Sometimes I dream about moving somewhere like New York or London or Buenos Aires. And then I remember the Kid, and that part of the reason we live here is that Seattle (and Washington state) is fairly progressive and compared to cost of New York or London affordable.
Recently there's been a national brouhaha over whether to include trans people in LGBT anti-discrimination efforts. My opinion is that there is no such thing as too much inclusiveness. the more people we've got coming to the table, the better.
So today I read this story. Basic jist of the story is this- A kid wants to try out for the cheerleading squad which is open to both boys and girls, but the kid is listed as a boy on the birth certificate and wants to cheer as a girl. After a letter from the ACLU and a few other questions about transgendered athletes, and WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association) decides a policy needs to be adopted to include transgendered youth.
The good points: YAY! Trying to figure out an acceptable policy to include kids in sports who don't fit into the traditional gender binary! I hope Jai makes the squad this year.
(Disclaimer- I was a cheerleader, a bad-girl cheerleader who smoked and showed up to competitions still partly drunk. But I loved getting to dance and do gymnastic type stuff without having to starve myself into tininess like ballerinas or gymnasts. Oh and my squad was competitive and more highly ranked than the football team we cheered for- so all the haters that think it's not a sport can kiss my ass).
The bad points: these are children, not adults. Most have not had surgery because they are children. Using the Olympics rules seems like too high of a hurdle for kids.
I was also not fond of the pronoun use in the article itself. If Jai identifies as a girl- shouldn't she be called a she? I want to give Seattle Weekly the benefit of the doubt and I will hope that they asked Jai what pronoun to use, but I could be wrong.
But overall- yay for WA state for becoming the first state to decide that an inclusive policy is needed now. I don't have a transgendered kid, but I am happier knowing he goes to school in a place where beings trans is ok.
