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transgender injustices

2 additions to document , most recent over 5 years ago

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Nov-03-18 transgender unfair advantage
Nov-03-18 transgender unfair advantage

The following I felt was necessary to present a real picture of the discrimination we transgender people face. I submit the following which I extracted from the 2011 US Trans Study, conducted by NCTE (The National Center For Transgender Equality) and The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

I will note that yours truly, the Diarist, IS INCLUDED in the 6,450 respondents to the 2011 US Trans Survey. At the bottom of this, in an Update, I will post my experiences as it relates to this study.

Results from the 2015 survey have not yet been released, presumably they are in the process of compiling the data and crunching the numbers. The full report is well over 200 pages, and so I extracted some of the most salient points for easy reading here. A link to the full study is included in the summary. It is submitted without any additional comment below:

Source: "Injustice At Every Turn" - report of the 2011 US Trans Survey, by NCTE, National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/NTDS_Report.pdf
41 percent of trans had attempted suicide, versus 1.6 percent of general population
Those rates rose to the following if these additional factors were added:
55 percent of trans who has suffered job discrimination
51 percent who were harassed/bullied in school
61 percent who had low income household or had suffered physical assault
64 percent who had suffered sexual assault
Study contained responses from 6.450 transgender and non-gender-conforming persons - respondents came from all 50 US states, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, DC and Guam.
They represented every race and age group. They represented every standard income level.
27 percent of respondents reported income under $20K per annum, versus 13 percent of the general population being in that same income range.
It also included 14 percent of respondents reporting an income over $100K per annum, versus 25% of the general population being in that same income range.
63 percent of respondents reported suffering one or more of the following discriminatory actions, any of which have a major impact on the quality of life of trans people and their ability to sustain themselves emotionally or financially:
Loss of job due to bias
Eviction due to bias
School bullying/harassment so bad the respondent had to drop out
Teacher bullying
Physical assault due to bias
Sexual assault due to bias
Homelessness because of gender identity/expression
Loss of relationship with partner or children due to gender identity/expression
Denial of medical service due to bias
Incarceration due to gender identity/expression
23% of respondents reported suffering at least three of the above at some point in their lives.
Key findings in Education:
Those who expressed a transgender identity or gender non-conformity while in grades K-12 reported alarming rates of harassment (78%), physical assault (35%) and sexual violence (12%).
The harassment was so severe that it led nearly one-sixth (15%) to leave school in grades K-12 or in higher education settings.
Six percent (6%) of respondents were expelled in grades K-12 for their gender identity/expression.
Teachers and staff members, whose job in part includes ensuring student safety, were too often the perpetrators of harassment and violence in K-12. Thirty-one percent (31%) of the sample reported harassment by teachers or staff, 5% reported physical assault by teachers or staff and 3% reported sexual assault by teachers or staff.
Educational attainment did not provide respondents the protection against poverty that is common in the United States. At each level of educational attainment, our respondents had considerably lower incomes than the general population. Our sample was 4-5 times more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000/year at each educational category, including college graduates.
Key findings in Employment:
Double the rate of unemployment: Survey respondents experienced unemployment at twice the rate of the general population, with rates for people of color up to four times the national unemployment rate.
Near universal harassment on the job: Ninety percent (90%) of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job or took actions to avoid it.
Considerable loss of jobs and careers: Forty-seven percent (47%) said they had experienced an adverse job outcome, such as being fired, not hired or denied a promotion because of being transgender/gender non-conforming; 26% of respondents said that they had lost a job due to being transgender or gender non-conforming.
Race multiplies the effect of discrimination: For Black, Latino/a, American Indian and multiracial respondents, discrimination in the workplace was even more pervasive, sometimes resulting in up to twice or three times the rates of various negative outcomes.
Living in dire poverty: Fifteen percent (15%) of our respondents reported a household income under $10,000/year, nearly four times the rate of this category for the general population.
