
<p>By the time she took the stage in Roanoke in 1977 she had visible breasts. She had recently changed her legal identification and was preparing to marry a man and live her life as a woman. </p>
<p>“I’m a transsexual – a woman,” she told <a href="http://lgbthistory.pages.roanoke.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2020/02/Long-Road-from-Man-to-Woman.pdf">a local magazine in 1977</a>. “Ever since I can remember, that’s the way I’ve felt.” </p>
<p>Outside the world of clubs, another white trans woman named Rona was a local activist who in the 1970s distributed <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Transvestite_and_His_Wife/pwXaAAAAMAAJ?hl=en">literature about transgender families</a> to local public libraries. </p>
<p>She also made sure local police departments had up-to-date information on transgender people. In 1980, she helped to found the first transgender organization in southwest Virginia, a budding chapter of the national <a href="https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8dz0bfv/#:%7E:text=Society%20for%20the%20Second%20Self%20(Tri%2DEss)%20Records&text=Tri%2DEss%20is%20a%20non,or%20spouses%2C%20and%20their%20families.&text=Tri%2DEss%20is%20a%20member,International%20Foundation%20for%20Gender%20Education.">Society for the Second Self</a>, or Tri-Ess. Rona raised the issue of transgender rights in southwest Virginia five decades before local school boards here would return to the issue.</p>
<h2>Trans youth and trans history</h2>
<p>Transgender history has the power to shape contemporary experiences of belonging. For trans youths in rural communities, history can be a tool not just for knowing the past but for reimagining our present.
These stories let young people know that they are not alone, that they are not the first to struggle, and that they have a right to be here. </p>
<p>For several years I co-led a workshop with the <a href="http://lgbthistory.pages.roanoke.edu">Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project</a> at a summer camp for LGBTQ teenagers in the Appalachian Mountains. This workshop, “Living Trans History,” asked participants, some of whom were as young as middle school age, to read excerpts from oral histories with trans elders. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People hold placards." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435866/original/file-20211206-17-hslz4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporters celebrate transgender protection measures that were voted into the school systems policies, at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building on Aug. 11, 2021, in Ashburn, Virginia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/supporters-of-policy-8040-celebrate-with-signs-as-the-news-photo/1234630509?adppopup=true">Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After reading the transcripts, the youths were put into small groups and tasked with developing short theatrical performances that brought these elders’ stories to life. One group created a skit focused on the role of the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/02/religious-groups-policies-on-transgender-members-vary-widely/">church in denouncing gender nonconformity</a>. Another performance centered on a trans woman who found an unlikely home in a rough-and-tumble bar. Another was about a sex worker who worked the streets of Roanoke. </p>
<p>After their performances, we asked the campers to reflect on their experiences with these stories. They highlighted the similarities and differences across the generations and remarked on their new understanding of themselves. They also realized that they were not the first trans people to live in southwest Virginia, a recognition that can foster a renewed sense of meaning and belonging.</p>
<p>If rural transgender history is brought to light, perhaps it will help communities such as mine remember that trans people have always been here.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Transness itself is a reminder of the past – an assigned sex, a given name, a pubescent body. It is difficult for trans people to escape from that history, and it can feel like abuse. Perhaps that’s why <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674032392">queer studies scholar Heather Love writes</a> that for LGBTQ people, “The challenge is to engage with the past without being destroyed by it.”</p>
<p>Trans youths experience the abuse of having their own personal histories used against them by school administrators and sometimes by their own parents. But they deserve to know a richer archive than just what’s printed on their birth certificates. Trans history has the power to transform. It gives communities the tools they need for making safer spaces for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>G. Samantha Rosenthal is co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project </span></em></p>The ongoing debate over transgender rights in rural America frames transness as a nascent movement, ignoring a long undercurrent of transgender history that is all but forgotten.G. Samantha Rosenthal, Associate Professor of History, Roanoke CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1720452021-11-19T01:07:43Z2021-11-19T01:07:43ZA win for transgender athletes and athletes with sex variations: the Olympics shifts away from testosterone tests and toward human rights<p>The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/News/2021/11/IOC-Framework-Fairness-Inclusion-Non-discrimination-2021.pdf">released</a> a much anticipated policy document aimed at making the Olympics more inclusive for transgender athletes and athletes with sex variations.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/News/2021/11/IOC-Framework-Fairness-Inclusion-Non-discrimination-2021.pdf">framework</a> builds on more than two years of consultation with diverse athletes, advocates, and stakeholders.</p>
<p>The devil will be in the detail and implementation, of course. But this fresh approach, which places human rights at the centre, could herald a new era of gender-inclusive sports participation and governance.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/world-rugbys-proposed-ban-on-trans-athletes-is-wrong-history-shows-inclusion-is-possible-145540">World Rugby's proposed ban on trans athletes is wrong. History shows inclusion is possible</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why this new framework – and why now?</h2>
<p>One of the most prominent gender equity and human rights issues of recent years has been the inclusion of gender-minoritised people – those whose bodies and/or gender expression and identity do not neatly align with normative notions of the female/male binary. </p>
<p>This issue affects sport globally from grassroots to elite levels. Stakeholders have long called for change.</p>
<p>We work with sports organisations and athletes grappling with the question of inclusion in women’s sport. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19406940.2021.1955727">Our own research</a> has highlighted that many sports organisations develop policies with little to no knowledge of the complexity of the issue – and often without engaging the athletes affected.</p>
<p>The new IOC framework follows a long and much-critiqued history of efforts to define the boundaries of the female athlete category, dating back to the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-testing-at-the-olympics-should-be-abolished-once-and-for-all-132956">nude parades</a>” of the 1960s. </p>
<p>In the past, the goal has been to find a “biological basis of womanhood” and relied on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1357034X19865940">incomplete and controversial scientific evidence</a>. </p>
<p>Today, however, there is wider recognition of the fact science alone cannot provide a straightforward answer to such as socially and biologically complex question. </p>
<p>An alternative approach, reflected in the IOC’s new framework, is to build policy around the concept of human rights.</p>
<h2>What do the new guidelines say?</h2>
