What Megan Rapinoe gets wrong in the transgender athlete debate

Megan Rapinoe recently wrote in an op-ed that women and girls “can speak for ourselves.” As two female high school athletes living under Washington state’s current sports policies, we could not agree more.

Here is what’s happening in Washington: One of us finished second in a girls’ 1600-meter state race, behind a biological male. The other sat out of a girls’ basketball game rather than play against a biological male on the opposing team.

We wanted the same thing every girl athlete wants: a fair and safe chance to compete in the sports we love. We were both denied that.

Our decision to speak up has been costly. We have been called hateful, transphobic, bigots and bullies. We have both been harassed online and in person. One of us was told she would be responsible if transgender athletes take their own lives because we spoke up. One of us was even sued for speaking publicly about what happened.

All of this for demanding that girls receive fair competition, privacy and equal opportunities.

That is why Rapinoe’s essay is so frustrating. She says girls can speak for ourselves, but she dismisses the girls who do.

We respect what Rapinoe accomplished on the soccer field. She helped grow women’s sports and spent her career fighting for better pay and recognition for female athletes. But her whole career was built inside a protected category for women only. She never had to win a spot on a sex-neutral national team.

Rapinoe was able to compete against other women because the leagues she played in understood that sex matters in athletic competition — the very thing she now says should not matter. It is easy for her to tell high school girls to accept policies she never had to compete under herself.

That is why the claims about Washington’s Initiative 638 matter. Rapinoe’s most alarming one is that Initiative 638 would force girls to undergo genital inspections or buy DNA or hormone tests before they can play. That is simply false. The initiative, which will appear on Washington state ballots this fall, would simply require students competing in female-only sports to provide a statement from their own health care providers verifying biological sex, as part of the sports physical they already complete. The provider can rely on existing records or patient history to do it.

Doctors in Washington already use internal forms that include sex verification. Those forms stay with the doctor instead of appearing on the sports physical sheet. So Initiative 638 merely adds a check box for a doctor to fill out on a form that already exists.

Rapinoe asks whether girls who are tall, muscular, fast, short-haired, or deep-voiced will count as “girl enough.” Of course a girl can be tall, strong, short-haired, or have interests that don’t fit expectations. None of that makes her any less of a female. Keeping girls in girls’ leagues and boys in boys’ leagues has nothing to do with how feminine or masculine anyone looks. It has to do with their sex.

Rapinoe remembers being a 13-year-old who didn’t fit someone else’s idea of femininity. We both understand why that memory matters to her. But Initiative 638 would never have asked whether she looked feminine enough. Rather it would have recognized that she was female and therefore eligible for the category that allowed her to become a World Cup champion.

People often say there are so few transgender athletes competing that girls should just accept the current policies. But Washington does not even know how many biological males are competing in girls’ sports. One of us had already competed against four different biological males by her sophomore year. Our state superintendent explained that the WIAA’s reported numbers only count transgender athletes at the varsity level. Everyone competing below varsity is left out.

For girls, the loss of even one lost roster spot, championship, scholarship or fair shot against a male athlete is already one too many.

This is not about hatred or denying anyone’s dignity. Transgender students deserve respect, privacy and protection from harassment. Every student should have a real chance to participate in sports. But respect for one group should not come at the expense of another. Protecting transgender students does not require girls to give up the fairness and safety that sex-based categories in sports were created to provide. Washington can and should do both.

We do not want Rapinoe to stop speaking. We are asking her to stop dismissing girls who disagree with her, treating them like they are invisible and claiming they are hateful or being manipulated. When she does that, she fuels hostility and makes it harder for girls to tell their stories without fear. Listening to girls means listening to all girls, even the ones who disagree.

We are speaking for ourselves, and we will not quit.

Frances Staudt and Ahnaleigh Wilson are high school athletes in Washington state.