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bopinion · 20 days

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2024 / 16

Aperçu of the Week

"You can't knock on opportunity's door and not be ready."

(Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars and my sons favorite soundtrack while he's cooking)

Bad News of the Week

Sport actually has nothing to do with politics. Because the competition is carried out by individuals who (can) stand outside of systems. Nevertheless, sport is often instrumentalized by politics by stylizing successful athletes as symbolic figures for the strength of a system. I can still remember the Olympic Games in the 70s and 80s very well, in which the athletes of the USA and the Soviet Union competed against each other in many ways as a priority. And Rocky IV, of course.

It is fitting that sports organizations have always been suspected of being corrupt - often rightly so, see FIFA. It is therefore clear that it is almost always not the athletes who are the problem, but the officials. Do you need proof? How about China and doping? Because there was a big boom this week, as a journalistic investigative team from ARD (the BBC of Germany) found out.

At a national swimming competition in China at the beginning of 2021, 23 swimmers tested positive in the mandatory doping tests - which means negative in this context. This was then covered up. With the knowledge of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). The agency did not consider it worth investigating the banned substance trimetazidine, for which the Russian figure skating prodigy Kamila Valiyeva was banned for four years in the same year. The Chinese swimmers, however, were not. In the following Summer Olympics in Tokyo, three of them won gold and two silver.

We can see that China today is what the Soviet Union (and to some extent the GDR) used to be - a regime that abuses even its top performers to score points at international level. The staff looking after athletes (including doctors who have long since thrown the Hippocratic Oath overboard) still have more say than the athletes themselves. An institution that was set up to prevent malpractice can also be corrupt. At the major sporting events this summer, first the European Men's Football Championships and then the Olympic Games in Paris, spectators will not know whether they are cheering on a fake. And the athletes themselves won't know whether the competition was fair at all.

Good News of the Week

At last, US weapons are back in Ukraine. For months, the Republican “Freedom caucus” in the House of Representatives had been standing on the brakes. And Ukraine lost. Because, as is generally the case in the NATO context, all other members cannot compensate for the loss of by far the most capable partner country. It is therefore a great relief that the rationalists in the USA have regained the upper hand. And are now giving the badly shaken Ukraine hope again.

The following still applies: if Putin can subjugate Ukraine or impose a dictated peace on it, he will not sit back contentedly in his armchair in the Kremlin and enjoy the day of victory. He will continue in his quest to bring the Soviet Union back from the dead. Even if the Baltic states are members of NATO, they would be his next victims (not to mention Moldova, for example). Because apparently he could simply allow himself to do this without being stopped. The democracy of the whole of Europe is being defended in Ukraine, that must not be forgotten. So my heartfelt thanks to the US Congress.

A positive side effect of all this is that the same financial package, which Joe Biden will undoubtedly sign as soon as possible, contains even more. Namely 26 billion US dollars for the suffering population in Gaza - in your face, Benjamin Netanyahu! And 8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region - in your face, Xi Jinping! The USA are back on the world stage where they belong. I would not have thought it, but I must now pay tribute to a member of the Republican establishment. So thank you, Speaker of the House James Michael “Mike” Johnson. Hopefully I'll get over it...

Personal happy moment of the week

My son was in trouble with a teacher. A misunderstanding - that had developed into a solid crisis due to a certain stubbornness on both sides - was now threatening to cost him his participation in a project that is important to him. I took his side and was called in for a “clarifying discussion”. This was then canceled because the teacher (probably looking for reinforcement and arguments) consulted with other teachers. And “received very positive feedback on his behavior”. Disciplinary measures were not taken “because he is so committed and keeps the group together.” So a serious accusation suddenly turned into high praise.

I couldn't care less...

...that a Belgian court acquitted a driver who was driving with a blood alcohol level of 2.1. Because he suffers from the extremely rare “home-brew syndrome”: the body produces alcohol itself, which leads to the usual symptoms such as reduced responsiveness etc. Anyone who is a danger to themselves and, above all, to others on the road should not be allowed to drive - for whatever reason. After all, the disability of no blind person is their own fault. But no court in the world would allow him to drive.

It's fine with me...