<p>The new framework recognise human rights as a fundamental responsibility of sports governing bodies.</p>
<p>It explicitly takes the approach athletes shouldn’t be excluded solely on the basis of their transgender identity or sex variations. It aims to ensure everyone can practice sport safely and free from harassment, irrespective of their gender or sex-linked traits. </p>
<p>Importantly, the framework attempts to move sports governing bodies away from relying on testosterone as a one-size-fits-all measure of eligibility. </p>
<p>In its place, it emphasises ten key principles to guide the policy development process: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>prevention of harm</p></li>
<li><p>non-discrimination</p></li>
<li><p>fairness</p></li>
<li><p>no presumption of advantage</p></li>
<li><p>evidence-based approaches to regulation</p></li>
<li><p>the primacy of health and bodily autonomy</p></li>
<li><p>a stakeholder-centered approach to rule development</p></li>
<li><p>the right to privacy </p></li>
<li><p>periodic review of eligibility regulations.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The relationship between testosterone and performance is so complex, sports governing bodies cannot realistically expect to rely on testosterone measures when defining eligibility.</p>
<p>There is just as much diversity among the bodies and performances of trans women and women with sex variations as we see among cisgender and normatively-bodied women athletes. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1460662931159404554"}"></div></p>
<p>The IOC’s <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-releases-framework-on-fairness-inclusion-and-non-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-and-sex-variations">spokespeople</a> were pragmatic: let’s take one step at a time, have faith in the ten principles, and see where they take us. </p>
<p>In this way, the new framework (and its underlying philosophy) moves us well beyond contentious <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Medical_commission/2015-11_ioc_consensus_meeting_on_sex_reassignment_and_hyperandrogenism-en.pdf">testosterone thresholds introduced in 2015</a> and the 2003 <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_905.pdf">Stockholm consensus</a>, which required athletes to have affirmation surgeries and “anatomical changes”.</p>
<p>In fact, the IOC now recognises the “severe harm” and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1920456">systemic discrimination caused by such eligibility criteria and policies</a>. </p>
<p>This includes the disproportionate burdens and harms that have been wrought upon women of colour from Global South nations in sports like track and field. </p>
<p>The question now is: how will other sports governing bodies, most notably the International Federations (IFs) that govern each Olympic sport, be brought on side? </p>
<p>The IOC now calls for IFs to take</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a principled approach to develop their criteria that are applicable to their sport.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>An important and welcome move</h2>
<p>This framework represents a step forward for gender-inclusive sport but there’s more work ahead. It doesn’t mention non-binary athletes at all, meaning it still frames elite sports participation within a strict gender binary.</p>
<p>It’s promising to see a shift away from a paradigm focused on particular scientific and medical approaches regulating exclusion of certain groups. The move toward a contemporary vision of gender-inclusive sport is promising. </p>
<p>This new approach is a positive move for gender equitable sport; both trans women and women with sex variations will be valuable allies in the fight to make sport safe and inclusive for all women.</p>
<p>Hopefully, it will help make grassroots a more welcome space for trans and gender diverse people. These groups report alarming levels of poor mental health and suicidal ideation and have a right to opportunities to improve wellbeing through sport.</p>
<p>Sport has a unique opportunity to advance progress and health outcomes for marginalised communities.</p>
<p>This move may offer hope to young people of diverse genders and sex that they too can strive to achieve greatness in a sport they love.</p>
<p><em>Independent researcher Payoshni Mitra contributed to this article.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-way-we-talk-about-olympian-laurel-hubbard-has-real-consequences-for-all-transgender-people-163418">Why the way we talk about Olympian Laurel Hubbard has real consequences for all transgender people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172045/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Storr works for/consults to Proud2Play. He is affiliated with Proud2Play. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheree Bekker is an invited speaker at the International Olympic Committee World Conference on the Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport, Monaco, 25-27 November 2021. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeleine Pape does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new IOC framework aims to ensure everyone can practice sport safely and free from harassment, irrespective of their gender or sex-linked traits.Ryan Storr, Research fellow, Swinburne University of TechnologyMadeleine Pape, Postdoctoral Researcher, Université de LausanneSheree Bekker, Assistant Professor, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1634182021-06-30T02:41:10Z2021-06-30T02:41:10ZWhy the way we talk about Olympian Laurel Hubbard has real consequences for all transgender people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408993/original/file-20210629-28-1fps5lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C2991%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Laurel Hubbard was announced as the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300327080/nz-weightlifter-laurel-hubbard-to-become-first-olympic-games-transgender-athlete">first out transgender woman athlete</a> to compete in an individual sport at an Olympic Games, controversy wasn’t far behind. One prominent commentator even <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/tokyo-olympics-2021-disaster-for-womens-sport-piers-morgan-on-laurel-hubbards-olympic-inclusion/73YLJCWMXRMVI52TILANHAGO7E/">called it</a> a “disaster for women’s sport”.</p>
<p>In Aotearoa New Zealand, the topic was hotly debated across television, radio, newspapers and social media. And earlier this week there was a <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/tokyo-olympics/2021/06/tokyo-olympics-laurel-hubbard-is-a-cheat-tensions-flare-at-london-protests-over-kiwi-transgender-olympian.html">protest</a> outside the New Zealand High Commission in London against Hubbard’s inclusion in the weightlifting team.</p>
<p>The arguments are emotive and polarising, and often ignore key facts — in particular that Hubbard qualified through processes outlined by the International Weightlifting Federation and the <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Medical_commission/2015-11_ioc_consensus_meeting_on_sex_reassignment_and_hyperandrogenism-en.pdf">International Olympic Committee</a>. </p>
<p>More broadly, the language deployed has <a href="https://journals.equinoxpub.com/OLDJLD/article/viewArticle/33139">real consequences</a> beyond this specific debate. It is important, therefore, to consider the impact this can have on the mental health and well-being of transgender athletes, and transgender communities in general.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1406835556491968513"}"></div></p>
<h2>Whose voices are heard?</h2>
<p>Sadly, the perspectives most often absent from these debates are those of transgender athletes themselves. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2020.1777101?">backlash against Hubbard</a> following the 2018 Commonwealth Games, echoing now in the lead-up to the Olympics, contributes to a climate in which transgender athletes don’t feel safe speaking to the media. </p>