Those who lost a job due to bias lived at this level of poverty at six times the rate of the general population.
Rampant under-employment: Forty-four percent (44%) reported experiencing under-employment. Large majorities attempted to avoid discrimination by hiding their gender or gender transition (71%) or delaying their gender transition (57%).
The vast majority (78%) of those who transitioned from one gender to the other reported that they felt more comfortable at work and their job performance improved.
Eighty-six percent (86%) of those who have not lost a job due to bias reported that they were able to access restrooms at work appropriate for their gender identity, meaning that 14% of those who kept their jobs were denied access.
People who had lost a job due to bias or were currently unemployed reported much higher involvement in underground employment such as sex work or drug sales, had much higher levels of incarceration and homelessness, and negative health outcomes.
Sixteen percent (16%) said they had been compelled to engage in underground employment for income. Eleven percent (11%) turned to sex work.
Forty-five (45%) of our sample reported having been referred to by the wrong pronouns “repeatedly and on purpose” at work.
Forty-one percent (41%) of respondents reported having been asked inappropriate questions about their transgender or surgical status.
Thirty-two percent (32%) of respondents reported being forced to present in the wrong gender to keep their jobs. Our question did not specify whether they were required to do so by their employer, or they felt forced to because of fear of discrimination.
Many respondents stayed in jobs they would have preferred to leave (45%) or didn’t seek promotions or raises (30%) in order to avoid discrimination. Others (42%) said they had changed jobs to escape discrimination.
The most obvious sign of this discrimination was the extremely high unemployment figures, double the rate of the general population at the time of study. Underemployment and low household income were also widely reported.
Key findings in Health:
Survey participants reported that when they were sick or injured, they postponed medical care due to discrimination (28%) or inability to afford it (48%).
Respondents faced serious hurdles to accessing health care, including:
Refusal of care: 19% of our sample reported being refused care due to their transgender or gender non- conforming status, with even higher numbers among people of color in the survey.
Harassment and violence in medical settings: 28% of respondents were subjected to harassment in medical settings and 2% were victims of violence in doctor’s office.
Lack of provider knowledge: 50% of the sample reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care.
If medical providers were aware of the patient’s transgender status, the likelihood of that person experiencing discrimination increased.
Over a quarter of the respondents misused drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with the mistreatment they faced due to their gender identity or expression.
We also asked whether respondents had been denied service altogether by doctors and other providers.
Nineteen percent (19%) had been refused treatment by a doctor or other provider because of their transgender or gender non-conforming status.
Twenty-four percent (24%) of transgender women reported having been refused treatment altogether and 20% of transgender men did.
Over one-quarter of respondents (28%) reported verbal harassment in a doctor’s office, emergency room or other medical setting and 2% of the respondents reported being physically attacked in a doctor’s office.
Due to discrimination and disrespect, 28% postponed or avoided medical treatment when they were sick or injured and 33% delayed or did not try to get preventive health care.
Key findings for Family Life:
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of respondents experienced family rejection.
Relationships ended for 45% of those who came out to partners.
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of those with children experienced an ex-partner limiting their contact with their children.
Courts limited or stopped relationships with children for 13% of respondents, with Black, Asian, and multiracial respondents experiencing higher rates of court interference.
Nineteen percent (19%) of respondents reported experiencing domestic violence by a family member because they were transgender or gender non-conforming.
Two-fifths (40%) of respondents reported that their parents or other family members “chose not to speak or spend time with me” due to their gender identity/expression.
Over half the sample (58%) experienced the loss of close friendships as a result of their gender identity/expression.
Key findings in Homelessness/Housing:
The various forms of direct housing discrimination faced by respondents included 19% being denied a home or apartment and 11% being evicted because they were transgender or gender non-conforming.

Nineteen percent (19%) of respondents became homeless at some point because they were transgender or gender non-conforming, and 1.7% of respondents were currently homeless.

