VOA慢速英语--美国议员辩论是否禁止跨性别者参加体育比赛

US Lawmakers Debate Ban on Trans Girls in Sports

Lawmakers in the American state of Mississippi passed a measure last week to ban transgender athletes from joining competitive female sports teams. Similar bills are under consideration in more than 20 legislatures around the United States.

Supporters of the proposed bans say transgender girls are naturally stronger and faster because they are biologically male. They argue this gives them an unfair edge over competitors born as girls.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an organization that supports and defends individual rights. The organization called the proposed bans "a coordinated² attack on trans student athletes." It said the "proposed laws discriminate³ against trans youth in ways that compromise their health, social and emotional development, and safety. They also raise a host of privacy concerns."

The proposed state bans – supported by Republicans – could go against part of a federal education law barring sex discrimination and high court rulings on the issue. In addition, others say an executive order signed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat⁴, bars discrimination based on gender¹ identity in school sports and elsewhere.

How widespread is it?

Nationwide, 19 American states permit full inclusion of trans athletes; 16 have no clear state policy; seven require trans girls to take female hormones⁶; and eight ban trans girls from girls' teams. That information comes from the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

There is no official count of how many trans athletes have competed in high school or college sports. State high school and college athletic⁷ associations do not collect that information. In states that do collect it, the numbers are low—no more than five students currently in Kansas and nine in Ohio over five years.

Transgender adults make up a small percentage of the U.S. population, about 1.3 million as of 2016. That information comes from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law that specializes in research on LGBTQ issues.

People who oppose the growing attention and rights for transgender people, though, say that new laws are needed to keep the sports fair for cisgender girls.

In Connecticut, a federal court is hearing a legal action seeking to block transgender girls from participating in girls' sports. It centers on two transgender girl sprinters: Terry Miller⁹ and Andraya Yearwood. They have often performed better than their cisgender competitors.

"When the law does not recognize differences between men and women, we've seen that women lose," said Christiana Holcomb. She is a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) which filed the legal action in February 2020.

The ADF and groups like it are helping¹⁰ the ban campaigns of lawmakers. When asked for other examples of complaints about middle or high school transgender athletes, ban supporters gave two.

One involved a Hawaii female coach who complained last year over a trans girl competing in girls' sports. The other involved a cisgender girl in Alaska who defeated a trans runner in 2016. She said the trans girl's third-place finish was unfair to runners who were further behind.

Only one state, Idaho, has enacted¹¹ a law limiting trans students' sports participation¹². And that 2020 measure was blocked by a court ruling.

Effects of proposed ban

The bills under consideration by state legislatures this year, however, could prove harmful for transgender athletes.

In Utah, a 12-year-old transgender girl cried when she heard about the proposal, which would separate her from her friends. She is shorter than some of the other girls on the swim team and has worked hard to improve her times, her coach said. But she is not the strongest swimmer in her age group.

"Other than body parts, I've been a girl my whole life," she said.

The girl and her family spoke¹³ with The Associated Press on the condition that her name not be shared publicly.

In New Jersey¹⁴, 14-year-old Rebekah Bruesehoff competes on her middle school field hockey team. "I know what it's like to have my gender questioned," Rebekah said. "I don't want others to go through that."

New Jersey has a trans-inclusive sports policy. But other states could force athletes to take tests to prove their gender. That was one of the reasons 17-year-old Truman Hamburger protested a bill before the North Dakota legislature.

"Once you open up that door on gender policing," that's not a door you can easily close, he said.

Sarah Huckman is a 20-year-old student at the University of New Hampshire. She competed in running for three years after coming out as trans in the seventh grade. The proposed bans sicken her.

"We're all human beings," she said. "We do sports for the love of it."

Words in This Story

transgender – adj. of or relating to people who feel that their true nature does not match their sex at birth

athlete – n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

hormone⁵ – n. a natural substance that is produced in the body and that influences the way the body grows or develops

association – n. an organized group of people who have the same interest or job

LGBTQ – adj. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer

coach – n. a person who teaches and trains the members of a sports team and makes decisions about how the team plays during games

cisgender – adj. relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender matches their birth sex

sprinter⁸ – n. a runner who runs fast-paced races for short distances

field hockey – n. outdoor game played by two teams who use sticks to hit a small, hard ball into their opponent's goal

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

6 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

7 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

8 sprinter   

n.短跑运动员，短距离全速奔跑者

参考例句：

• He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将，而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句
• The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

12 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。