<p>By protecting their own mental health and well-being, their stories, their humanity and their courage are largely lost from the media narrative. That is a loss to us all, leaving the wider discussion about transgender people’s participation in sport to centre around often ill-informed fears.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-debate-over-transgender-athletes-rights-is-testing-the-current-limits-of-science-and-the-law-162593">The debate over transgender athletes' rights is testing the current limits of science and the law</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This has serious implications, as the <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-00804-8">power of the media</a> to reinforce or sometimes challenge stereotypes and misunderstandings about transgender athletes is well established. </p>
<p>Preliminary analysis of 111 articles on the day of Hubbard’s Olympic inclusion shows 33 (mostly from the UK) “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350477684_Deadnaming_as_disformative_utterance_the_redefinition_of_trans_womanhood_on_Urban_Dictionary">deadnamed</a>” her — meaning they deliberately used her pre-transition name. Referring to people as they choose to be known should be a basic principle of media ethics. </p>
<p>Discriminatory language, underpinned by fear, phobias and characterisation of transgender athletes as “cheats” or worse, is likely to contribute to the already very high levels of <a href="https://countingourselves.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Counting-Ourselves_FINAL.pdf">psychological distress and suicide</a> among transgender communities. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1396924100828827648"}"></div></p>
<h2>Selective science</h2>
<p>We need to be careful about other aspects of the language being used to argue against Hubbard’s inclusion in the Olympics, and transgender participation in sport generally. </p>
<p>Often this language plays on fear and misinformation, rather than being based on well-founded evidence. For example, there is a tendency to selectively cite <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2020.1856915?src=recsys">research</a> focused on <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/02/28/bjsports-2020-103106">testosterone levels</a>, although the <a href="https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/shades-of-gray-sex-gender-and-fairness-in-sport/">science</a> on this is far from settled.</p>
<p>Other research has shown <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00948705.2017.1317602?">many variables</a> contribute to sporting performance and achievement. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and testosterone is just one part of a much bigger picture of what builds sporting greatness. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/transgender-medicine-what-care-looks-like-who-seeks-it-out-and-whats-still-unknown-3-essential-reads-159984">Transgender medicine – what care looks like, who seeks it out and what's still unknown: 3 essential reads</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many researchers and experts are encouraging approaches that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2020.1856915?src=recsys">go beyond physiological criteria</a> to better recognise the complex social (rather than strictly biological) understandings of athletes’ gender experiences. </p>
<p>A growing body of research also shows the importance of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00948705.2016.1157485?src=recsys&journalCode=rjps20">ethics and human rights</a> as the basis for developing sporting <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14413523.2021.1880757?">policy and law</a> that enable transgender people to participate in sport at elite and community levels.</p>
<h2>The importance of listening</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the entire topic is too often approached from a position of ignorance rather than curiosity and compassion. As one researcher has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2020.1775691?">argued</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Those persistent in their views that trans women ought not to compete with cis women in elite women’s categories would benefit from talking to trans women, getting to know trans athletes, and reading the qualitative research that delves deeply into trans athletes’ experiences, motivations and reasons for participating in sport.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This was reinforced in a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SexualOrientationGender/Pages/ReportGenderTheory.aspx">recent report</a> from the United Nations independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>All persons who struggle against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity have in common certain lived experiences that should provide a notion of the importance of seeing each other, listening to each other and acting towards each other with kindness and compassion. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report specifically challenged the belief that the inclusion of trans women threatens women’s sport. It called instead for evidence-based approaches to ensure sports promote the development of all girls, including those who are trans. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/world-rugbys-proposed-ban-on-trans-athletes-is-wrong-history-shows-inclusion-is-possible-145540">World Rugby's proposed ban on trans athletes is wrong. History shows inclusion is possible</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A teachable moment</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, mainstream debate is still too often bound up in polarising rhetoric and confused argument. At this important moment in the history of sport, that needs to change. </p>
<p>Hubbard’s groundbreaking Olympic inclusion offers a genuinely <a href="https://shapeamerica.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07303084.2012.10598761?">teachable moment</a> that allows us to work towards a more constructive dialogue. The work being done by researchers and activists with online resources such as <a href="https://www.proud2play.org.au/">Proud2Play</a> in Australia and <a href="https://www.athleteally.org/">Athlete Ally</a> in the US is particularly helpful here.</p>
<p>Finding new ways of speaking about the topic can flow into developing more inclusive and supportive policies and practices in sport at elite and community levels.</p>
<p>More than anything, we need to remember those most directly affected by current media debates and campaigns. That includes the trans girls and young women who simply want to be able to play on their school or club sports teams.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163418/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The emotive and polarising language surrounding the Olympic weightlifter – and transgender rights in general – is crowding out the voices we need to hear most.Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, University of WaikatoJack Byrne, Senior Research Officer, Trans Health Research Lab, University of WaikatoJaimie Veale, Director, Transgender Health Research Lab, University of WaikatoLynda Johnston, Professor of Geography, Assistant Vice Chancellor Sustainability, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1625932021-06-15T19:00:47Z2021-06-15T19:00:47ZThe debate over transgender athletes’ rights is testing the current limits of science and the law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406341/original/file-20210615-21-p3sqga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4595%2C1524&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_111568/petition-of-save-womens-sport-australasia-request-sport">petition</a> presented to parliament last week calling for wider consultation over the place of transgender players in sport is simply the latest round in a difficult and volatile global debate.</p>