...that for the first time in the history of the USA a criminal trial is taking place against a (former) president. I don't care whether or not you can plead guilty to election interference by falsifying business records because of hush money payments to a porn star. I just wish that a proven notorious liar and cheat, who is also a sexist, racist, homophobe and incidentally “unfit for office”, would finally have to take responsibility for his actions in court.

As I write this...

...April lives up to its name: first you can go swimming and two days later it's snowing. Candles are set up in the vineyards to warm the tender buds. And the hedgehog that has been hibernating on the terrace under our barbecue probably thinks it has woken up too early. Allergy sufferers are happy about the abrupt end of the pollen season. But everyone misses spring.

Post Scriptum

Everyone gets their life from their mother. She is the primary caregiver that all humans have in their first perceptions. That's why I've never understood why so many men simply devalue this in the course of their lives - and grant women fewer rights than themselves. Poverty, discrimination and a lack of equal rights cost lives, according to the latest UN World Population Report.

Not only is there no progress towards equality, there is actually a decline. The rights of “women, girls and gender-diverse people are being pushed back more and more,” says Dr. Natalia Kanem (head of the United Nations Population Fund). Lack of representation and limited self-determination force one in four women under a male-dominated yoke. And sexual violence is a problem in almost every country in the world. No man can want that. Not for his mother, not for his sister, not for his daughter. And not for his wife either. Shame on you!

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linusjf · 1 month

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Marion Jones: No reason

Marion Jones (Photo credit: Wikipedia) “You forget that sometimes people are out there to get you — they don’t even have a reason. ” —Marion Jones.

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#British Olympic Association #Counties #Dwain Chambers #Marion #Marion Jones #olympic games #United States #World Anti-Doping Agency

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sportday · 8 months

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New agreement promotes drug-free sport, supports public health.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) allows experts from both international organizations to collaborate and share information on issues where anti-doping and public health intersect.

It provides a framework to further goals on health promotion, the prevention of substance abuse and emerging drugs - and for encouraging clean and fair competition.

#memorandum of understanding (MOU)#health promotion #emerging drugs #anti-doping #drug-free sport #World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

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gothalokhabar · 1 year

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विश्व एन्टी डोपिङ एजेन्सीको नेतृत्व पुनः दोहोरियो

मोन्ट्रियल, ३ मङ्सिर । विश्व एन्टी डोपिङ एजेन्सी (वाडा) ले शुक्रबार अध्यक्ष विटोल्ड बान्का र उपाध्यक्ष याङ याङको पुनः दोस्रो तीन वर्षको कार्यकालका लागि निर्वाचित भएको पुष्टि गरेको छ । वाडाको कार्यकारी समिति र फाउन्डेसन बोर्डले नोभेम्बर १७ र१८ मा एजेन्सीको मुख्यालय, मोन्ट्रियल, क्यानडामा भेला भएको र यसको शीर्ष नेतृत्वको पुनः चयन गरेको बताएको छ । सो भेलामा नेतृत्व चयनका अतिरिक्त अन्य थुप्रै…

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#World Anti-Doping Agency #एन्टी डोपिङ

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cannabisbusinessexecutive · 2 years

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Despite objections, WADA set to keep ban on marijuana for Olympians

The World Anti-Doping Agency appears almost certain to keep cannabis on its list of banned substances, amid a continuing debate over the drug’s effect on athletic performance and the proper role of testing in Olympic and other top international athletic competitions. A person with knowledge of the situation this week confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that cannabis remains on the list of…

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#banned substances #marijuana #The World Anti-Doping Agency

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bright-and-burning · 5 months

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i was pretty sure in-competition vs out-of-competition drug testing had different rules from following track and field doping scandals. and i was right! and then i accidentally dug a little too deep into doping regulations so. here's some fun info on anti-doping & motorsports (& how allowed doing drugs is) below the cut (you could perhaps call this a ~primer~ if you wanted)

i'm going off of the FIA's anti-doping regulations (appendix a to the international sporting code, this is from 2017 but it gets the gist across (and doesn't require a download). i checked it against the 2021 version and nothing i referenced changed significantly; click on the "appendix a" link here to download the 2021 version) and the world anti-doping code international standard prohibited list (link is to the 2024 list but i don't think things have changed very much over the years).

the appendix was only added to the international sporting code in 2010, so i can't speak to anything before then.

