Joe Biden Makes Huge Stride for Transgender Women in School Sports
Since his first day in office, Joe Biden has been making huge steps towards making a conscious change in the climate of this country in countless different aspects. One specifically being in the LGBTQ Community.
For many, sports are part of who they are. They are a way to feel like part of something bigger and to make lifelong relationships with others. Sports have always been a way for people to have fun and enjoy themselves, especially when you want a way to feel normal again after knowing that who you are is not okay to many. Transgender women have been discriminated against in sports until now.
In his first official week, he made it so that transgender women were allowed to play in women’s school sports. While he made a huge difference in many transgender lives, he got lots of backlashes. Many like Abigal Shrier say that he, “unilaterally eviscerates women's sports” and protested with the hashtag #BidenErasedWomen. His bill calls for a broader application of Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation to be more than just in the workplace.
Biden says that “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports." Although he has said this, it is also not true that any educational institution that is federally funded has to allow biologically male athletes to these teams.
Many feel that this is radical, but in fact, it is not, for the way Biden has chosen to interpret the Bostock V. Clayton Ruling was just let them play.
It is important to note that this order does not go beyond school sports, so collegiate and professional sports are not included in this because there are already rules set in place for those and the White House has already made it clear that these are not included.
Although many are against what Biden has done, he has made one step of many to ensure that transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community are not discriminated against and have all the same rights as others. Much more needs to be done for these people, but as of now, making these small steps will lead to bigger ones in the future. There is so much more that needs to be done within our communities and in this country but to know that this is just the beginning is absolutely amazing.
Sources:
https://www.theday.com/article/20210126/SPORT01/210129572
theguardian.com/sport/2021/jan/22/transgender-athletes-joe-biden-executive-order