The American Civil Liberties’ Union (ACLU) issued a Twitter thread Wednesday that claimed to offer facts debunking four myths about trans people in school sports.
“Attacks on trans youth in sports are showing up in dozens of state legislatures nationwide,” the thread begins. “These bans are discriminatory, harmful, and unscientific.”
The ACLU went on to explain that, first of all, “trans girls are girls,” and that the idea of sex being rooted in biology is a “myth.”
“There is no one way for our bodies to be,” they wrote. “Women, including women who are transgender, intersex, or disabled, have a range of different physical characteristics. Biological sex and gender are not binaries. There are no set hormone ranges, body parts, or chromosomes that all people of a particular sex or gender have.”
FACT ONE: Trans girls are girls. pic.twitter.com/R5OWNl5ooI
— ACLU (@ACLU) February 3, 2021
The next two “myths” the ACLU attempted to bust were that trans athletes have an unfair advantage in sports and that allowing biological men to compete against women could be dangerous.
“Trans athletes do not have an unfair advantage in sports,” they asserted. “Trans athletes vary in athletic ability just like cisgender athletes. In many states, the very same cis girls who have claimed that trans athletes have an ‘unfair’ advantage have consistently performed as well as or better than transgender competitors.”
Regarding the claim that biological men competing against biological women could prove problematic, the ACLU assured that “including trans athletes will benefit everyone.” Far worse, they claimed, would be to exclude trans women from women’s sports because it would hurt all women. “It invites gender policing that could subject any woman to invasive tests and accusations of being ‘too masculine’ or ‘too good’ at their sport to be a ‘real’ woman.”
FACT THREE: Including trans athletes will benefit everyone. pic.twitter.com/H0Fpt8xb4X
— ACLU (@ACLU) February 3, 2021
The fourth alleged myth the ACLU took to task was a compromise recently floated by retired NFL defensive end Marcellus Wiley, who suggested that trans students simply be placed on their own teams.
“Trans people, like all people, may experience detrimental effects to their physical and emotional wellbeing when they are pushed out of affirming spaces and communities,” they argued. “Efforts to exclude subsets of girls from sports can undermine team unity. And youth derive the most benefits from athletics when they are exposed to caring environments where teammates are supported by each other and by coaches.”
The ACLU then linked to a petition that explained how they are suing the state of Idaho for passing a ban on biological men competing on sports teams with biological women.
“Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like anyone. Denying this right is pure discrimination,” the petition reads in part.
Say it with us: Trans people belong EVERYWHERE — including on sports teams. https://t.co/3e7Or90lZ5
— ACLU (@ACLU) February 3, 2021
Chase Strangio, an attorney with the ACLU who identifies as transgender, said last month that the belief men are better athletes and that sex is binary is one rooted in “white supremacy and misogyny.”
“Both of these premises are rooted in misogyny and white supremacy,” Strangio tweeted. “The interest behind these narratives is not in ‘protecting women’ but rather protecting the power of the state to control people’s bodies and constrain people’s identities.”