Boswell Initiative hosts panel at Law School discussing issues facing transgender youth

Panelists address state efforts targeting transgender students, highlight recent legislation meant to restrict students in school settings

One of the accomplishments I am most proud of is getting a building named after him.”

Hamilton began the panel discussion by addressing statistical data on transgender individuals in the United States and legislation surrounding transgender policies nationwide. According to the data shown, 1.5 million people ages 13 and older in the United States currently identify as transgender. About 300000 of these people are transgender youth from ages 13-17.

“Overall, from data collected between 2016 and now, the number of trans adults has remained fairly steady, but better data collection on youths’ gender identity has given researchers better information than what was previously available for estimating the youth population and now they know that youth comprise a larger share of the trans identity population than previously estimated. Now, they comprise about 18% of trans identifying people in the U.S.,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton discussed issues facing the transgender community in the current day, including bans on gender-affirming medical care and laws and legislation limiting discussion of sexuality and gender such as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida.

Additionally, efforts are underway to limit transgender youth participation in school sports and the frequent banning and censorship of books containing topics such as gender, sexuality or individuals of color.

“Young people have a right to see themselves reflected in their classrooms and in the books that they’re reading,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton noted a report from the American Library Association, which found challenges against 1597 individual books last year, which is the highest number since we began tracking book bans 20 years ago. She added that a PEN America report found that of these books that have been banned, 379 have had LGBTQ+ characters or themes, 84 centered on transgender characters and 460 had BIPOC protagonists.

“So, students and their parents are facing these censorship efforts that restrict their First Amendment rights. Their First Amendment protects educators and students’ rights to exchange information. It also protects students rights’ to learn free from viewpoint based discrimination,” Hamilton said.

In the Virginia Senate, two bills targeting transgender students failed on Feb. 16. The bills would have restricted the participation of transgender students in school athletics and required school officials to inform parents if a child presents themselves as transgender in a school environment. The bills passed in the State House but did not receive sufficient support in the Democraticcontrolled State Senate.

“It’s really just kind of stunning how much time, resource and political capital is being expended on this issue,” Hamilton said. “The Virginia High School League has already implemented rules that were implemented in 2014 that allowed trans student athletes to participate with certain provisions.”

McKay then introduced herself and described her work as the executive director and founder of the He She Ze and We program.

“What He She Ze and We does is really work to empower families on this journey of gender identity,” McKay said. “And we work to support them, to educate them so that they know how to be accepting and supportive to their kids of all ages. And we also advocate for the rights of transgender individuals.”

As the mother of a transgender child, McKay mentioned her personal connection to the issues discussed, as well as to families that may be grappling with their child’s gender identity or hostile environments for transgender youth.

“Your ego, your belief system, your biases, leave it all there and come on in and open your door so that you can meet the person in front of you and help them with whatever it is they need help with,” McKay said.