A panel of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill banning transgender women and girls from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity.
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sport Act aims to reduce protections against sexism, which takes 50 years to recognize that gender is “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and birth.”
The initiative was approved by the Republican opposition-dominated House of Education Committee and was ready to be discussed in the plenary session.
Republican Rep. Virginia Fox said, “As a mother and long-time educator, I hate the increasing participation of biological men in women’s sports.
Allowing transgender athletes to team with female athletes “denies women equal opportunities,” Fox told the committee.
Democrats responded that depriving transgender athletes of competition is discriminatory and harmful.
The issue has sparked debate in classrooms, education authorities, women’s groups and sports associations across the country. In some places, transgender women and girls are prohibited from competing.
Opponents of inclusion argue that transgender women and girls generally have more muscle mass, bone density, and other physical factors that enhance their speed and strength over their non-transgender rivals. It claims to be unfairly advantageous.
However, several feminist groups and prominent figures in sports, such as American soccer star Megan Rapinoe, have endorsed the inclusion of transgender women in women’s competitions.
Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan said, “There are pressing issues affecting girls and women in sport, including sexual harassment and assault, resource inequality, and pay inequality.
The Senate is controlled by Democrats who oppose the bill, so the bill is unlikely to pass. But this is part of a conservative movement to curb the promotion of transgender identity by liberals.
On his first day at the White House, President Joe Biden signed an executive order banning discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.
Source: Diario.Elmundo
