New England Parents Take Stand Against Men Competing in Female Athletic Competitions
Disgruntled Connecticut parents have responded to frustration from their children about transgender athletes competing alongside members of the opposite sex, and have started a petition to call for a change in policies.
Parents from Plainville and Glastonbury started the petition after a male runner took first place in the women’s 100-meter dash for the second consecutive year, the Hartford Courant reports.
The petition has garnered 150 signatures to date.
Those who have signed the petition want the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference to change its policies which allow athletes to compete according to their gender identity.
“I think it’s unfair to the girls who work really hard to do well,” said Glastonbury sophomore sprinter Selina Soule.
She said she doesn’t think it’s fair for boys who identify as girls to race together when boys are faster and stronger than girls.
Others don’t agree however, and think repealing the policy allowing transgenders to compete according to their identity would be disrespectful and harmful.
“A transgender girl is a girl and ought to be treated like a girl,” Western New England College Center of Gender and Sexuality Studies director Erin Buzuvis told the Courant.
“If you start to put limitations or exclusions on their participation … you are disregarding and disrespecting a population of students based on a core aspect of their identity.”
Student athletes competing in the Glastonbury and Plainville districts must possess school records identifying them as their chosen gender.
Those records must be verified by school officials to make sure the gender identification is made in good faith rather than to gain an unfair advantage.
Medical research shows 80 to 95 percent of children outgrow their gender dysphoria naturally and accept their biological sex if nature takes its course.
There also hasn’t been a single long-term randomized study on the effects of hormone-blocking treatments on children, and no laws govern or regulate hormone-blocker usage.
The petition has not yet been submitted to CIAC officials.
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