Texas Has Officially Banned Trans Girls From Competing In Female Sports

By Stewart Perrie

Texan Governor Greg Abbott has signed a bill that will officially ban trans girls from being able to compete in female sports at public schools in the state.

It won't kick into effect until January next year however proponents of the bill are hopeful it will bring fairness in sport.

They also argue trans girls have a competitive edge to cisgendered girls despite there being little evidence this is a problem in Texan high schools.

Trans girls won't be allowed to provide updated birth certificates that prove they are legally declared female by the state of Texas.

The only birth certificate that will be accepted is one that was updated because of a clerical error.

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The University Interscholastic League previously was allowing birth certificates from trans girls to prove they were eligible to play with other girls, but the new Texas bill signed into law will override that organisation.

Republican Valoree Swanson introduced the bill because she was worried female sports were under threat.

She said: "House Bill 25 is one of the greatest victories for equality for girls since Title IX passed 50 years ago.

"I have fought every political and legislative obstacle for an entire year - session after session - to protect the 332,000 girls in UIL sports, and I am overjoyed that Governor Abbott has signed my bill into law."

Mary Emily O'Hara, a spokesperson for LGBTQIA+ organisation GLAAD, said the reasoning used to justify the new Texas law doesn't stand up.

She said: "The sports issue is the latest creative framing - it's a Trojan horse.

If you ask women athletes, the participation of trans women and girls is not an issue in women's sports.

"The issues are pay disparity, sexual abuse and harassment, and not enough media coverage. Not enough funding. Women's sports have real challenges, none of which have anything to do with transgender girls."

Texas now joins a raft of other US states, like Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, and West Virginia, who have brought in or proposed similar laws to keep trans girls out of female sport.

Idaho told female trans students at public schools or colleges they weren't permitted to compete against athletes of their chosen gender if they were assigned male at birth.

Despite the law being agreed to by the governor, a federal court blocked the legislation from being enacted.

Topics: transgender athletes, Australia

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