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Late last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released new guidance regarding women’s participation in the Olympic games. The document — ridiculously titled “IOC Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport” — details how the IOC and other governing bodies in the world of Olympics-qualifying sports are officially bringing back genetic testing for every single athlete who competes in the women’s category at the Olympics.
Although we have been covering minor changes made to IOC’s policies in this column many times, this marks the most conservative action the IOC has taken so far. All athletes competing in the women’s categories will have to undergo a Sex-determining Region Y (SRY) gene test that determines whether or not a person has the SRY gene attached to their Y chromosome. The weird losers over at the IOC are most concerned with the SRY gene because this gene is responsible for male sex determination meaning people who have the SRY gene “may display variations in hormones and other sex characteristics.” If a person tests positive for the SRY gene, they will be deemed ineligible to compete “unless they undergo further testing to prove they have an intersex trait that is not sensitive to androgens like testosterone.”
While the science might seem sound on the surface, the appearance of the SRY gene is a bogus measurement that doesn’t and cannot determine whether or not a person actually has a “biological advantage” in a sport or not. Of course, like all of the insidious and hateful trash in our world, this decision is not without precedent. As work by Michael Waters and Reo Eveleth have pointed out over and over again, sex testing at the Olympics has been going on since the beginning of women’s inclusion in the events and beyond all of the other ethical concerns, the science behind the “biological advantage” claims is shaky at best.
In response to the IOC’s decision, Eveleth reminds us, “Since 2004, when the IOC started allowing trans competitors, there has been exactly one trans woman who even qualified. She did not make it past the opening round of competition. The idea that they are exactly equivalent to cis male athletes simply doesn’t hold up. But what it does do is create this illusion of a massive amount of evidence “proving” that these athletes have an advantage. Because when you look at the World Athletics policies, they come with a huge list of citations. Pages and pages of ‘evidence’ that this advantage exists, citing studies that do not study the actual population in question […] The evidence required to justify these policies, again, doesn’t exist.”
As these policies are put into action and this story continues developing, we are likely going to see more and more responses from athletic groups, human rights groups, and cis women who are forced to undergo this testing simply because the far-right is continuing to scapegoat trans people.
Some Good Trans News For Once
Senate Democrats defeat GOP attempt to ban trans health care & sports participation nationwide. This is another major story of the week. Somehow, despite immense pressures and nonstop forceful rhetoric from the far right, Senate Democrats managed to get the anti-trans policies attached to the SAVE Act — a bill that would require people to show proof of citizenship in order to vote in elections — completely scrapped from the bill. These policies would’ve greatly impacted both trans athletics and access to gender-affirming care, but they are no longer part of the bill. Now they just need to get the SAVE Act blocked in its entirety, too.
Federal judge rules RFK Jr. acted beyond legal authority on trans youth care. Here’s another example of a Federal judge dunking on these far right losers in Trump’s administration. This time, it’s U.S. District Court Judge Mustafa Kasubhai. Kasubhai took the side of 21 Democrat-led states by ruling that Kennedy’s attempt to establish a “national precedent” on gender-affirming care did not follow the “proper protocol” in trying to establish those new rules. It’s not much but I do love to see these jerks go down in court since they think every aspect of government is theirs to toy with.
Jeffco schools push back against Trump administration. In Jefferson County, Colorado, we have some new shooters coming into the arena to challenge Trump and his cronies on trans inclusion in sports. Jefferson County Schools, the second-largest school district in Colorado, stood up to the Trump administration last week by saying the administration’s claim the district violated Federal civil rights protections by allowing trans students to compete in school-run sports is total bullshit. A statement from the district reads: “Providing equal access to programs and services for all Jeffco students, including those who are transgender, does not violate Title IX.” Let’s go, CO!
Two trans women are suing prominent institutions in this country regarding their exclusion from sports. The first, Hailey Davidson, is suing both the United States Golf Association (USGA) and Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) “over a 2024 rules change that banned her from tournament play, accusing the leagues of violating anti-discrimination law.” And the second, an unnamed student at Princeton University, is suing the university “claiming she was illegally removed shortly before her race in a school-hosted track meet in May due to her gender identity.” I hope they win!
