Gender Identity in Sports: The New Title IX for Transgender Athletes at the Interscholastic Level

Abstract

Interscholastic sports are a vital part of a child’s educational experience. Whether on the field, the court or track, or on the ice, sports transcend the many barriers of social difference by rewarding integrity, honest competition, and determination. Regardless of one’s own skill level, sports can act as a sanctuary for young kids to gain a newfound sense of confidence and belongingness that they may not otherwise get from a Math or English class. Shouldn’t all kids be entitled to this? This thesis discusses a specific aspect of the role of sports in the lives of school children: the controversy concerning transgender students participating in interscholastic sports. Why has this become such a polarizing topic? Many questions arise from the inclusion of transgender individuals in sports. This thesis addresses less the biological and scientific debate, but rather the theoretical discussion about what an unfair advantage in sport means, and how the assumption of gender normativity has made it difficult to open the doors for transgender athletes. This thesis asks how policymaking has impacted the landscape of transgender participation in interscholastic sports. What do policymakers consider when deciding on policies to include or exclude transgender athletes who want to play on a sports team consistent with their gender identity? There are three different types of legislation that a state can pass concerning the participation of transgender student-athletes in interscholastic sports. There are friendly policies, restrictive policies, and unfriendly policies. Friendly policies allow transgender students to play sports consistent with their gender identity. Restrictive policies allow transgender youth to participate but require the students first to undergo hormone therapy or gender-affirmation surgery. Unfriendly policies only allow students to compete only based on their sex assigned at birth. To figure out what influences the leaders of a state to pass either one of these policies, I case studied the state of Maryland and its gender-inclusive policy called Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2014. By focusing on Maryland, I created a theoretical model looking at how four different political factors — government partisanship, ideology, a religious adherence, and policy diffusion — influence whether a state passes LGBTQ gender-inclusive policies. This thesis recommends state and federal-level policy solutions that may allow for individuals across party lines to reach a middle ground on transgender participation in sports. These are the policies that I suggest politicians at the state and federal levels take: (1) conduct careful research on the performance of young trans athletes to determine whether certain restrictions on their participation in a particular sport are necessary; (2) establish a model policy for state athletic associations on how to foster a non-hostile, inclusive environment for prospective transgender student-athletes; (3) amend Title IX by updating it to explicitly address the equal status of transgender students and student-athletes, removing any ambiguity over gender-based protections in interscholastic sports. Through these measures, interscholastic sports across states can be a welcoming place where all students have the equal opportunity to play the sport they love, and as the truest version of themselves.