LGBTQ+ social justice advocates testify against the exclusion of transgender youth in UIL athletics
Oct. 28, 2021
On Sept. 21, a sea of pink, blue and white transgender pride flags and signs greeted those who entered the Austin State Capitol building. Students, parents and advocacy groups expressed their opposition to a bill that would exclude transgender youth from sports.
Anguished testimonies and anger toward Texas legislators set the tone during the Senate Committee of Health and Human Services hearing regarding Senate Bill 3. Senator Charles Perry, the author of the bill, stated that his intent was to “protect women and girls in sports.” This bill will require student-athletes competing in the University Interscholastic League to play on sports teams that correspond with their sex assigned at birth as opposed to their gender identities. Members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies say that this bill, and similar Texas legislation, has traumatic effects on the mental health, well being and even longevity of transgender youth who will be restricted by it.
Senator Perry expressed bemusement toward the protestors. “I know as a 12th grader and under, I wasn’t listening to Senate, or House or legislative testimony,” Senator Perry said. “I don’t know how those kids are getting the message that they need to be paying attention to a Senate hearing.”
Senator Perry said that while he does sympathize with those who oppose the bill, he does not believe that this legislation will have a personal impact on young students.
“We make laws for bad actors. What do you do with the 14 or 15 year old biological male, that has not had any conversations regarding (being) trans, that has decided that today they feel like they want to be trans.” Perry said. “You almost have to anticipate those that would take advantage and those that would find a loophole.”
Opponents of Senate Bill 3 said that despite Senator Perry’s claims to protect young female athletes, the bill instead punishes and excludes transgender youth as it limits their ability to freely participate in sports alongside their peers as their authentic selves.
Adri Perez, a transgender Texan who works as a policy and advocacy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, has testified at five hearings concerning transgender athletes competing in UIL sports.
“Currently there are now 77 anti-LGBTQ bills that have been filed in 2021. Of those 77 bills, 49 of them are anti-trans. And of the 49 anti-trans bills 25 of them have been an attempt to ban transgender kids from participating in sports with their peers,” Perez said.
Perez, who goes by they/them pronouns, shared a personal anecdote about growing up playing sports among people of all backgrounds and biological differences that had no negative impact on themself or those around them. With their intersectional background and extensive advocacy work in the Austin community, Perez said that they hope to create a more inclusive environment for transgender youth.
“Kids shouldn’t have to defend their rights to be kids,” Perez said.
Ash Hall, a nonbinary and transgender advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, testified against Senate Bill 3 and spoke on behalf of the students and community members who decided to protest the hearing.
“Students have been treated with disrespect, misgendered in particular by the author of the bill, sometimes interrupted or talked over or abruptly cut off, we’ve also seen this in particular with youth of color,” Hall said. “Parents were also somewhat traumatized when they were asked questions about their children’s genitalia.”
LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to seriously consider suicide, make a plan for suicide, and attempt suicide than their peers, according to a 2020 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I want to be a visible reminder of what's possible for these kids,” Hall said. Hall, who goes by they/them pronouns, is now 30 years old and said that they grew up in a time where the average life expectancy of a transgender person was 21 years old. “That age is rising all the time, which I think is amazing. ” Hall said.
Danielle Skidmore, a transgender woman and a member of the board of Equality Texas, also testified against Senate Bill 3.
“These bills seek to solve the imaginary problem of transgender girls dominating youth athletics, instead this incessant bullying by the Texas legislature is directly harming children,” Skidmore said.
Skidmore pled with the Senate committee to recognize the dehumanizing nature of legislation like Senate Bill 3.
“It is not my lifestyle choice, I am not a man who chooses to identify as a woman,” Skidmore said. “We are not broken, confused or being manipulated.”
Following the Senate hearing, Adri Perez and Ash Hall both attended the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Rights and Remedies hearing on Oct. 6 to testify against House Bill 25, a nearly duplicate bill that limits the ability of transgender athletes to compete among their peers.
“My main goal isn't just to kill these bills, I want to reach a point where we don't introduce legislation like this anymore,” Hall said.