Imagine being an athletically talented, elementary-aged girl, who, along with her parent,s is deciding whether to compete in sports. Now she knows that she will likely never win any statewide competitions by the time she’s in high school and college because biological boys, taller and stronger, will be competing against her and changing with her in the sports locker rooms. What will she decide?

And what about this girl’s mother, who benefited from Title IX’s inclusion of girls’ high school sports competitions while her daughter won’t?

Their answer will be “no.” They are feeling effectively erased from competitive levels of sports.

But the question obviously goes beyond the rights of girls. It goes to power and control: control of ideas in the public sphere and control of speech.

Instead of stamping down a female representative’s speech, why can’t we all work to provide safety and opportunity for girls and women, and separately, for boys who want to identify as girls and play sports? We have precedent: Special Olympics. We can make another separate category. That way, everyone can compete fairly.

I thank Rep. Laurel Libby for bravely starting a conversation. Together, let’s work on a constructive, fair solution without prejudice.

Larenda Mielke
Harpswell