<p>Organised by Save Women’s Sport Australasia, the petition challenges Sport New Zealand’s “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/300328389/transgender-advocates-take-issue-with-exolympians-testosterone-claims">draft guiding principles</a> for the participation of transgender players in sport” for failing to consult widely enough. </p>
<p>Despite the draft principles <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300329574/petition-targeting-trans-women-in-womens-sport-accepted-by-national-mps">covering community-level sport</a>, not international competition, former Olympians and elite athletes supported the petition in an <a href="https://www.savewomenssport.com/open-letter">open letter</a> to Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson.</p>
<p>The controversy comes not long after New Zealand transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard’s Pacific Games victory was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-30/transgender-athletes-in-the-pacific-under-fire/11360854">criticised</a> due to her alleged physical advantage, and not long before the Olympic Games open in late July.</p>
<p>Overall, this polarising issue is likely to keep <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/the-wireless/375272/why-transgender-athletes-can-t-get-a-sporting-chance?">dividing people</a>. Consensus looks <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/sports/transgender-athletes-womens-sports-idaho.html">increasingly difficult</a> to achieve. With both sides claiming discrimination, can existing laws and principles provide a way forward?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Laurel Hubbard lifting weights" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406345/original/file-20210615-15-250vf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competing at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sports participation as a human right</h2>
<p>The wider relationship between <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-03/international-olympic-committee-to-create-human-rights-unit/12942890">sports and human rights</a> is complex and often contradictory. No explicit right to participate in sport exists in international law. However, a number of core human rights are relevant: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">Universal Declaration on Human Rights</a> says everyone has the rights to freedom of association, health, rest and leisure, and to participate in cultural life </p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx">International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</a> says everyone has the right to freedom of association; its sister treaty, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cescr.aspx">International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights</a> recognises the rights to health and cultural life </p></li>
<li><p>the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child identifies the rights to rest, leisure and participation in cultural life, which include <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/51ef9bcc4.html">participation in sport</a>, as does the <a href="https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a> </p></li>
<li><p>UNESCO’s <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13150&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">International Charter of Physical Education and Sport</a> identifies sport as a fundamental right, as does the International Olympic Committee.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402835217904070661"}"></div></p>
<h2>Recognising trangender athletes</h2>
<p>As with all human rights, the right to participate in sport is underpinned by the right to be free from discrimination on grounds of sex, gender or <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a60961f2.html">other status</a>. That includes gender identity and the right of trans people to be free from discrimination. </p>
<p>This broad principle informs much of the thinking on the issue. The <a href="https://undocs.org/A/HRC/32/33">UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health</a>, for example, has said the participation of girls and women in sport should not result in the arbitrary exclusion of transgender people.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-high-school-sports-became-the-latest-battleground-over-transgender-rights-151361">How high school sports became the latest battleground over transgender rights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The rapporteur has also asked for a consensus by all international sporting bodies and national governments, in consultation with transgender organisations, with subsequent policies ideally reflecting international human rights norms. </p>
<p>The UN’s <a href="https://undocs.org/A/74/181">Independent Expert</a> on “protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity” has highlighted the negative impact of exclusionary practices in sport, and noted the value of inclusive programs.</p>
<p>The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women calls for <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx">equality between men and women in sports</a> and includes <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ed3528b2.html">gender identity</a> among the forms of potential discrimination. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402813570107121666"}"></div></p>
<h2>The devil is in the detail</h2>
<p>Beyond these areas of broad agreement, however, the issue quickly becomes more complex. </p>
<p>In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Human Rights Act 1993 <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/DLM304475.html">prohibits discrimination</a> on the grounds of “sex” and “sexual orientation”. These prohibitions have been interpreted to encompass the legal right of trans people to be free from discrimination. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hostility-to-elite-trans-athletes-is-having-a-negative-impact-on-participation-in-everyday-sport-113296">Hostility to elite trans athletes is having a negative impact on participation in everyday sport</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, the act <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/DLM304627.html">also says</a> it is not discriminatory to exclude people of one sex from participating in any competitive sporting activity in which the strength, stamina or physique of competitors is relevant. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is where the arguments run into the limited help offered by science. There is still strong disagreement about whether transgender athletes have a competitive advantage or not.</p>
<h2>The limits of science and the law</h2>
<p>Research focusing on testosterone levels to justify the exclusion (or inclusion) of trans athletes has been criticised as an <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/300328389/transgender-advocates-take-issue-with-exolympians-testosterone-claims">inappropriate oversimplification</a>. </p>
<p>Whether testosterone even provides a <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018694615/caster-semenya-and-the-myth-of-testosterone">competitive advantage</a> is disputed, and commentators point to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/apr/01/sports-transgender-debate-compromise-not-conflict">other factors</a> that may be at play.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0621-y">study of the available literature</a> concluded that a consensus could not be reached due a lack of data. That finding was itself challenged, but both sides agreed more research was required.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-naturally-high-testosterone-levels-equal-stronger-female-athletic-performance-not-necessarily-160009">Do naturally high testosterone levels equal stronger female athletic performance? Not necessarily</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the meantime, we need to recognise the limits of science and the law when it comes to setting demonstrably balanced guidelines for trans athletes’ participation in sport. </p>
<p>Progress will only come through listening to both sides in the short term, but broad support for the required research is also needed in the longer term. </p>