the FIA link is 69 pages long and also not an easy read BUT from what i can tell their testing works the same as any other international sport's (so if you're looking for a simpler read on the general process than the FIA's code, check out this wiki page on biological passports and the world anti-doping agency (WADA)'s pretty simple anti-doping process page here).

substances

the important part (to me, at least) is article 4: prohibited list and international standards. this is the bit that says what drugs you can and can't do.

it essentially boils down to "the WADA list applies. and also a few other things."

the few others things here are specifically alcohol and beta-blockers. alcohol for drunk driving reasons, beta-blockers because they lower heart rates and reduce tremors (they're banned in many sports that require high accuracy, like motorsports but also archery and golf).

the WADA list is broken down into two main parts: substances & methods prohibited at all times, and substances & methods prohibited in-competition

substances prohibited at all times

these are things like anabolic agents, peptide hormones, growth factors, beta-2 agonists, hormone and metabolic modulators, and diuretics and masking agents (you can explore more in depth here if you're interested).

basically, what i typically think of when i think of doping. the stereotype of bodybuilders taking steroids, you know. not the fun stuff.

substances prohibited in-competition

these are probably what people are more interested in hearing about (especially fic writers). these are stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids, and glucocorticoids. i will admit to never having heard of glucocorticoids by that name before this (they are steroids used to treat asthma, inflammation, allergies, etc).

these include things like cocaine, adderall and other stimulants commonly used to treat adhd, ecstasy, weed, heroin, oxycodone, and so on.

once again see here for more info; if you're looking for something specific, go to the index and use what page it points you to as a guide. ecstasy, for example, is not listed by name as ecstasy on page 14 (stimulants prohibited in-competition but not out of competition), but if you look in the index, the ecstasy listing points you towards page 14 (where it's referred to by its 'chemical' name), marking it as a stimulant only prohibited in-competition. you might have to google your drug of choice to find other names for it.

in-competition, by the way, is defined as "the period commencing just before midnight (at 11:59 p.m.) on the day before a competition in which the Athlete is scheduled to participate until the end of the competition and the sample collection process." ie 11:59pm the night before right up to after you pee in the cup. assuming competition includes free practice, this period would be wednesday at 11:59pm to sunday after the race.

obviously you can get a therapeutic use exemption, where your doctor says "yeah they need this banned substance for this reason." it's more complicated than that, and there's a lot of paperwork and different agencies' approval involved, but that's the gist of it. this is, for example, how simone biles is allowed to take adhd medication despite those being prohibited in-competition.

the testing method itself isn't explicitly identified in the 2021 code, but it mentions blood and urine testing as options in a footnote. the 2017 code treats urine testing as the automatic option (and lays out the specifics of how that should occur quite explicitly), and blood testing as an alternative or optional addition.

different drugs stay in your system for different lengths of time. cocaine can show up on saliva & blood tests for up to two days, and on urine tests for up to three. weed's urine testing window can be as long as 30 days (depending on frequency of use). and so on. so risk levels vary!

sanctions stuff

you can get hit with sanctions for tampering with tests, evading tests, etc, but i'm gonna talk about specifically sanctions for testing positive because i feel like that's more interesting and relevant than going into sanctions for missing tests three times in twelve months (but if you are interested, read through the FIA's code).

they make special note of what they call "specified substances." these are substances that are "more like to have been consumed or used by an athlete for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance" aka fun drugs as opposed to performance enhancers. pretty much all of the in-competition banned ones are specified substances. notable exception here is cocaine. cocaine (and some other stimulants) are not specified substances. you can see which specific substances are specified here.

the definition of "specified substances" above is pretty much just used for sanctions reasons. it kind of helps determine who the burden of proof falls on.

nitty gritty sanctions stuff

the rest of this post gets into the nitty gritty of sanctions (feel free to skip this bit). motorsports has so few violations at the top level (like, to the point where anti-doping lab people are quoted as being genuinely amazed by how clean everyone is) that this kind of thing hasn't really played out (or at least, not since the FIA started working with WADA. or as far as i know). this is different from just about every other sport i've Ever paid any kind of attention to.

this part would honestly make a really solid flowchart. it makes for a pretty rough primer. it is so confusing, but hopefully i make it even a tiny bit more clear than the FIA's code.