Those who had experienced homelessness were 2.5 times more likely to have been incarcerated (34%) than those who had not (13%)
Were more than four times more likely to have done sex work for income (33%) than those who had not (8%).
Were more likely to be HIV-positive (7.12%) than those who had not (1.97%)
Were much more likely to have attempted suicide (69%) than those who had not (38%).
For those respondents who had attempted to access homeless shelters:
29% were turned away altogether
42% were forced to stay in facilities designated for the wrong gender
and others encountered a hostile environment.
Fifty-five percent (55%) reported being harassed
25% were physically assaulted
and 22% were sexually assaulted.
Respondents were forced to use various strategies to secure shelter including
moving into a less expensive home/ apartment (40%)
moving in with family or friends (25%)
and having sex with people to sleep in a bed (12%).
Thirty-two percent (32%) of respondents reported owning their home, compared to 67% of the general population.
1.7% of the sample responded that they were currently homeless or living in a shelter, which is nearly double the percentage that the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates for the U.S. population.
Key findings for Public Accommodations:
Over half (53%) of respondents reported being verbally harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation.
Forty-four percent (44%) of respondents reported being denied equal treatment or service at least once at one or more of the 15 types of public accommodation covered in the study.
Eight percent (8%) of respondents reported being physically attacked or assaulted in places of public accommodation.
Respondents of color generally experienced higher rates of abuse in public accommodations than their white peers. African American respondents endured much higher rates of physical assault than their non-Black peers, at 22% (relative to the 8% mentioned above).
46% reported discrimination or harassment in retail stores
35% reported discrimination or harassment from police officers
35% reported discrimination or harassment from doctors/hospitals
33% reported discrimination or harassment in hotels and restaurants
32% reported discrimination or harassment from a government agency or official
26% reported discrimination or harassment on a bus, train, or taxi
22% reported discrimination or harassment in an emergency room setting
21% reported discrimination or harassment on an airplane, from airport staff or TSA agents
19% reported discrimination or harassment from a judge or other officer of the court
18% reported discrimination or harassment from a mental health clinic
12% reported discrimination or harassment from a EMT's or ambulance workers
9% reported discrimination or harassment from domestic violence shelters/programs
7% reported discrimination or harassment from rape crisis centers
6% reported discrimination or harassment from drug treatment programs
Key findings on Identity Documents:
Of people who had already transitioned from male to female or female to male:
Only one-fifth (21%) have been able to update all of their IDs and records with their new gender
and one-third (33%) had updated none of their IDs/records.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) reported updating the gender on their driver’s license/state ID.
About half (49%) reported updating the gender in their Social Security record.
About one quarter (26%) reported updating the gender on their passport.
About one quarter (24%) reported updating the gender on their birth certificate.
Forty percent (40%) of those who presented ID (when it was required in the ordinary course of life) that did not match their gender identity/expression reported being harassed and 3% reported being attacked or assaulted. Fifteen percent (15%) reported being asked to leave the setting in which they had presented incongruent identification.
Rates of reported hiring discrimination, and discrimination in housing, including campus housing, are much higher for those who do not have an updated driver’s license.
From 1992 until June 2010, the U.S. Department of State had a policy of requiring proof of “sex reassignment surgery” before changing gender markers on passports. In 2010, the department, eliminated the surgery requirement, but field work for our study was done before that action.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of respondents who had transitioned reported having updated the gender markers on their passport.
Seven percent were denied
68% either did not try or chose “not applicable” likely meaning they did not have a passport.
We asked respondents whether “All,” “Some,” or “None” of their IDs and records match the “gender you prefer.” Of those who had transitioned:
Only 21% reported that they had been able to update all of their IDs and records.
About half (46%) indicated that they have been able to update some of their IDs and/or records
One-third (33%) indicated that none of their IDs and records matched their current gender identity.
For transgender and gender non-conforming people, not having identification consistent with their gender identity or expression can have far-reaching negative consequences. Whenever people with incongruent identification documents must produce them, they are potentially revealed as transgender, whether to an employer, clerk, police officer, or airport personnel.
Each of these “outings” presents the possibility for disrespect, harassment, discrimination or violence as outlined above.
In the hiring process, ID is required by employers who need to fill out government forms relating to taxes and Social Security when adding an employee to payroll.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that some transgender people are offered jobs by employers who don’t realize these job candidates are transgender, and when ID is provided that doesn’t match gender identity/expression, the result can be withdrawal of the offer of employment.
Key findings in Police/Incarceration:
One-fifth (22%) of respondents who have interacted with police reported harassment by police due to bias, with substantially higher rates (29-38%) reported by respondents of color.
Six percent (6%) reported physical assault and 2% reported sexual assault by police officers because they were transgender or gender non-conforming.
Twenty percent (20%) reported denial of equal service by police.
Almost half of the respondents (46%) reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance.
While 7% of the sample reported being held in a cell due to their gender identity/expression alone, these rates skyrocketed for Black (41%) and Latino/a (21%) respondents.
Respondents who served time in jail reported harassment by correctional officers (37%) more often than harassment by peers (35%).
Physical and sexual assault in jail/prison is a real problem:
16% of respondents who had been to jail or prison reported being physically assaulted and 15% reported being sexually assaulted.
African-American respondents reported much higher rates of physical and sexual assault in prison, by other inmates and corrections officers, than their counterparts.
Health care denial was another form of abuse in prison, with
12% of people who had been in jails or prisons reporting denial of routine health care and
17% reporting denial of hormones.