<p>Ultimately it is in everyone’s interests that this hugely complex issue is resolved properly. Given it goes to the heart of human identity, the potential benefits are not confined to the sporting world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162593/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Breen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With both sides claiming unfair discrimination, the science disputed and law contradictory, where do transgender athletes turn?Claire Breen, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1582652021-03-31T21:20:51Z2021-03-31T21:20:51ZMost trans and non-binary youth are supported and healthy despite stigma and discrimination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392887/original/file-20210331-19-16retq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C2986%2C1985&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">March 31 marks International Transgender Day of Visibility</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Stephen Groves)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Trans and non-binary youth in Canada continue to experience targeted violence and discrimination, however, according to the 2019 <a href="https://www.saravyc.ubc.ca/ctyhs2019/">Canadian Trans and Non-binary Youth Health Survey</a>, they are thriving despite these experiences. </p>
<p>We see this experience of thriving through more prominent representation of trans and non-binary folks such as Elliot Page, Laverne Cox, Janelle Monáe and more, who <a href="https://time.com/5947032/elliot-page/">share their joy but also share the struggles they have faced</a>.</p>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.saravyc.ubc.ca/">Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre (SARAVYC)</a>, a research centre at the University of British Columbia, our goal is to identify factors that foster youth resilience in spite of stigma. Since 2006, we’ve been conducting research that studies how stigma, discrimination, violence and trauma affect young people’s health. </p>
<h2>Role models and healthy behaviours</h2>
<p><a href="https://apsc-saravyc.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/12/Being-Safe-Being-Me-2019_SARAVYC_ENG_1.2.pdf">According to the survey</a>, most trans and non-binary youth have a positive sense of self. Over half (68 per cent) of respondents were able to think of something they were good at such as art, singing, writing, sports, gardening and taking care of others. This is important because these passions can spur positive change, as seen by the actions of many trans and non-binary artists who are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/trans-artists-representation-1.5970644">shifting media representation</a>. </p>
<p>With this increased representation in mainstream media, 77 per cent of youth who took the survey now have a trans or non-binary person they look up to, and 64 per cent have a trans or non-binary person they really want to be like. <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0222752">Research shows</a> that youth who have strong associations with role models have higher self-regulation. This means they’re able to manage energy, emotions, thoughts and behaviours in ways that garner positive results such as well-being, loving relationships and learning.</p>
<p>Despite the stigma and discrimination experienced by these youth, 61 per cent reported good or excellent health and healthier behaviours, such as not smoking (84 per cent) or vaping (85 per cent), in the past 30 days. Furthermore, among youth who drank alcohol, the majority did not binge drink in the past 30 days (70 per cent). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trans-day-of-visibility-offers-chance-for-community-to-stand-in-solidarity-and-support-157213">Trans Day of Visibility offers chance for community to stand in solidarity and support</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Supportive families and schools</h2>
<p>Family and school supports are important for the health of all youth, and our survey revealed that the majority of trans and non-binary youth have support in these areas: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>75 per cent of trans and non-binary youth often or always feel safe at home,</p></li>
<li><p>73 per cent feel their teachers care about them,</p></li>
<li><p>84 per cent feel their teachers treat them fairly, and</p></li>
<li><p>76 per cent intend to go on to university and graduate school. </p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.sogieducation.org/">SOGI 123</a> (SOGI stands for sexual orientation and gender identity), an education initiative that helps educators make schools inclusive and safe for students, and the implementation of gender-sexuality alliances (GSAs) are good examples of this type of support.</p>
<p>Youth also reported having a variety of people they could turn to for help with serious problems — friends (88 per cent), family (65 per cent), a friend’s parent (68 per cent) or teachers (72 per cent) — and the majority found those people helpful. </p>
<p>Adolescents need adults they can turn to for help regardless of their gender identity. Supportive families and schools make a difference. Youth who reported strong family or school connectedness were more likely to thrive as they were less likely to report emotional distress or suicidal thoughts, compared to their peers who did not have these advantages.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sign saying support trans youth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392912/original/file-20210331-15-1bxymen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supports allow trans and non-binary youth to flourish and better equip themselves to deal with targeted violence and discrimination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ensuring trans and non-binary youth flourish</h2>
<p>With these supports, trans and non-binary youth can flourish and are better equipped to deal with targeted violence and discrimination — which is still a critical concern. </p>
<p>Our research indicates that 35 per cent of trans and non-binary youth have had similar experiences of being physically threatened or injured in the past year. A community in Mission, B.C., recently <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vehicle-parade-in-mission-draws-strong-support-for-transgender-student-attacked-and-beaten-by-peers-1.5877139">rallied in support</a> of a transgender student who was targeted by violence.</p>
<p>Protecting trans and non-binary youth from discrimination <a href="https://www.cba.org/Publications-Resources/Practice-Tools/Child-Rights-Toolkit/theChild/Sexual-Orientation-Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Expr">is part of Canada’s human rights law</a>, in every province and territory. </p>
<p>Canada needs to <a href="https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0229567">ensure safer public spaces</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/MED.0000000000000227">improved access to health care</a> (especially in rural areas) and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2147%2FAMEP.S147183">more training for health-care professionals</a> on how to effectively support trans and non-binary youth. </p>
<p>We need to commit to creating these safe and inclusive environments for trans and non-binary youth, because when they have those supportive environments, they thrive. </p>
