A US Court has upheld a West Virginia state law that protects female athletes by prohibiting biological males from playing on girls’ teams.
The judge rejected a legal challenge that would have undermined women’s sports in the state by allowing males who identify as female to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.
Two years ago a lawsuit to stop the bill was filed on behalf of 11-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson who’s a biological boy living as a girl.
The judge wrote that while transgender-identifying students deserve respect, the state’s definitions of ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ do not violate discrimination laws.
A competing lawsuit in support of the bill was filed by religious freedom advocates Alliance Defending Freedom.
It called the decision a “win for reality.”
It argued that it is crucial that American laws and policies recognise that the physical differences between men and women matter, especially in a context like sports.
Eighteen Republican-controlled states have enacted Fairness in Women’s Sports legislation that aims to prevent biological males from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams.
A poll taken a year ago found a clear majority of Americans do not support the idea that there are multiple genders beyond male and female.
They said in reality, there are only two.
