Why She--And I--Aren't Going To Arkansas

A few US states have a problem with gender identity and variance.  Cycling, as a competitive sport and as an activity, shouldn't join them.

That is what Molly Cameron says in her Bicycling online article.  She is referring, specifically, to the bill in Arkansas that would ban trans girls and women  from competing on school and university sports teams consistent with their gender identity.  It would also ban young trans people from getting the health care they need.

About that second issue:  health care, for trans people of any age, is not just about hormones and surgery.  In fact, many trans and non-binary people choose to forego them (or, sometimes, just the surgery) for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is cost. In the following paragraph, I'll mention some of the things involved in transgender health care. In it, I'll mention a few intimate and painful details of my life.  If you are not comfortable about reading such things, you can skip the rest of this post.

If you embark on a gender-affirmation (what people used to call gender transition or gender change), or simply explore the possiblilty of one, you have to go through a few rigorous processes that involve various health care and social service providers.  (That is, of course, unless you buy hormones and get surgery on the "black market," which too many trans people, especially the young or nonwhite, still do.)  Your primary doctor and specialists such as endocrinologists examine your physical fitness for the process.  You also spend lots of time with mental health specialists--I saw a therapist and social worker every week--who, not only want to ascertain that you have a clear and accurate idea of what it will really mean to live in your "new" gender, but also to sort through the trauma as well as the positive effects of having performed a gender you were assigned at birth.  To some degree, your primary doctor, endocrinologists and other health-care professionals may deal with them, too.

The positive aspects include, for many of us, achievements.  I ran, wrestled, played soccer and cycled long distances, in part, in the hope that they would make me more masculine.  Whether or not they did that is debatable, but at least becoming an athlete, at least in some fashion, mostly stopped the bullying I'd experienced.  The bullies, I am sure, turned to gossip and rumor-mongering, or other low-level forms of aggression, but at least I wasn't getting beat up every day.  

Also, I was a fairly good student.  And, it may well be that my experience is, if not the reason, then a factor in my becoming a writer and teacher.  While I have met too many homeless or otherwise food- and housing-insecure trans people, I have also met, and know of, many who achieved much.  One such trans person is Dr. Marci Bowers, who performed my surgery.

On the other hand, almost all of us carry the often-toxic detritus of having to live as someone else.  Too many of us--including some of the high-achievers, and me--have struggled with substance abuse, failed relationships and other problems. More than a few of us have attempted suicide, and some, including two friends of mine, actually took their lives because they couldn't deal with the struggle anymore.  I can't help but to wonder whether, had they gotten help (which was unavailable to them, as it was to me, because of the times and places in which we lived) earlier in their lives, they might still be living and thriving as their true selves today.

From Cyclocross Magazine

That help, for some, includes participation in a sport--and, just as important, not having to pretend to be someone else in order to participate in that sport.  I can't help but to think that at least some of the politicians who proposed Arkansas' bill—and other related legislation, such as North Carolina's "bathroom bill"--have positive memories of participating in some sport, whether in school or in another organization like Little League or Pop Warner football.  I would assume that most, if not all, of them did not have to pretend to be someone else in order to play--or to use the bathroom once the competition is over.

Molly Cameron has drawn attention to the Arkansas bill for several reasons.  For one, she is a trans woman. For another, she has been involved in Cyclo-cross, as a racer and event promoter, for more than two decades.  Which leads to the final reason:  a Cyclocross World Cup event is scheduled for the state in October, and it will host the 2022 Cyclocross World Championships.  

She is not calling for a boycott at the moment, but she says that if the events are held in Arkansas, she won't be going.  She adds, "I won't be spending any money in Arkansas or any other state that is passing laws to discriminate against the LGBTQ community."  Finally, though, she offers her prescription:  "I am putting in the work and am hopeful that things will change."

Her optimism is not unfounded.  Change is indeed coming, however slowly, whether or not legislators in Arkansas or other states want to acknowledge it.