To the Editor:
This is a response to the April 15, 2021 article in the Advertiser-Democrat regarding the transgender athlete at Oxford Hills High School. A national issue has come to OHCHS! In the 2021 state legislative season, 34 states are considering the very same concerns as Oxford County. This is a very sensitive and timely concern!
Anti-transgender bills and laws challenge federal civil rights requirements under Title IX of the Education amendments of 1972. Transgender high school athletes’ athletic eligibility depend on their state high school athletic association rules. As a result transgender athletes are underrepresented on high school athletic teams. This may be the “norm” however as society progresses in scientific understanding, the realization is that transgender people have been in society for ages. One of the first documented transgender individuals in the Roman Empire, Elagabalus (AD 222).
In the Advertiser-Democrat article, noted was the incidence of the high level of suicide in the transgender population. This is very true. Transgender individuals feel a deep knowledge they were born to the wrong gender. When a young person is raised in a binary world, AKA “gender reveal parties”they feel lost, misunderstood. Many times a child’s biological hormone level lean toward that of the other sex. As noted In the Advertiser-Democrat, Kristin Roy, cited the female South African runner with an abundance of testosterone.
I personally do not know the individual in the April 15th article, however, I do know if someone in your world is telling you they are not the gender given at birth, I would believe them. After all the national sex abuse by the hand of coaches, I would not ever condone having a child take their under wear off to prove their birth genetics. A blood test would be more impactful! A child knows their gender and yes if they are not raised in an accepting environment, parents risk the possible suicide of their child who is not accepted for their authentic self.
In the case of the high school athlete, whom I do not know, it is possible that person has been on hormone blockers to prevent the development of male sex characteristics, it is equally possible that person is on estrogen to develop female characteristics which include, loss of muscle, a body fat in female areas such as hips, breasts etc. If this person has a loss in male muscle development. In my opinion, this person is a female and should be accepted as such and participate in high school athletics.
Amy Cox-Martins, LCSW
Transgender Specialist, Consultant and therapist
Norway
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