Trans Rights are Human Rights
Photo of book Authentic Selves
Trans Rights are Human Rights
The front-page headline in today’s Seattle Times concerns the lawsuit that was just filed by Legal Voice and other plaintiffs in an attempt to nullify the effects of Initiative 638, which got sufficient “yes” votes (56%) last week to take effect Dec. 3, 2026. While I was thrilled with most of the other election results, this outcome was both a surprise and a huge disappointment.
Every time I heard someone argue that boys had to be kept out of girls sports, it frustrated me that so many people refused to recognize that that there is more to gender than just two categories and that, regardless of gender, all students should have a chance to fully participate in school sports.
For nearly two decades Washington State public schools have allowed trans and gender-diverse students to participate in student athletics with minimal problems. Recent headlines about a controversy over the participation of a trans girl in a track meet seemed misplaced to me and hateful toward any girl who might be different from the typical track and field athlete. The argument was that the participation of a trans girl was unfair to the other girls. Of all sports, track and field to me would create the least conflict of all – each student participates individually. It is not a contact sport. The only way it could be considered unfair to girls would be if the only purpose of sports was to have top scores that would qualify a person for a financial award or scholarship. However, it is questionable whether trans girls even have an advantage in sports. School sports are supposed to be about teamwork, learning to achieve personal goals, staying healthy, and learning skills to carry into one’s adult life. Every student should have that opportunity.
This controversy makes my heart ache for the many families I know or have learned about who have trans members. They work so hard to get counseling and medical care and legal advice to help them deal with the challenges of having a gender-diverse family member. Sometimes sports is an important factor in making friends, feeling healthy, and being part of a community. To have that opportunity denied to them is unfair and harmful.
There are other alarming aspects of this Initiative. It discourages all girls from participating in school sports because it requires medical “proof” of gender at birth. For many girls this will be a deterrent to participation either because of the cost or inconvenience of obtaining this certification or the potential embarrassment to the girls. No similar requirement is placed on boys. For some in our society, discouraging girls from participating in sports is part of the goal. It would leave more funds and facilities for boys and also play into the goal of keeping girls and women in the sphere of becoming homemakers and mothers, rather than competing with men in their career goals. My friends and I have worked for decades to expand opportunities for women. Adding new barriers, such as unnecessary medical exams, works against all that has been accomplished over the years through Title IX and other legislation which opened opportunities for women.
I have tried to get better educated about the challenges faced by trans and nonbinary individuals, beyond what I’ve learned by interacting with friends and church colleagues who face these issues in their families. One book that was helpful is entitled Authentic Selves, published by Skinner Books in 2023. The book profiles 35 individuals and their families and provides an opportunity to get to know a wide variety of trans and nonbinary people and how they live their lives. I care about the well-being of individuals who are non-conforming to the roles some people want them to follow. Initiative 638 harms them by suggesting that they are a problem to society and should not have the same rights as others. Unfortunately, gender diverse individuals have been made scapegoats in recent politics, as if their existence is a bigger problem than unnecessary wars, inflation, and stagnant salaries.
Legal Voice has partners in their effort to overturn I-638. The other plaintiffs are seven individuals, plus the Washington Education Association, and TransFamilies, a non-profit organization serving families with transgender and gender-diverse children.
Legal Voice is an organization I have admired since its inception in 1978. The first case they handled concerned equal access to school sports. Their successful litigation has set precedents in many areas of gender equity. Their website tells about this and other cases they have been part of. As a non-profit they always appreciate donations and I have been a loyal donor for many years.