Gender Justice, Health and Education, Policy Updates
Real SC feminists oppose the anti-transgender sports bill- Post and Courier Op Ed
by Ann Warner on May 2, 2022
The following Op-Ed appeared in the Post and Courier on Sunday May 1, 2022:
In the past two years, the S.C. General Assembly has ushered in a wave of legislation that discriminates against people in the LGBTQ+ community. One of the most egregious examples of this is H.4608, the so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which seeks to prohibit transgender students from athletics in private and public schools. The bill’s proponents claim that this is a tool to counter harm experienced by female athletes who are competing against transgender girls in school athletic programs.
At one hearing on this bill, a legislator asked, “Where are the feminists on this?”
The feminists were there, and we are still here — and we are saying no to this bill and to any other bill that divides us and discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community. The title of this bill misleads the public about its true intent and impact, and it will be harmful to all of us in South Carolina — especially the children and young adults it targets. The bill’s title and discourse in the Statehouse have attempted to pit feminists against transgender children, and that’s why it is critical that we speak up to say no to this harmful legislation.
This legislation is not based in the reality of people’s lives or the concerns that are most important to our children and families. It is a copycat bill created by extremist outside interest groups and pundits who are stoking hysteria to score political points.
Transgender kids are not a threat to girls’ and women’s sports, and they are not a threat to our social order. They are kids, and they deserve to play, learn and grow up in peace.
The proponents of this bill cannot get away with cloaking this social weapon in words such as “equality” and “fairness.” If they really want to advance equality and fairness for girls and women in this state, they need to stop targeting vulnerable kids and start focusing on real issues like ending the epidemic of violence against women and trans people, closing the wage gap, improving maternal health and expanding access to education, recreation, health care and economic opportunity for all of us.