In May, "Orange is the New Black" transgender star Laverne Cox appeared on the cover of Time. Earlier this month, Amazon’s “Transparent,” which focuses on a family with a transgender father, won the Golden Globe for best comedy series. And on Tuesday night, for the first time ever, a president said the word “transgender” in the State of the Union address:

As Americans, we respect human dignity…” Obama declared. “That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, hopes the mention thrusts transgender issues into more national policy discussions. “The point of the president’s speech was about economics, about making the country more livable for people in the working class and in poverty,” she said. “It wasn’t a transgender speech at all -- but just inserting the words LGBT the way he did… He’s bringing us into that dream, that promise.”

Though visibility of transgender Americans is rapidly heightening, people in the community still face discrimination from employers, housing agencies, medical providers and the military, Keisling said. They endure harassment in every aspect of their lives: at home, school, work and on the streets.

Helping to stop the discrimination, she said, starts with data collection.

1) We still don’t know how many Americans identify as transgender.

Gary Gates, an LGBT demographer at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law’s Williams Institute, came up with the most frequently cited (yet greatly limited) estimates of the country’s transgender population: 700,000, or about 0.3 percent of adults.The figure comes from two surveys. One was conducted in Massachusetts in 2007 and 2009; the other in California in 2003.

The largest government-funded population surveys ask for your gender. But the U.S. Census, for example, allows for only two responses: male or female. There’s no option for transgender folks and therefore no way to broadly count them. When you can’t quantify the statistics of a group, Keisling said, you can’t understand its challenges -- or easily lobby for federal funding -- without evidence.

“We know there are disparities in the LGBT community, especially when it comes to things like housing and health care,” Keisling said. “It’s imperative to collect that data so there is a documented government interest to solve these problems.”

So far, what’s known about transgender Americans comes from comparatively small samples. In 2008, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force published Injustice at Every Turn -- the largest survey yet, with only 6, 450 participants. (The same researchers are now working on a bigger update to be published next year.)

2) Transgender people face a much higher suicide risk.

Forty-one percent of transgender people surveyed in Injustice at Every Turn said they had attempted suicide, compared with 1.6 percent of the general population. Risk increased for those who reported bullying, sexual assault and job loss.

Analysis this year by the Williams Institute found 78 percent of transgender respondents who had endured physical or sexual violence at school had attempted suicide.

