Rep. Virginia Fox (R-N.C.) said:
“I don’t know what a transgender girl is,” Fox said Monday during a House hearing on HR 734, a bill that seeks to amend the definition of sex in Title IX to mean “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
The proposed law, also known as the Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act, has the support of 93 House Republicans. The White House said on Monday that President Biden would veto the measure if it reached his desk.
When asked during Monday’s hearing if she thought transgender women were women, Fox answered no.
She said, “They’re males, sorry.”
Rep. Thomas Massey said Monday that Foxx does not deny the existence of transgender people but is instead “questioning this illusion that they can change their gender.”
Fox replied, “Correct.” “I don’t deny that there are people who say they are biologically one sex but know they are another, there are certainly people in this country who say that. My point was that one cannot change one’s biological sex. It has not been found to be possible.”
House Republicans during Monday’s hearing repeatedly referred to transgender women as “biological males.” LGBT advocacy organizations condemned him for implying that transgender people lie about their identity.
Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R.C.) have repeatedly offended former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Leah Thomas, who last year became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 national title, and Terry Miller and Andrea Yearwood, two former U.S. athletes A transgender high school senior is at the center of a lawsuit brought by four female athletes in Connecticut.
During Monday’s hearing, Democrats criticized the unwillingness of Fox and Republicans to identify transgender identities while debating legislation that would significantly affect their lives.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). “You say you don’t even know what a trans woman or a trans girl is, but you nonetheless want to ban them from the sport.”
Foxx said in response that it did not matter if she was able to define what it meant to be transgender because the word “transgender” did not appear on the bill.
“The word trans is nowhere in this bill,” Fox said. “This law says if you’re a biological male, you can’t participate against biological females. It’s that easy.”
Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), one of 13 openly LGBTQ members of Congress and co-chair of the House Equality Council, said the bill, regardless of whether it mentions transgender people or not, will increase stigma and segregation. Transgender student athletes than their peers.
He said, “Trans children need to be protected by us, not stigmatized, and although those words are not in the text of the bill, the impact of this bill will be exactly that.”
At least 21 countries since 2020 Adopt laws or policies that prevent transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
The Biden administration earlier this month condemned the sweeping ban that “categorically” bans transgender athletes from playing sports, but said individual policies might be allowed under a raft of proposed changes to Title IX.
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