THE GOP STRATEGY TO USE TRANS SPORTS BANS FOR POLITICAL GAIN

IN SPRING 2020, IDAHO BECAME THE FIRST STATE IN THE U.S. to ban transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports. Two years later, 17 states have enacted similar laws. Trans athletes—particularly trans girls—are now in the midst of America’s raging “culture wars,” as bills targeting trans and gender-expansive young people proliferate across the country.

Sports bans have often served as the first move in a larger assault on trans rights. In 2021, Texas, Florida, and Alabama each enacted a sports ban. This year, Texas has taken steps to deny trans youth access to gender-affirming care, Florida has banned classroom discussion about gender identity and sexual orientation in primary grade levels, and Alabama has done both.

“Trans people are either full members of society or we are not,” says Gillian Branstetter, a communications strategist at the American Civil