After US Tennis kicked trans women out, these women came together to create an inclusive club. This is just the kind of shit I love to see. Not because I don’t understand why people want to make sure every institution is welcoming of trans people but because sometimes we just need to decide to make NEW spaces. Tennis with Friends is doing exactly that work, and I can only hope more of these clubs pop up all over the country.
When ICE came to Maine, trans Mainers fought back. Trans people in Maine are leading some of the most important anti-ICE and immigrant mutual aid operations in the state, and you should read about it.
International Trans News:
A group of trans women in India helped vaccinate almost 1,500 children. A non-governmental pilot program run by trans women in India called The Sakhee Project is truly doing the Lord’s work.
EU court tells member states: gender marker changes are the law. Earlier this month, the EU Court of Justice ruled that Bulgaria’s ban on trans people updating their gender markers on their documents violates the EU’s “right to freedom of movement” and cannot be enforced in any EU countries.
Trans News I Wish I Didn’t Have to Report
The Supreme Court on Who Gets to Be an American The Supreme Court struck down a Colorado ban on conversion therapy this week. As a survivor of conversation therapy, novelist and reporter Grace Byron wrote about the devastating decision. “Dysphoria is not a social contagion,” she writes. “Neither is transness an ‘orthodoxy,’ as Justice Neil Gorsuch stated in his opinion. We are a tiny minority facing an avalanche of legislation that seeks to disrupt our daily lives.”
Dr. Oz tried to pressure medical societies to oppose trans youth care. Dr. Oz, the U.S.’s current administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, held a meeting with the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the American Academy of Family Physicians to try to convince them to change their policies regarding gender-affirming care for trans youth. Although the American Society of Plastic Surgeons did change some of its policies following the meeting, it isn’t fully clear how the pressure from Oz will impact these organizations.
The same dark money behind Project 2025 is bankrolling a Northwestern study recruiting trans kids. The far right sickos are at it again…this time they’re trying to recruit trans people who have had “negative” experiences with gender-affirming care to try to seemingly try to “disprove” the current guidance regarding the positive effects of gender-affirming care.
Florida Republicans pass bill empowering Ron DeSantis to oust local officials who support LGBTQ+ Pride. Not directly trans news, but it will most definitely impact the lives of trans people, particularly trans people who work in state or municipal government positions in Florida. This is another situation where it’s unclear what the state means by “promoting LGBTQ+ Pride” and in what context, so it feels as if anything is enforceable and anything is punishable. If I said what I want to do to Ron DeSantis here in this public forum, I think the FBI would be knocking on my door.
Idaho bill criminalizes use of bathrooms that don’t match sex assigned at birth. Another goddamn bathroom bill. These people don’t stop.
International Trans News:
Trans girls given until September to leave Girlguiding, U.K.’s largest youth org for girls. I previously reported on when Girlguiding — the UK’s version of the Girl Scouts — made the announcement that trans girls would no longer be welcome to join the organization. Now, they’ve set a deadline for when trans girls who are currently members actually have to leave the organization. I don’t even know what to say about this…the fact that they are tearing children away from their friends and the things they love to do is breaking my heart.
Trans rights at risk in Portugal as far-right gains power. For a long time, Portugal was a leader in international LGBTQ+ civil rights. Now, leaders in the country are reporting they are witnessing an attempt to repeal some of those hard-won civil victories.
Last Bits of Trans News
Nonprofit launches billboard campaign declaring “God Made Trans People.” Mayday Health, a reproductive health organization, is responding to the state of Kansas’s recent order that is forcing trans people to give up their driver licenses through a new campaign in the state. As I’ve said before in this column, I’m not sure how much these kinds of actions help, but it’s nice to imagine a young person who is struggling to deal with all of the anti-trans rhetoric seeing one of these billboards.
Vivian Wilson turns Elon Musk’s anti-trans comment into fundraiser for LGBTQ+ youth. In a big “Fuck you” to her evil, estranged father, Vivian Wilson just launched a line of merchandise featuring the phrase “Evil Woke Mind Virus,” which is what Musk claimed Wilson was “suffering” from when she came out as trans. A percentage of the profits is going to LGBTQ+ youth according to the website, but it’s unclear how much.
The Value of Routines and Community in Prison. The headline for this one is kind of vague but I really think everyone should read it. This is a profile of trans people who are finding community within the terrifying walls of the U.S. prison system. It is a miracle these people have found some solace, and I think you should read their stories.
