Republican women call for protection of girls in high school sports

Let's start by retracting legislators who have little common knowledge of the LGBTQ community. The legislators who signed this statement come from the place of security for their adolescent teen girls who try to win in athletic events. However, let's get the record straight: there are few if any, young competitors who race to the line to become transgender just to win at athletic events. If the persons signing this letter would agree to one truth, they want to keep transgender individuals hidden and benched. We know that there are trans athletes who excel at everything they do. Many of them have endured hardships beyond any of your 'princesses'. Now, the transgender youth has another bully, lobbyists, politicians, and anti-LGBTQIA. I do not assume that you are bigots, but I do know that you are definitely not pro-LGBTQ or you would have considered the ramifications of your address. I know that some of you may even have a gay family, so why take such a terrible stance to show them how mistaken you are by your opinions? No matter how much you pretend to skirt the issue of Transgender discrimination, you will never succeed.

A Solution That Offends Everyone – but it’s better than anything Republican Women have suggested.

I’m in favor of looking at trans athletes on a case-by-case basis, as long as it’s done fairly and with rules and dignity.

If a trans girl has gone through male puberty, then she has an unfair advantage and should not compete in school girl sports. Dimorphism is real.

But if a trans girl has been taking puberty blockers before male dimorphism developed, then it would be fair to compete with natal girls.

Normal male puberty gives physical advantages in bone strength, lung capacity, musculature, increased red blood cells and decreased body fat that are not a normal part of female puberty.

Male puberty provides a dimorphic physical advantage, even if the trans girl is now on female hormones.

We don’t need legislators putting their biases into new laws. Some common sense rules and policies, enacted with respect for all, would be welcome.

Thoughts?

How is reproductive freedom related to this letter from the Republican Women about trans athletes?

Republicans walked out of the Oregon Legislature in order to block modest bills codifying access to abortion and gender-affirming care. Their goal is to block access to reproductive and gender rights in every way they can, even though 72% of Oregonians want to keep Big Government out of other people’s pants.

Republicans know that if they can rile up voters emotionally about the prospect of trans kids in girls sports and bathrooms that voters will get upset enough to vote for Republicans who have every intention of overturning the will of Oregon voters.

It’s a distraction conceived by GOP strategists. Do not fall for it. They want to put the spotlight on a handful of trans kids so they can have a better chance of removing rights from the entire female population.

The Republican Women of our Legislature named and tried to shame an individual high school student.

It doesn’t matter what you think about trans issues. If you really care about children, you don’t go after an individual kid in order to make a political point.

These actions against an individual child by the Republican Women are ruthless and beneath contempt. No woman of decency, no mother with a heart, would do such a thing. Not to mention, no woman in her right mind would support a sexual abuser like Trump.

Republican Women, your letter is a disgrace.

Republicans be like...

"Look over here! Approximately 0.5% of the population have the potential of an unfair advantage to beat you in a sports competition!!!"

and

"Don't look over there! Where 51% of the population may risk their lives and childbearing capacity at some point in their lives under our draconian rules!"

At least 26 women have credibly accused Donald Trump of sexual assault. He is on tape bragging about grabbing women wherever, and doing whatever he wants to them. His first wife testified under oath he raped her in a fit of anger. He was convicted by a jury of sexual assault, and then he trashed the woman he assaulted to the point he had to pay out millions in defamation. Now he's selling Bibles to pay for lawyers to keep him out of jail for paying off a hooker. Seriously, Republican women? Any woman that supports trump is setting women's rights back 100 years. Get out of here with the handwringing over trans athletes. Search your souls over the thing that really matters.

This letter about trans athletes is complete codswallop.

Republicans all over the country are using trans athletes as a wedge issue, claiming they are protecting women's rights by opposing trans girls' participation in sports.

Republicans do not care about protecting the rights of girls and women.

In Supreme Courts around the country, in Congress and state Legislatures, the Republicans are working overtime to strip women of reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.

Get pregnant via rape or incest? Have an ectopic pregnancy? Have a deformed fetus that's not viable? Pregnancy hormones causing seizures or preeclampsia or a torn placenta causing sepsis? Too bad for you! If you die, it's God's will, and Republicans will shove Big Government right into your belly to make sure you comply.

I know two women who had terrible pregnancy complications that would have killed them if they lived in Alabama. They survived because Oregon laws recognize that women are more than vessels.

Republican legislators are promising to go after access to birth control next. Meanwhile, they're shouting about trans athletes to divert your attention.

If Republicans really cared about women and children, Red states wouldn't have such high rates of maternal and infant death. In 2019, the U.S. ranked 33rd out of 38 developed countries in infant mortality.

Oregon, with all our Democratic policies, has the 4th best infant mortality rate in the nation. That means Democratic policies are keeping babies alive. Republican states like Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma allow babies to die at rates higher than 3rd world countries.

Republicans don’t give a fig about protecting the rights of women, girls and children. If they did, they wouldn’t let so many die.

Recently the NAIA division of college athletics , voted to basically ban transgender women from competition. The College Presidents council voted 20-0 in favor of the ban!

The NAIA consists of 241 mostly small colleges throughout the nation.

In Oregon, I believe there are 7 NAIA colleges. Many of the colleges are

private schools, but in Oregon, Eastern Oregon University, Oregon Tech

and Southern Oregon University are included in the membership.

I see this as a common sense approach.

I think this is a complicated issue. A few sports are gender-neutral. But many are not: track and field for sure. Swimming also.

If all things are treated equally, it seems there would be the same number of females who transition to males opting to compete in boy's/men's sports. Has anyone heard of a single such case?

The fair solution, I think, would be to have a separate category for non-binary athletes. But the problem with that idea is that there would not be enough people in that category.

Let’s start with, ‘top ten’ is not first place. Obviously this student was actually, though very talented, in ‘real’ competition with others in the event. The rest of this letter, though disguised in concern, seems to be about persecuting a young person who is transgender. Enough already with the hate. This has nothing to do with protecting women. If it did, you’d be writing about the turn in this country to pass laws controlling our healthcare privacy, rights, and choices. No law has ever been passed that controls men’s choices about their bodily autonomy. Please invest your time in something worthy and upstanding to protect women’s rights. Stop the hate.