there's quite a few cases here, and they're all kind of complicated:

if the violation involved a specified substance, the FIA has to prove it was intentional use to hit the violator with a four year "period of ineligibility," which i will refer to as a ban throughout for ease.

if the violation does not involve a specified substance, the athlete has to prove it wasn't an intentional use to avoid a four year ban.

the two cases above are what i see as the general cases. if a violation doesn't fall under any of the below cases, then it falls back into those. they're the "if not anything else, then these."

a violation for a substance only prohibited in-competition can be ruled not intentional if it is a specified substance and the athlete can prove that it was used out-of-competition, or if it is not a specified substance and the athlete can prove it was used out-of-competition in a context unrelated to performance.

aka (this is an extremely handwavey and flippant example for demonstration purposes only) if they test positive for ecstasy (specified substance), but they can prove they used it at the club for a good time, then it's not intentional. if they test positive for cocaine (not a specified substance), but they can prove they used it at the club and specifically for fun not for performance, then it's not intentional.

if intent isn't there, and none of the other options i go into below apply, you get a two year ban (as far as i can figure it out).

intentional use is specifically "meant to identify those athletes who cheat," basically doing it knowing it was a rule violation/carried a risk of being a rule violation and disregarding the risk (paraphrased from the FIA).

if the violation involves a substance of abuse as specified by WADA here, and the driver can establish that the use occurred out-of-competition and wasn't related to performance, then they get a three month ban. furthermore, if the driver completes an FIA-approved substance of abuse treatment program, then that ban will be reduced to one month.

if the violation involves a substance of abuse and it occurred in-competition, but the driver can prove it wasn't related to performance, then the violation'll be considered not intentional, and is therefore (as far as i can tell) subject to a two year ban.

if the driver can prove they bear no fault or negligence (literally Zero), then whatever ban they would've gotten will go away. this is REALLY hard though; the document states that it "will only apply in exceptional circumstances, for example, where a Driver could prove that, despite all due care, he or she was sabotaged by a competitor."

Conversely, it says that this no fault case wouldn't apply if: a) they consumed a mislabeled/contaminated vitamin or supplement (drivers are responsible for what they ingest), b) their personal trainer/physician gave it to them without explaining what it was (drivers are responsible for their choice of medical personnel), c) sabotage of their food or drink "by a spouse, coach or other person within the driver’s circle of associates (drivers are responsible for what they ingest and for the conduct of those persons to whom they entrust access to their food and drink)." In these scenarios, however, they could potentially use the no significant fault or negligence cases outlined directly below.

if the violation involves a specified substance (but not a substance of abuse), and the driver can prove no significant fault or negligence, then the consequences will be somewhere between a reprimand and a two year ban depending on how at fault they are.

if they can prove both no significant fault/negligence AND that the detected substance came from a contaminated product, then the consequences will be between somewhere between a reprimand and a two year ban depending on how at fault they are. (as an aside, i'm pretty sure this is the out that shelby houlihan tried to use when she tested positive for an anabolic steroid and blamed it on a pork burrito from a food truck).

to be able to use this out, the driver has to prove separately that a) the substance came from the contaminated product and b) they aren't significantly at fault.

these are, as far as i can tell, all of the potential violation cases the FIA's code has articles for. they align with other sports' regulatory bodies' rules, in my (limited) experience.

i hope this was at least a little interesting and informative! (it certainly was for me). thanks for reading :)

several disclaimers here: i make NO promises abt this being perfectly accurate bc it IS me interpreting the FIA's code. and this is nowhere near my area of expertise (i am not a doctor or a lawyer or anything else relevant to this. i am just a nerd with adhd and a whole lot of time). but i did my best ! and i think it's a solid stone's throw at accurate.

and also to be clear if they do coke in fic on thursday night or whatever for the plot or the vibes im still here for it. this is not me requiring pitch-perfect accuracy on doping violations in fic (and all of this info will probably drain out of my brain by saturday); it's (hopefully) a resource!

#hey friends adhd goes crazy. i found myself reading thru anti-doping regulations at like 1am and decided to be Productive about it #have fun go crazy do cocaine but only out-of-competition!#f1 primer #i Guess. i still hesitate to call it that.#mine #mine.primer

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race-week · 5 months

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are the drivers allowed to smoke (cigar/weed) and do drugs?