3) Poverty is a massive problem in the trans community.

Transgender respondents were nearly four times more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000, compared to the general population, Injustice at Every Turn found. They were unemployed at twice the rate of the general population, or roughly between 10 percent and 14 percent throughout 2008, the year the survey was conducted.

4) And homeless shelters can be especially hostile environments.

One-fifth of survey respondents said they’d been homeless at some point. More than half reported being harassed at a homeless shelter by residents and staff. Nearly one-third said they were turned away altogether. Nearly a quarter said they were sexually assaulted

5) The trans community reports much higher rates of housing discrimination...

Four years ago, the Department of Housing and Urban Development published a report showing evidence “that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and families are being arbitrarily excluded from some housing opportunities in the private sector.” Eleven percent of respondents reported having been evicted due to bias, according to the report, and 19 percent reported becoming homeless.

6) And health care discrimination...

A 2010 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found most transgender respondents received some kind of transition-related medical care. However, 19 percent said they had been refused care due to their gender status, with higher numbers among people of color. Twenty-eight percent said they had been harassed in a medical setting. And half said they had to teach their medical providers about transgender care.

7) And discrimination at work.

According to the the Injustice at Every Turn survey, 25 percent of transgender recipients reported losing a job because they did not conform to gender norms. A staggering 90 percent said they faced some form of transgender-based discrimination.

8) Transgender people still can’t technically serve in the military.

They're barred from entering military service by medical regulations, Keisling said. Potential service members must undergo a physical exam before joining. They can be rejected for evidence of genital surgery. Still, about 15,000 transgender people are currently serving in the military, according to research from the Williams Ins

A sign posted outside a gender-neutral bathroom at a restaurant, taking a stance against LGBTQ discrimination.

For more than 15,000 students today, the act of going to the bathroom at school has become a daily choice between risking their personal safety or breaking the law. This is the case for transgender teenagers living in North Carolina under the law of HB2, or commonly known as #BathroomBill. On March 23, 2016, North Carolina became the first state in the country to ban people from using government-owned restrooms that don't match the gender written on their birth certificates.

This outright discrimination against transgender people has sparked a national conversation about LGBTQ injustice. In reaction to HB2, Target announced its store-wide policy that continues to welcome transgender people to use the bathrooms and fitting rooms that correspond with their gender identity. In their statement, Target said “We believe that everyone — every team member, every guest, and every community — deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally,” #Preach.

Aside from the unfairness of it all, restrooms have often been a source of danger and harassment for transgender people. According to a recent survey in Washington, D.C., 70% of transgender people have been attacked, harassed or denied access to a bathroom.

The transgender and LGBTQ community already faces significant discrimination without the need for this additional worry about whether or not it's legal to use the bathroom they feel most comfortable in. Many universities have resources for LGBTQ people, such as bathroom maps to help identify gender-neutral or single-stall bathroom options on campus.

Recently, lawmakers in six more states have proposed bathroom bills that would discriminate against transgender people in Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, and Washington. Now more than ever, it’s important to stand up against LGBTQ injustice to fight for equal rights for all.

How can you demonstrate acceptance with the LGBTQ community at your school? What can you do to make your environment safer and more welcoming for your transgender peers?

Join a community of peacemakers and create a project to address LGBTQ injustice today!

titute.

DMU Timestamp: September 17, 2018 17:21

Added November 03, 2018 at 12:51am by emmanuela androulidakis
Title: transgender unfair advantage

In this Olympics season, I wasn’t surprised that the subject of transgender athletes came up in my recent online chat, specifically trans women competing against those “born female,” as the writer described. The issue: With new Olympic guidelines in place, do trans women athletes have an unfair advantage?

“I’m LBGTQ-friendly (use the bathroom of your gender identity, marry the person you love, etc.), but the one issue I can’t quite resolve in my head is athletics. Transgender females — biologically they would tend to be taller, faster and stronger than those born female, particularly if they are not taking any hormones (though there is a spectrum of these strengths across both genders). What are your thoughts?”