<p><em>Stephanie Hall, community relations manager at UBC’s Stigma & Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre (SARAVYC), contributed to this piece.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Saewyc receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the US National Institutes of Health. She is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ace Chan and Ashley B. Taylor do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We need to commit to creating safe and inclusive environments for trans and non-binary youth, because when they have those supportive environments, they thrive.Elizabeth Saewyc, Director & Professor, School of Nursing, University of British ColumbiaAce Chan, PhD Student, School of Population and Public Health & Research Assistant, Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Research Centre, University of British ColumbiaAshley B. Taylor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Research Centre, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572132021-03-29T12:08:52Z2021-03-29T12:08:52ZTrans Day of Visibility offers chance for community to stand in solidarity and support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391511/original/file-20210324-21-1w8eik6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5224%2C3417&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The pandemic has made it difficult for trans people to support one another in person, or celebrate important physical changes with friends. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/morgin-dupont-a-woman-of-trans-experience-holds-up-the-flag-news-photo/1052725806">Yana Paskova/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Visibility within the transgender community is often a Catch-22, especially for trans people of color, or those living in rural, conservative areas. Hiding one’s identity can be a damaging experience and increase feelings of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301241">isolation, stigma and shame</a>. But standing out as a trans person can make someone a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12193">target for discrimination</a> or violence.</p>
<p>As a trans man who <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/sociology-and-anthropology/about-us/directory/jay-irwin.php">studies transgender health and well-being</a>, I believe <a href="https://tdov.org/">Trans Day of Visibility</a> – celebrated annually on March 31 – is an important day that allows community members to come together and find support and solidarity by knowing they are not alone. </p>
<h2>A celebration’s history</h2>
<p>Trans Day of Visibility acknowledges the contributions made by people within the transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse communities (hereafter referred to as “trans” to encompass anyone who doesn’t identify with their sex assigned at birth). </p>
<p>TDOV has been marked annually since 2009. Before then, the only day of recognition the trans community had was Transgender Day of Remembrance – a day of mourning held on Nov. 20 to commemorate trans people who have died in the previous year.</p>
<p>Trans Day of Visibility, then, is an attempt, as the trans community puts it, to “<a href="https://forwardtogether.org/siblings-trans-day-visibility/">give us our roses while we’re still here</a>.”</p>
<p>Rachel Crandall, a transgender activist from Michigan, organized the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130327152446/http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=34351">first Trans Day of Visibility</a>. By 2014, the day was being <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140403043927/http://www.gaelick.com/2014/03/trans-education-advocacy-protest-rte-march-31st/34458/">celebrated internationally</a>. </p>
<p>In 2015, I along with other local trans activists in Omaha, Nebraska, hosted the first of several annual events for our local community. It featured panels, Q&As and support groups for family members, trans people themselves and cisgender, or cis, people – which refers to people who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth – who wanted to learn how to be better allies to the trans community. Some of us wore T-shirts that said “Ask Me I’m Trans” on the day of the event to facilitate dialogue between the trans and cis communities. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four people stand with arms around each other" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390702/original/file-20210320-23-hure2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author and other transgender advocates wear ‘Ask Me, I’m Trans’ T-shirts at an event in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy Jay A. Irwin</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fighting stigma</h2>
<p>Visibility as a transgender person is not a one-size-fits-all approach for people within the trans community. Some people may embrace visibility while others, for comfort, safety or other deeply personal reasons, may not feel comfortable being visibly trans.</p>
<p>After all, threats of violence within the trans community are not uniformly distributed. Trans women of color are <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520316591/unlivable-lives">most at risk</a>, as they often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243208326461">face multiple forms of discrimination</a> including transphobia, racism, classism, misogyny and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-3815033">misogynoir</a> – the unique misogyny that Black women face. Because of job discrimination, <a href="https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Executive-Summary-Dec17.pdf">roughly 20%</a> of trans people engage in the underground economy, including commercial sex work, and may confront additional transphobic discrimination as a result of their work. </p>
<p>Trans Day of Visibility is an attempt to break these cycles of violence and discrimination against trans people.</p>
<h2>Celebrating trans people during a pandemic</h2>
<p>To say this past year has been difficult for the trans community would be an understatement. During this period, trans people have been largely unable to provide in-person support to one another, and those who have had physical changes can’t fully celebrate those changes with friends. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the past year has seen an escalation in legislation that targets trans people with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-high-school-sports-became-the-latest-battleground-over-transgender-rights-151361">sports bans</a> and attempts to <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2021/03/advocates-protest-alabama-bills-to-limit-trans-youths-rights-as-other-states-consider-similar-laws.html">limit access to health care</a>. Over 20 states introduced at least one <a href="https://www.aclu.org/past-legislation-affecting-lgbt-rights-across-country-2020">anti-trans bill</a> in 2020. That kind of coordinated policy campaign against a very small community – estimated to be <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-adults-united-states/">less than 1%</a> of the U.S. population – sends a very specific message to the trans community that we are not welcome. </p>
<p>It’s a message I believe could be counterbalanced if we could gather in support of one another. I can attest that there’s something powerful about being in a room full of trans people. The love, support and understanding is unlike anything I’ve experienced. But because of the continuing global pandemic, most Trans Day of Visibility celebrations will be held virtually, as they were last year. </p>
<p>For example, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the largest nonprofit group advocating for trans rights, will host an online <a href="https://transequality.org/awards2021">awards ceremony</a> honoring trans leaders. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha, we’re hosting Dominique Morgan, a Black trans singer/songwriter, in a <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/news/events/2021/03/music-as-healing-within-the-trans-community.php">night of music and storytelling</a>. </p>
