Separate But Equal: Trump's New War on Trans Kids

Democrats are also inexplicably falling prey to bigoted and unproven MAGA myths about the trans community.

Donald Trump left, uses the presidential office to demean high school student AB Hernandez

by Bob Cesca

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Donald Trump publicly attacked an 11th grader from Jurupa Valley High School in California named AB Hernandez. A high school junior. A noncombatant in our political discourse. A child.

Imagine being a kid who recently won a track and field long jump competition, singled out for retribution by the president of the United States who threatened to withhold federal funding from California unless she was banned from playing youth sports. Imagine the stress and fear that would accompany something this unprecedented and cruel.

She didn’t cheat. She didn’t use performance enhancing drugs. AB became the latest target of our mentally declining fascist president simply because she’s a trans girl who happened to win. And now, because of Donald’s reckless disregard for the safety and privacy of a minor, she’s facing harassment, intimidation, and ultimately segregation from her peers – consequences that could haunt her for the rest of her life.

It’s also worth noting that 30 adults showed up at the meet to heckle AB, who responded in a far more grown-up manner than the hecklers: “I’m still a child. You’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person.” This sentiment could easily be re-directed at our tantrum-prone president.

Due to Donald’s threat, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) quickly decided to segregate trans youth athletes from cisgender athletes, a so-called pilot program that was quickly endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Reuters:

According to NBC-affiliated KCRA TV station, Newsom's office clarified that the new California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) pilot entry process also means events this weekend will score separately for transgender students.

In other words, trans athletes will be treated as separate but equal, a policy that recalls America’s dark segregationist past. Meanwhile, Outsports noted: “The CIF’s rule change means that competitors who lost a slot at the state meet because of her success can now participate.”

Not too long ago, Newsom described trans girls participating alongside cis girls as “deeply unfair.” Likewise, a few days ago, Donald said it was “not fair.” Trump and Newsom are essentially in agreement on trans rights, so much so that they’re employing similar rhetoric. It’s unclear what Newsom’s long term career plan happens to be, but I suspect this much overlap with a fascist authoritarian won’t help his dwindling chances in the 2028 Democratic primaries.

Rather than considering better messaging in support of trans Americans, too many Democrats are choosing to sell out their values. And for what – a leg up in the next election? Based on what precedent? Voters in Omaha, Nebraska just elected their first Black mayor, a Democrat, who defeated an anti-trans three-term Republican in part by mocking the incumbent’s transphobic policies.

When Republicans lose elections, they seldom abandon their values. More often than not they double down and move farther to the right. But Newsom Democrats, on the other hand, can’t wait to ditch equality the second they believe it’s just too hard to sell it. Making matters worse, these Democrats are inexplicably falling prey to bigoted and unproven MAGA myths about the trans community.

1) MYTH: Trans girls have a physical advantage over cis girls.

Trans athletes, especially child athletes, come in all shapes and sizes. Just because someone, cis or trans, happens to be physically larger doesn’t mean they’re a better athlete. (I’m 6’4” yet I’ve always sucked at basketball.) Some kids are taller and more physically imposing, while others are more diminutive. Neither factor exclusively determines physical talent. Should there be a rule that limits participation in youth sports to kids of precisely equal stature? Of course not. And I assure you, a high school linebacker is considerably bigger than the punter he’s about to crush.

Back in 2019, a trans girl sprinter from Connecticut named Andraya Yearwood was attacked for having an alleged physical advantage over her cis competitors, but race results proved that cis sprinters performed as well or better than Andraya. An inconvenient truth for anti-trans activists.

Also worth noting in this context that, until the second half of the 20th Century, Black athletes were segregated from white athletes due in part to the racist trope that Black players had an unfair physical advantage.

2) MYTH: Trans girls have higher testosterone levels than cis girls.

Most trans girls take hormone blockers, lowering their endogenous testosterone production to the same level as cis girls. (Yes, most girls and women produce testosterone.) And once testosterone is blocked, any hormone-based physical advantage vanishes. That being said, human testosterone levels vary: some have more, some have less. Should scholastic sports leagues subject all competitors, cis or trans, to blood tests and then disqualify the girls who have naturally higher levels?

That’ll never happen because this isn’t about hormone levels, it’s about transphobia, not hormonal/physical/competitive fairness.

Here’s how we know.

Prepubescent boys often compete in youth sports with or against post-pubescent boys despite the latter group’s significant physical advantages. Go to any 13-year-old boys’ soccer game and you’ll see what I mean. No one ever mentions how “deeply unfair” that might be. Why? It’s sexism. Unlike boys, girls are singled out because there’s a prevalent sexist assumption that girls are too weak and frail to handle intense competition, requiring knights in shining armor to shield them from harm, but when it comes to boys with wildly different hormone levels and visually noticeable physical differences, no one cares. The disparity speaks volumes.

3) MYTH: Cisgender boys will pretend to be trans girls so they can easily win.

There are about as many examples of this nonsense as there are of cis men pretending to be trans in order to sexually assault women in public restrooms. Which is to say zero examples, as in never. Marissa Connors: “There is no evidence that a cis man has ever pretended to be a trans woman to gain a competitive edge. Even if this were the case, this would be an issue with cis mens’ choices, not with trans women’s existence.”

All told, we’re talking about youth sports here, where the goal isn’t necessarily winning or losing, it’s about teaching children how to properly deal with winning or losing. It’s about teamwork and developing positive character traits. It’s about striving to overcome physical challenges, especially for kids who aren’t as big or as gifted as other kids.

By excluding kids who are different, irrespective of the nature of those differences, we’re teaching our kids all the wrong lessons. We’re teaching them to be sore losers and bad winners. We’re teaching them that winning is the only point of competition, and losing is someone else’s fault. Ultimately, by re-segregating youth sports, by excluding kids just because they happen to be trans, we’re raising generations of children to be like… Donald Trump.

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