There’s rules around it.

F1 follows World Anti Doping Agency rules and their list of prohibited substances.

F1 does random drug testing both in competition (on race weekends) and can do out of competition testing (like in summer/winter break)

Nicotine isn’t banned by WADA, Cannabis, Cocaine and Ecstasy are during competitions and there are other drugs are banned both in and out of competitions for example anabolic steroids

#al’s asks

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figureskatingfanblog · 11 months

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The hearing against Kamila Valieva will take place September 26 - 29.

#figure skating #kamila valieva #tw: doping #world anti doping agency #court of arbitration for sport #russian anti doping agency

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shineemoon · 2 years

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Group SHINee member and actor Choi Minho (31) stepped forward as a model for the 2022 Qatar World Cup KADA (Korea Anti-Doping Agency) fair campaign. (Source: spotvnews)

#SHINee #minho #choi minho

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periodictabletournament · 1 year

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"A noble gas so it does nothing and not even one of the cool noble gas people know about. Name 1 thing Argon does. You can't!" has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.

Does the person who wrote this know about how lightbulbs work? The stuff inside a lightbulb that isn't the wire has to be nonreactive, or your lightbulb explodes. And if you fill it with a vacuum, then it will implode instead if you just tap it. You know what is entirely unreactive, is cheap to produce, and is naturally as dense as air? Argon. But if the submitter is not happy with their "request" for one thing argon does being answered, well argon also barely conducts heat. This makes it useful for so many industrial applications. It also is used to date the ages of rocks and ice, as a preservative for many chemicals as well as types of wine, for detecting neutrinos which if you know anything about them you would know how impressive that is, and to create lasers. It is used to store important historical documents, like the American declaration of independence, or that same countries constitution, which regardless of how you feel about the country in question, it's still a job with a lot of significance. Liquid argon has been used to kill cancer, and has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. I do understand if it wins against (is worse than) carbon this round, because it is carbon, but if it does well in the tournament because it is useless and unknown, even though as you can see earlier is has so many uses, and most people would agree that it is better known than many of the other competitors. So don't vote argon.

keep the comments to the elements not the other people participating in the polls please

some great points about the uses of argon though!

#periodic propaganda #worst element bracket

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meret118 · 23 days

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Less than a hundred days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Games, a new doping controversy has erupted involving Olympic swimmers from China.

Critics say the scandal - stemming from positive drug tests in 2021 - suggests a "potential cover-up" and raises troubling questions about the integrity of the international testing regime meant to keep Olympic sport clean.

#Olympics

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follow-up-news · 9 months

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Sha'Carri Richardson ran past a heat of the fastest sprinters in the world Monday to win the women's 100 meter at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest. She ran from behind and past Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the defending world champion, to win with a time of 10.65 seconds. Richardson's run – from the disadvantageous outside lane – catapults her back into the elite ranks of women's track and marks a major comeback after two years of disappointment. "I would say never give up," Richardson said after Monday's race. "Never allow media, never allow outsiders, never allow anything but yourself and your fate to define who you are. I would say always fight. No matter what. Fight." Richardson was poised to contend in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, but after testing positive for marijuana, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspended her from competition for a month, which prevented her from competing in the games.

#sha'carri richardson

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themagicfolf · 1 year

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Hi, I'm Stella A college student at SWIC this is the first paper I worked on while attending It covers Transphobi and mainly how it affects Trans Youth. I hope you all get something out of this ^w^

See my Citations and supplementary material here

The Rise of Transphobia in the U.S.A and the Effects it Brought

______________________________________________________________________________________________________First I would like to preface this by stating my biases. I support the rights of transgender people

| I also feel the need to mention that I myself am a Trans woman. Meaning I support Trans rights_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

In recent years there has been a noticeable rise in anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and hate crimes, particularly targeting educators, health care providers, trans-youth, and transwomen of color. Though harmful, this legislation and these attacks are only the surface of the deeper issues within our society. We as a people have a fear of the unknown. This fear has historically been weaponized by those seeking to gain or maintain a level of control. By demonizing people they don’t understand, politicians, religious leaders, and “activists'' are able to gain an audience and turn a group into a problem rather than a people.

