With a new Republican controlled Congress comes new dangers in the form of deeply concerning bills. The Far Right is barreling out of the gate with frightening attacks on rights for trans, nonbinary, and intersex people. One of the many dangerous bills set for this session, the anti-trans effort to revise the Education Amendments of 1972, would have terrible repercussions for people around the country. Here is what’s in the bill, why it’s so dangerous, and how you can help.
Discriminatory efforts to exclude trans, nonbinary, and intersex people from sports
Yet again, trans, nonbinary, and intersex people find themselves in the crosshairs of the Far Right. And yet again, those far-right forces are coming for trans, nonbinary, and intersex players in sports. This bill is hate disguised as “help,” and we all need to see through this charade and to expose and push back against this attack.
What’s in the bill
This bill would revise the Education Amendments of 1972 to require that students only play on sports teams that match their assigned gender at birth in order for schools to be in compliance with Title IX. Failure to comply with Title IX could result in schools losing valuable federal funds and facing additional repercussions.
The bill is identical to one from a previous Congress and is also called the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.” Despite the name, this bill seeks to actively discriminate against trans, nonbinary, and intersex athletes under the guise of protecting cisgender athletes from some ill-defined threat. It’s one of many upcoming attacks on trans, nonbinary, and intersex people from the incoming authoritarian regime.
Why it’s dangerous
Restricting trans, nonbinary, and intersex students to sports teams that align with their assigned sex at birth can have devastating consequences:
- Trans, nonbinary, and intersex students who are excluded from sports based on their identity effectively have targets on their backs and may face intensified discrimination and bullying. This increased discrimination can lead to ostracization, depression, and worse.
- The exclusion of trans, nonbinary, and intersex people from sports and other school functions can also deepen the lack of understanding about trans, nonbinary, and intersex identities among school populations and personnel. This can lead to further discriminatory policies due to a general lack of exposure to gender-diverse people.
- Additionally, policies like this inevitably exclude cis people who don’t perfectly conform to oppressive gender norms. Women and girls who are deemed too tall, too muscular, too masculine, or too anything else that doesn’t fit the rigid definitions dreamt up by discriminatory officials will also likely be targets of scrutiny and harassment. And like trans, nonbinary, and intersex people, they’ll face discrimination as a result.
How you can help
We can’t let this blatant discrimination go unanswered. Congress needs to hear that we vehemently oppose enshrining hate towards trans, nonbinary, and intersex people in the law. Add your name to our petition and tell Congress to reject this hateful bill. You can also become a member of People For the American Way to stay up to date on this bill and other dangers we’ll face from the incoming authoritarian regime.