Indeed, there was a time when all this seemed pretty simple. We had men and women, boys and girls — but we now know that gender is anything but simple.

DMU Timestamp: November 02, 2018 17:13

Added November 03, 2018 at 1:12am by emmanuela androulidakis
Title: transgender unfair advantage

Some Connecticut parents are petitioning to change the rules of state high school athletics after two transgender track and field stars began dominating girls' competitions.

Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, both 16, are transgender student-athletes who compete on the girls' track and field teams at their high schools, and their state championship glory has triggered a heated debate in their community.

Terry and Andraya came in first and second place, respectively, in the 100-meter race at the State Open Finals on June 4. Terry also won the top prize for the 200-meter dash.

"I was expecting it," Terry told ABC News' Linsey Davis of the backlash she's faced as a trans athlete. "Every day, I would go home, search up 'track and field high school Terry Miller.'"

Some online comments have been harsh, Terry said. Critics complain that she and Andraya both have an unfair advantage, after having been assigned the male sex at

birth. The critics say the male testosterone hormone gives them a leg up in sports.

Andraya told ABC News that she decided "the summer before ninth grade” it would be more appropriate for her to run on the girls' team because she

identifies as female.

Both athletes have begun hormone therapy and said for the most part they've been welcomed by family, friends, coaches and administrators with open arms.

Recently, however, two petitions were started in an attempt to change the rules at their local governing body of interscholastic sports, which allows students to participate on a team based on their gender identity or how they identify.

he girls athletes are at the physical disadvantage compared to the transgender female," said Bianca Stanescu, a parent who started one of the petitions after her daughter lost to Andraya and Terry at a track meet in May.

"They have, naturally, testosterone within their body that has been proven to give a physical advantage in sports," Stanescu added.

Stanescu, who did not know the girls were already taking the female hormones, has garnered a little over one hundred signatures to date. Medical science shows that estrogen therapy changes the body, replacing some lean muscle with fat, though it affects every individual differently.

Both girls said they try not to let the online complaints get to them.

"I'm not affected by it at all," Andraya said. "I just roll my eyes and keep pushing."

Andraya's parents said what is most important is not track and field accolades, but the well-being of their child.

"Track is number 100 on my list of concerns as a father of a transgender daughter," Rahsaan Yearwood told ABC News.

"I'm talking about raising a child for life, and so is it fair that that child is excluded?" he added. "Is it fair that that child doesn't feel like they have a place they belong?

Ngozi Nnaji, Andraya's mother, added that running on the girls' team "allows her to be who she wants to be."

"And I think that has a little bit more weight ... than just winning a medal," she added.

Rules surrounding transgender student-athletes at the high school level vary from state to state. In seven states, students must either: play on the team that matches their birth certificate; the team for which they have undergone gender reassignment surgery; or the one for which had extended hormone therapy. Medical research can't identify the line where a competitive advantage may or may not exist for trans athletes for either gender.

Despite the petitions circulating in her community, Andraya said her track and field goal is "to qualify for nationals next year in outdoor and in indoor track," adding that she has been avidly training to accomplish her goal.

Andraya said she also hopes to "inspire others," and if she could send a message to other trans youth it would be: "Just follow your heart."

Don't let other people determine what you do in life," she added.

Terry said that she believes if the roles were reversed, she would welcome a

transgender teammate even if it meant she were losing competitions.

"It would just push me to run faster," she said. "I'd be happy for them, 'cause they get to do what they want. They're happy, so then that should in turn make me happy."

Terry said she also hopes to qualify for nationals, but she also hopes to be a voice for others who are different.

"I want to speak for people," she said, "that aren't looked at normal, or are basically outed, or put in a different group because of their differences."

Some parents within Connecticut's high school track and field circle expressed outraged when two transgender students took home top prizes at the state championships for girls.

