An anti-LGBT cohort billing itself as a youth advocate bought a full page ad in the Minnesota Star Tribune in response to a proposal that will establish guidelines for transgender athletes. The plan spells out the specifications and information students must provide to identify themselves as transgender, including evidence of hormone therapy, surgery or parental consent. Minnesota is following behind the NCAA and several other states that have some sort of guidelines and policies for transgender athletes.
The Minnesota Child Protection League ad that ran in Sunday's paper said, "A male student wants to shower next to your 14 year-old daughter. Are YOU ok with that?" The ad is a gross misrepresentation of transgender identity and feeds into the stereotype that transgender people are predators or dangerous. The MCPL is urging parents to call ahead of Thursday's vote and voice their disapproval of the policy. This same organization also opposed the Safe and Supportive Schools Act that was passed into law earlier in the year.
These efforts to undermine trans inclusion are nothing new. The same scare tactics were wielded at California's Assembly Bill 1266, which allows transgender students to use the restroom facility and participate on the sports team aligned with their gender identity. Rhetoric that perpetuates stereotypes and fear have been proven to be detrimental and dangerous to transgender and gender non-conforming students. A transgender high school was placed under suicide watch after being outed and bullied by the Pacific Justice Institute for using the girls' restroom.
This morning, The Star Tribune ran an in-depth article looking at the debate over the policy change and highlighted local transgender students. GLAAD is supportive of statewide organizations like OutFront Minnesota who are working tirelessly to ensure schools are safe and inclusive of all students across the gender spectrum in Minnesota.