I want to explore this and show the corrupting nature of these actions tracing them back to the source. In my research, I discovered many activist groups, businesses, and political organizations have disguised their close-minded views and hateful rhetoric as beliefs grounded in scientific study and the harmful actions they take as well-intentioned actions taken to defend the defenseless. They claim to be informing the public when they are both denying scientific studies and attacking the defenseless for their own personal gain. To more effectively combat this we need to understand when and who set these events into motion.

My analysis starts in 2015. The House had just passed the Mariage Equality Act, anti-LGBTQ+ groups were airing homophobic advertisements more than they ever had before, and Barack Obama's second term was about to end. This was a year of both celebration and protest. It is my belief that during this year due to homophobia becoming less socially acceptable, anti-LGBTQIA+ groups began to lean harder into opposing the right of transgender and non-binary people to live as the gender they identify as. Because of this, these groups began introducing new policies dubbed “Bathroom Bills” ' meant to restrict transgender and non-binary peoples' usage of public facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms.

These “Bathroom Bills” on the surface appear to be only a minor inconvenience but in areas where they were signed into law proved to be detrimental to the physical and mental well-being of transgender and non-binary students in the area.

These bills had a multitude of negative effects, the most prevalent of these is increased stress, anxiety, and depression due to the uncertainty of finding a restroom they are legally allowed to use and the abuse they may face when using the restroom corresponding with the sex they were assigned at birth. Another effect was an increase in UTIs due to transgender individuals “holding it” due to a lack of or inconvenient location of appropriate facilities. These claims are corroborated by an American Medical Association report which can be found here.

Another type of bill that saw an increase in recent years is the banning of trans women from women's sports. For more information on the topic see the TUE Physican Guidlines as presented by The World Anti-Doping Agency. As I am not qualified to speak on this I will only be speaking on the effects these bills had on LGBTQIA+ individuals. Banning Trans athletes from competing in sports aligned with their gender identity harms the mental health and safety of transgender athletes. For many, these bans can be dehumanizing, and isolating, also putting those who swap teams in danger. These bans can make people feel isolated because they separate friends from each other and lower the visibility of transgender athletes thus making it harder for transgender individuals to find other athletes they can relate to. These bans can also put transgender athletes who decide to stay in sports by joining a team not congruent with their gender identity in danger due to a raised risk of bullying, harassment, and assault as shown by this study from the American Psychology Association

More recently the U.S. has seen an increased push for a total ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. This push has been mainly made by Conservatives, Religious Organisations, and Politicians of the Republican Party. A common claim by these groups and individuals is that “Most children who think they are the opposite sex will grow out of this delusion before adulthood” stating “By mutilating children with these chemicals and surgeries you will be ruining their lives” citing this outdated and heavily contested study.

Another common claim made that focuses on gay youth is that “Most trans kids aren't trans and just suffer from confusion or internalized homophobia.” Another is that ”Kids with Autism aren’t mentally capable of making such a drastic and irreversible decision.” This claim disregards the autonomy and mental capabilities of neurodivergent people. They also tend to cite the heightened risk of suicide in trans youth. To back this up they don't normally cite any specific studies but many of the statistics they use and claims they make come from these studies.

Most studies that back their claims up are old, outdated, rescinded, or debunked. Even when the studies don’t line up with their claims they bend the truth, misinterpreted the data, and use it out of context. An example of this is one study from Sweden.

This study focused on the results of Swedish citizens post-SRS over the course of 10 years. It does show a heightened mortality rate for transgender individuals. The main problem with this study is a lack of a control group containing individuals suffering from gender dysphoria. This study also lacks vital context involving environmental factors such as transphobia, financial hardship, discrimination, and political discourse and is mainly used to attribute the increased risk of suicide directly to transitioning rather than the social stigmas around it.

When making their push to ban Gender Affirming Care for Minors they also appeal to a sense of urgency and responsibility in their arguments claiming “Gender-affirming care for minors is child abuse.” In many cases, these arguments have convinced a large enough number of people to support such bans. Since 2015, a number of states have banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors such as Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, and Florida while Arizona has enstated a ban on any gender-affirming surgery for transgender minors. Recently Michigan *among others, have begun their fight to ban Gender Affirming Care for transgender minors as well

These bans and claims are harmful and go against The World Health Organisations' recommended treatment plan for gender dysphoria. In the states where these bans have been enstated courts were able to temporarily block investigations of families supportive of their transgender child. But many living in these states still feel as though a dark cloud is looming overhead, and that it’s only a matter of time before these bans take full effect. This feeling is echoed in these quotes. As shown by multiple studies, withholding access to gender-affirming care from gender-diverse youth has a long-lasting detrimental effect on their mental and physical well-being.

