North Dakota lawmakers have zeroed in on inclusive sports with House Bill 1298 which seeks to make it harder for trans people to participate in athletics. Legislators supporting this bill are actively defying medical experts, sports associations like the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee, and school administrators all over the country—all of whom say that the policy proposed by this bill is harmful and unnecessary.  

Though we are prepared to fight in the legislature to defend trans rights, it will take more than legislative action. It will require rooting out the inaccurate and harmful beliefs underlying these policies.  

Below, we debunk four myths about trans athletes using the expertise of doctors, academics, and sports psychologists who are experts on the topic.  

FACT: Including trans athletes will benefit everyone. 

MYTH: The participation of trans athletes hurts cis women. 

Many who oppose the inclusion of trans athletes erroneously claim that allowing trans athletes to compete will harm cisgender women. This divide and conquer tactic gets it exactly wrong. Excluding women who are trans hurts all women. It invites gender policing that could subject any woman to invasive tests or accusations of being “too masculine” or “too good” at their sport to be a “real” woman. 

Further, this myth reinforces stereotypes that those who identify as women are weak and in need of protection. Politicians have used the “protection” trope time and time again, including in 2016 when they tried banning trans people from public restrooms by creating the debunked “bathroom predator” myth. The real motive is never about protection — it’s about excluding trans people from yet another public space.  

The arena of sports is no different. 

FACT: Trans athletes do not have an unfair advantage in sports. 

MYTH: Trans athletes’ physiological characteristics provide an unfair advantage over cis athletes. 

Women and girls who are trans face discrimination and violence that makes it difficult to remain in school. According to the U.S. Trans Survey, 22 percent of trans women who were perceived as trans in school were harassed so badly they had to leave school because of it. Another 10 percent were kicked out of school. The idea that women and girls have an advantage because they are trans ignores the actual conditions of their lives. 

Trans athletes vary in athletic ability just like cisgender athletes.  

FACT: Trans girls are girls. 

MYTH: Sex is binary, apparent at birth, and identifiable through singular biological characteristics.  

Girls who are trans are told repeatedly that they are not “real” girls and boys who are trans are told they are not “real” boys. Non-binary people are told that their gender is not real and that they must be either boys or girls. None of these statements are true. Trans people are exactly who we say we are.  

There is no one way for women’s bodies to be. Women, including women who are transgender, intersex, or disabled, have a range of different physical characteristics. 

Many people who are not trans can have hormones levels outside of the range considered typical of a cis person of their assigned sex. 

When a person does not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth, they must be able to transition socially — and that includes participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. 

FACT: Trans people belong on the same teams as other students. 

MYTH: Trans students need separate teams. 

Trans people have the same right to play sports as anybody else and acutely excluding trans people from any space or activity is harmful, particularly for trans youth.  

Believing and perpetuating myths and misconceptions about trans athletes is harmful.  

Denying trans people the right to participate is discrimination and it doesn’t just hurt trans people, it hurts all of us. Tell your lawmakers to stop attacking your community and vote against anti-trans legislation. 

Issues that matter most to North Dakotans are being ignored as some legislators continue to attack the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit community and erode their rights with bills that stoke fear and hatred amid discriminatory rhetoric. 

The ACLU of North Dakota opposes House Bill 1298, House Bill 1476 and House Bill 1317. These harmful bills distract from the state’s real problems.

House Bill 1298 would ban transgender athletes from competing on the sports teams that match their gender identity, restricting participation in high school and collegiate athletic activities to the gender listed on a person’s original birth certificate. The North Dakota High School Activities Association already has a policy in place for transgender athletes. Likewise, the NCAA also has clear policies on the inclusion of transgender student-athletes and their participation in intercollegiate athletics. No one is harmed by allowing transgender people to compete consistent with who they are.

House Bill 1476 would codify discrimination and essentially make it illegal to recognize LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit North Dakotans. Among a long list of items, the bill would prohibit the state from using a person’s preferred pronouns, prohibit the state from endorsing or enforcing certain policies regarding same-sex marriage, prohibit schools from teaching curriculum that might expose students to the mere existence of LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people and even ban public entities from hosting or sponsoring drag queen story time.

House Bill 1317 creates financial assistance for costs associated with adopting a newborn – but it explicitly excludes same-sex couples, unmarried couples and single people. By offering state funds for adoption only to married opposite sex couples, this bill explicitly and intentionally leaves out many LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit couples. While the Appropriations Committee gave House Bill 1317 a do no pass recommendation, it still sends the message that LGBTQ and Two Spirit families are not worthy of support.

With serious issues like our state’s COVID-19 response and economic recovery, it’s disturbing that legislators are spending so much time attacking vulnerable transgender youth and the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit community as a whole. These bills seem fixated on the incorrect notion that some of our friends and neighbors are not entitled to the same dignity and respect as others. Our commitment to ensuring that LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit North Dakotans can live openly without discrimination remains strong. We urge North Dakota lawmakers to focus on the issues that really matter.

These discriminatory bills come on the heels of the harmful and divisive anti-LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit language that Republicans approved as a part of the state party’s official extended policy platform in July 2020. While some Republican leaders later apologized for the language in the party platform, it’s not enough – especially when bills like House Bill 1298, House Bill 1476 and House Bill 1317 are up for debate.

While LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit rights have made some giant leaps forward, the fight for equality is not over. Discrimination is still the law of the land in many states – especially, it seems, in North Dakota. We need our elected leaders to strongly assert the right of LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people to be treated as equals, deserving of the full and fair protections of our laws. It’s time for the Republican party leaders who have expressed their regret about their party platform to work across the aisle to ensure all North Dakotans to be treated equally and live free of discrimination.

Decisions made during the biannual sessions of the North Dakota Legislature have a deep and lasting impact on our state’s people and communities. As new laws are created and others repealed or written, it’s important to ensure that these changes preserve and strengthen our constitutional rights.