<p>Trans Day of Visibility focuses on trans people but is not exclusive to the trans community. Allies of the trans community can also take part by reaching out to a trans friend and sending their support. Those who live in a state that is trying to enact anti-trans legislation can write to their state legislator to oppose those bills. Within their social circles, allies can be visible and vocal supporters of trans people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay A. Irwin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trans Day of Visibility, celebrated March 31, is a day to honor the trans community and counter transphobia.Jay A. Irwin, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1155232019-05-30T09:40:13Z2019-05-30T09:40:13ZHalf of transgender and non-binary people hide their identity at work in fear of discrimination – here’s how you can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276830/original/file-20190528-42560-18tvxt4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For people who identify as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-think-twice-before-you-talk-about-the-lgbt-community-81711">LGBT+</a>, the workplace can be a difficult environment to manage. One in five lesbian, gay and bisexual employees say they have <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/lgbt-facts-and-figures">experienced verbal bullying</a>. For those who are <a href="https://www.amazon.it/LGBT-Perspectives-University-Essex-Reader/dp/8893910454">transgender and gender non-conforming</a> things can be even more difficult. </p>
<p>Gender non-conforming people who do not identify as either male or female (non-binary) are more likely to suffer abuse, violence and harassment. Research <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/transgender-issues/a-gender-not-listed-here-genderqueers-gender-rebels-and-otherwise-in-the-national-transgender-discrimination-survey/">in the US</a> and <a href="http://www.stonewall.org.uk/lgbt-britain-trans-report">in the UK</a> shows that transgender and gender non-conforming employees are more likely to be discriminated against in the workplace. Many have been physically attacked by a colleague or customer in the last year. And many trans people <a href="http://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/lgbtinbritain-trans.pdf">hide their identity at work</a> for <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1350508417703471">fear of discrimination</a>. </p>
<p>Companies have legal obligations to trans workers since the 2010 Equality Act. Some have been supportive. <a href="https://www.crosslandsolicitors.com/site/hr-hub/transgender-discrimination-in-UK-workplaces">Others have not</a>. And many are simply <a href="https://qz.com/work/1308079/how-to-be-inclusive-of-trans-people-in-the-workplace/">not doing enough</a> to make their workplaces inclusive for all. So here are some ways organisations and employees can help to kick-start (or enhance) a more inclusive professional environment.</p>
<h2>Aim for gender neutrality</h2>
<p>Male and female toilets and changing rooms might be the norm, but are often problematic for transgender and gender non-conforming people. Workplaces should be made as gender neutral as possible – for instance by providing some dedicated gender neutral spaces within sports centres and other facilities. </p>
<p>Professional uniforms and dress codes can often be unnecessarily gendered and can marginalise or expose transgender and non-binary people. Organisations should offer employees a choice to adapt clothing requirements to their needs without having to comply to “male” or “female” stereotypes or having to conform to a “one uniform fits all” rule. </p>
<h2>Show you’re inclusive</h2>
<p>Inclusion is everybody’s business in an organisation, so visible cues of support should also be promoted – such as rainbow lanyards, the transgender flag and other objects that mark a visibly inclusive approach. </p>
<p>Setting up groups or processes to monitor the implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion plans can help an organisation identify their achievements and where improvements are still needed. </p>
<p>Fostering the establishment of networks for LBGT+ people can also help to make a workplace more inclusive, as can having visible role models in top hierarchical positions – such as leaders or spokespeople. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276834/original/file-20190528-42584-14qgnmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Little gestures show you care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Choose language carefully</h2>
<p>Making transgender and gender non-conforming people feel more welcome in the workplace is about more than just avoiding openly transphobic behaviour or discriminating comments. Respecting pronoun choices, including gender neutral ones “ze”,“xe” or “they”, and normalising the use of these alternatives to “he” or “she”, is important for inclusion.</p>
<p>Using gender neutral language in all policies and documents, and giving staff the option to choose preferred names or titles in all forms of ID – such as staff cards, entries in staff directories and personal staff files – also helps to convey respect. </p>
<h2>Make training mandatory</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.springerprofessional.de/transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-people-in-the-workplace-di/16582422">Our research</a> highlights how in the workplace, transgender and non-binary people can suffer from both hidden and open discrimination. LGBT+ awareness training and sessions on unconscious bias are crucial in raising awareness and instigating changes in the organisational culture. Sessions should be mandatory for all staff at the point of induction – with a specific focus on managers who may need to support transgender and gender non-conforming colleagues. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276833/original/file-20190528-42593-1uu9xwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Interactive training sessions that get everyone involved can help to forge inclusive teams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More than just a tick box</h2>
<p>Inclusive approaches cannot be a “tick-box exercise” or merely a way to deal with compliance. Gender identity and sexual orientation inclusion needs to be embedded in every aspect of the organisation and become a lens through which tasks, processes and policies are designed and carried out.</p>
<p>Organisations should take a zero tolerance approach to discrimination. All employees should expect to be treated – and to treat each other – with dignity and respect at all times. It’s important that staff members are aware of what constitutes bullying, harassment and discrimination and feel confident to report issues and help tackle discrimination. </p>
<h2>Remember confidentiality</h2>
<p>The maintenance of confidentiality is crucial, especially for employees who are transitioning or who now identify with a gender different from the one assigned at birth. It is an offence under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/section/22">Section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004</a> for an official to breach confidentiality of a person’s protected gender identity.</p>
<p>Transgender people may chose not to alter their bodies through medical assistance, but for those who do the journey is a long a challenging one. Counselling and the provision of sick leave for medical treatment must be routinely provided by organisations. </p>
<p>Ultimately, in an inclusive workplace, it is vitally important that the specific needs of the transgender and gender non-conforming community are understood – by everyone – and that their rights are protected. This will not only help to make the environment better for transgender and gender non-conforming people, but it will also help to make sure that the workplaces of tomorrow are more welcoming and inclusive for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Transgender and non-binary people are often pressured to hide their gender identity at work.Ilaria Boncori, Deputy Dean Education (Faculty of Humanities). Senior Lecturer in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of EssexSaoirse O'Shea, Senior Lecturer in Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1123172019-02-22T12:31:57Z2019-02-22T12:31:57ZExplainer: what’s at stake in Kenyan court case on gay rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260401/original/file-20190222-39858-1xt1d4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Churchgoers in Nairobi who support gay rights lit candles ahead of the court ruling.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Dai Kurokawa</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The much-awaited court ruling on a petition seeking to decriminalise homosexuality in Kenya has been <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/ea/Kenya-court-postpones-ruling-on-gay-sex/4552908-4993956-db67e6/index.html">delayed for at least a further two months</a>. The petition currently before the High Court argues that two sections of the Penal Code contravene several rights enshrined in the Constitution. For instance, they deny lesbian, gay and bisexual people the right to privacy. Julius Maina asked Adriaan van Klinken to provide some context to the ruling</em></p>