These individuals see increased rates of anxiety, depression, feelings of hopelessness, fear, stress, self-harm, and attempted suicide. This can be caused by a multitude of factors. Gender-diverse youth who are denied gender-affirming care are a majority of the time forced to watch their bodies change and morph into something that ‘on a deeper level’ feels wrong while knowing these changes could have most likely been prevented. Due to these changes, they are also more likely to be bullied for physical characteristics not typical of their gender identity. They may also feel hopeless as though they may never gain access to gender-affirming care. Most of all, gender-affirming care has been proven to be an effective treatment of gender dysphoria so without gender-affirming care it is left for the most part untreated.

These consequences are primarily why I find it important to understand why and how these events take place. The rights and Lives of LGBTQIA+ Children, Teens, and Adults all over the U.S. and The World are at stake. The best way to combat hate is through knowledge and in the knowledge we find truth, I urge you if this topic interests you look into it further and speak out.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________Paper written and researched by: Stella Cox

For questions and inquiries contact me at [email protected]________________________________________________________________________________

Testimonials

Parental Testimonials on The Fear of Anti-Trans Legislation ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

“It would mean that my son would go back to hating himself every month when he began to menstruate again. The thoughts of hurting himself would return.”

(Mother of a transgender son from Illinois) Source ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Without hormones and surgery, my teen would probably have committed suicide.

(Mother of a transgender son from Connecticut) Source ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

“My daughter tried to harm herself at an early age due to her misery of having male parts. She only got hopeful when her doctor told her she wouldn’t go through male puberty. Male puberty would kill my daughter.”

(Mother of a transgender daughter from Ohio) Source______________________________________________________________________________________________________

“If she had been younger, and been told that she couldn’t get the hormones, the medicine that would help her overcome this problem, she would have been devastated. The message would have been that she is so very wrong, disordered, hopeless that she isn’t even worth treatment. And that leads to profound mental health issues and suicide.“

(Mother of a transgender daughter from Ohio) Source______________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Even if they don’t pass, just the news cycle letting him know that people hate him, despise him, and have no larger concerns than to dispose of his very existence is a very trying experience.“

(Father of a transgender son from South Dakota) Source______________________________________________________________________________________________________

“The very existence of these laws, regardless that they are in other states, renders my child less safe. They encourage and legitimize hate. The idea that the government can raise children better than the parents is absurd. “

(Mother of a transgender daughter from New Jersey) Source

Testimonials From Gender-Diverse People on The Fear of Anti-Trans Legislation

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“Kids, or just people supportive of trans youth, see the news reports and understand some of the content, and think that if this passes the restrictions will immediately go into place. They’re going to immediately close up, stop talking to counselors, etc. That’s where the harm begins — where the unhappiness begins.” “My main question to people trying to pass this bill is: How can you make decisions for trans people when you don’t even know us? We live in communities everywhere — as students, coworkers, friends, family — and deserve to be heard just like anyone else.”

(Jeremiah - age 17 from Alabama) Source

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“The issues they’re making laws to protect against don’t exist; instead, they’re creating problems where there are none. These bills will have a really bad effect on kids like me everywhere and are just going to hurt people if passed.”

“It’s hard enough being a trans kid, not knowing if you’ll be bullied at school, but to have politicians who supposedly have the good of the people at heart do this is so upsetting.”

“Know that we’re here for you, I’m here for you — I hope everyone finds that person who will always listen to and believe in you no matter what.”

(Adam - 8th grade from Tennessee) Source

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“I’ve met so many of my close friends by playing basketball and they’ve really become a support system for me throughout middle school.”

“To all the parents out there, my main advice is to listen to your kids. When we share something with you, it’s because we want to be seen and heard. It’s important for trans people, and

especially trans kids, to have our stories heard so that others can get to know us for who we are.”

(Daniel From Arizona)Source

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