From TFA…

“I agree with the concerns expressed by parents and players that we have to take into account biological factors such as muscle mass and unfair student athletic advantage when we determine who plays on which teams, especially in contact sports,” Harris reportedly wrote. “With goodwill and common sense, I believe we can come up with ways to do this, without vilifying and demonizing children.”

Crucially, many athletic organizations’ policies already contained rules to mitigate such “biological factors,” usually by requiring trans athletes to complete a certain number of years of hormone therapy. Some of those policies have been rolled back or eliminated in favor of strict binary classifications based on “biological sex,” amid the ongoing conservative anti-trans backlash. Last year, a study funded in part by the International Olympic Committee found that trans women may actually face notable disadvantages compared to cisgender women in athletic competitions after taking hormones.

Still, some Democrats have ceded ground on trans-inclusive sports in the wake of the 2024 election. In March, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told the late far-right pundit Charlie Kirk he agreed that trans girls playing high school sports was “deeply unfair.” Last month, Pete Buttigieg — reportedly Harris’ first pick for running mate in 2024 — followed suit, calling for Democrats to “take those questions [about fairness] seriously and face those together” in a podcast appearance.

Nuanced takes from Harris and Mayor Pete. Careful, thoughtful ideas that are functionally red meat for Republican bullies to tear apart and feed to their base.

Our health care is being denied, our livelihoods are being taken away and our lives are increasingly in danger. It’s not too much to expect the politicans (supposedly) on my side to have some more fucking fight in their rhetoric.