<p><strong>What legal restrictions do Kenyan LGBTI people face?</strong></p>
<p>The two petitions that the High Court is dealing with are concerned with Sections 162 (a) and (c) and 165 of the <a href="http://www.kenyalaw.org/lex/actview.xql?actid=CAP.%2063">Kenyan Penal Code</a>. Section 162 sets out categories of “unnatural offences”, defined as “carnal knowledge against the order of nature”. This is a term that has historically referred to anal sexual intercourse. </p>
<p>The penalty for this is 14 years imprisonment. Although this law is not explicitly and exclusively about homosexuality – it would equally apply to heterosexual couples engaged in anal sex – it’s mostly been used to prosecute men involved in same-sex relationships.</p>
<p>Section 165 is concerned with “indecent practices between males”, either committed in private or in public. This carries a penalty of five years imprisonment. The law doesn’t provide a definition of what counts as “indecency”. However, historically it’s referred to non-penetrative sexual acts between men.</p>
<p>Both laws criminalise male homosexual relationships. But there’s room to interpret Section 162 to cover female same-sex relationships as “unnatural” too. This means that both men and women involved in same-sex relationships in Kenya fear the possibility of legal prosecution. </p>
<p><strong>How many of these laws date back to colonial times?</strong></p>
<p>Kenya’s <a href="http://www.kenyalaw.org/lex/actview.xql?actid=CAP.%2063">Penal Code</a> was originally <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyans-are-still-oppressed-by-archaic-colonial-laws-73880">introduced in 1930 when the country was a British colony</a>. </p>
<p>The British Empire first introduced laws against “unnatural offences” and “indecent practices among males” to <a href="http://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/bareacts/indianpenalcode/index.php?Title=Indian%20Penal%20Code,%201860">India’s Penal Code in 1860</a>. It then copied these to its colonies in Africa. </p>
<p>Human Rights Watch produced a report in 2008 entitled “<a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/lgbt1208_webwcover.pdf">This Alien Legacy</a>”. The report traced the origins of “sodomy” laws in the British colonial empire, pointing out that their introduction was inspired by a “mission of moral reform—to correct and Christianize ‘native’ custom”. </p>
<p>When Kenya became independent from Britain in 1964 it retained the Penal Code. In other words, it’s laws were never decolonised. The irony is that these laws are often now defended as reflecting “African values”. </p>
<p>As the Human Rights Watch report explains, the scope of the laws has expanded over the decades to include the penalisation of sex between two women which was never part of the British law.</p>
<p><strong>Are Kenya’s laws more restrictive than other countries in the region?</strong></p>
<p>The relevant sections of the Kenyan Penal Code are similar to laws in most other African countries, in particular former British colonies. Some countries, such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-26331660/ugandan-president-yoweri-museveni-signs-anti-gay-bill">Uganda</a> and <a href="http://www.lawnigeria.com/LawsoftheFederation/Same-Sex-Marriage-Prohibition-Act,-2014.html">Nigeria</a> have sought to introduce even more wide-ranging laws targeting LGBTI people in recent years. </p>
<p>In Kenya, on the other hand, the introduction of the new Constitution in 2010 has given growing impetus to the recognition of the rights of LGBTI people.</p>
<p>The Constitution doesn’t explicitly mention sexual orientation or gender identity. But, as prominent gay activist and lawyer Eric Gitari points out, it “<a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/04/01/kenya-leads-in-lgbt-equality-in-the-region_c1317474">nonetheless possessed golden threads of equality, dignity and freedom</a>”. </p>
<p>Indeed, various legal successes have been achieved in Kenyan courts in recent years. In 2014 the High Court ruled that the transgender organisation, <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000129302/kenyan-transgender-allowed-to-register-a-lobby-group">Transgender Education and Advocacy</a>, should be allowed to register as an NGO, and in 2015 a similar ruling was made for the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/28/kenya-high-court-orders-lgbt-group-registration">National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission</a>. Thus the right to freedom of association was effectively applied to LGBT groups, and the right to protection against discrimination was applied to sexual orientation and gender identity. </p>
<p>In 2018 a Court of Appeal in Mombasa ruled that <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/22/kenya-court-finds-forced-anal-exams-unconstitutional">forced anal examination</a> of people accused of same-sex activity was unconstitutional as it violated the right to privacy. </p>
<p><strong>Are attitudes towards gay rights changing in the country?</strong></p>
<p>During the campaign towards the referendum about the new constitution, conservative forces – including the current Deputy President, <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/kenyareferendum/No-team-launch-secretariat--confident-of-win/926046-935284-1x8p7hz/index.html">William Ruto</a> – called on citizens to vote against it. One of their arguments for taking this stance was that it would lead to the legalisation of homosexuality. </p>
<p>Despite this, the majority of Kenyans voters (67%) came out in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10876635">support of the new constitution</a>, which, at the very least, suggests that homosexuality was not their top priority.</p>
<p>Many prominent political and religious leaders in Kenya are vocal on issues of homosexuality. And the Kenyan Film Classification Board has <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/tiffany-kagure-mugo/state-sanctioned-erasure-queer-stories-africa">banned several gay-themed films</a> in recent years because they would promote “immorality”. </p>
<p>But it seems that attitudes might be changing slowly.</p>
<p>One example of this is that the Kenyan media reflect a wide range of opinions on LGBTI related matters and don’t hesitate to challenge and criticise politicians using homophobic rhetoric. This isn’t echoed in the media of some other countries in the region. </p>
<p>There is also a growing visibility of LGBTI people in Kenya, which has helped to give a face to an issue that was previously rather abstract to most Kenyans.</p>
<p>President Uhuru Kenyatta’s repeated statement that for most Kenyans today <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Gay-rights-non-issue-Uhuru-Obama/1056-2801274-10eqhyx/index.html">homosexuality is a “non-issue”</a> is also interesting, because it leaves open the possibility of future social and political change on the subject.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112317/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adriaan van Klinken does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Kenya’s LGBTI community will have to wait a while longer for the High Court’s ruling on whether it will decriminalise homosexual relationships.Adriaan van Klinken, Associate Professor of Religion and African Studies, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.