Transgender high school sophomores Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood came in first and second place, respectively, in the 100-meter race at the State Open Finals June 4, angering some parents who complained they had a competitive advantage over non-transgender students.

Miller, who also won the top prize for the 200-meter race representing Bulkeley High School in Hartford, and Yearwood were born male, but they now identify as females.

Athletic conference rules allow high school athletes to compete based on the genders with which they identify. Critics say the rules give male-to-female transgender people a competitive edge over cisgender women -- whose biological sex matches their gender identity -- because some have higher testosterone levels than non-trans females.

“I think it’s unfair to the girls who work really hard to do well and qualify for Opens and New Englands [competitions],” sophomore sprinter Selina Soule, who finished sixth in the 100-meter State Open Finals, told the Hartford Courant. “These girls, they’re just coming in and beating everyone. I have no problem with them wanting to be a girl.”

PHOTO: Andraya Yearwood is a sophomore star on the track team at Cromwell High School in Conn.

“These girls worked hard only to be cheated because science deniers allowed two boys to steal what they worked so hard for,” one Twitter user commented, while others urged the non-trans girls to boycott their respective teams until the rules are changed.

ABC News has been unable to reach Miller and Yearwood.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference [CIAC], which governs high school sports, said its rules are in alignment with state law.

Connecticut law would need to be changed before the CIAC could alter its policy, the organization said, but that hasn’t st

At least two petitions were in circulation after the race, according to the Hartford Courant, which interviewed parents who were in favor of the rule change. The petitions had about 150 signatures as of June 4, the paper reported.

Cyd Zeigler, the author of “Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sports” and a co-founder of news website Outsports, said the petitions were “discouraging.”

“I’m really tired of hearing about unfair advantages. The way our entire society is designed, transgender people have inherent disadvantages everywhere they turn,” Zeigler told ABC News. “They want to call these advantages unfair, as though if you’re a cisgender person that any advantage that you might have over someone else are fair.

“But any advantages that a transgender athlete might possibly have are

opped people from challenging the rules.

It’s highly unlikely that Connecticut will change its policy and “move backwards” on its transgender inclusion efforts, Zeigler said.

“The country is a patchwork of transgender sports policies at different levels in different states,” Zeigler said. “Connecticut happens to have a very open policy, while Texas has a very closed policy, where you must compete as the gender on your birth certificate”

Chris Mosier, who made history as the first openly trans man to compete on the men’s U.S. national team at the International Triathlon Union Duathlon World Championships in June, said the petitions are examples of what can happen when adults lack understanding of transgender culture.

“Transgender athletes, and particularly transgender girls, face so much resistance and discrimination within sports, as well as the rest of society,” Mosier said. “We can’t just assume that these athletes are winning because they’re transgender. It’s possible that they’d be beating these other student-athletes if they were cisgender.”

He commended Miller and Yearwood, the teenage racers from Connecticut, for having the courage to come out as transgender at such early ages.

“As you can see from the situation in Connecticut, it takes a very strong person to both be their authentic selves and to continue to play the sports that they love,” Mosier said. “I think trans girls face a lot of discrimination and it is much more severe than it is for trans boys.”

Like Zeigler, Mosier said the criticism surrounding the Connecticut track stars should be taken just as seriously as any other anti-transgender behavior.

“Trans girls are girls,” Mosier said. “They should be treated as girls and they should be able to participate with the other girls in their class. We need to dismantle some of these stereotypes and myths and fears that people have about who we are as people.”

Yearwood, a sophomore at Cromwell High School in Cromwell, Connecticut, faced similar criticisms last year when she captured the 100-meter State Open title, but she said she didn’t let it bother her.

"I guess since I was always different I learned to deal with it and grow tougher skin over it," Yearwood said in an interview with ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH last year.

"I'm extremely grateful because I've heard of stories where some people don't get the same opportunities as me and have had to go through really hard times with this.

DMU Timestamp: November 02, 2018 17:13





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