Equality, Law, and the Trans Community

In this episode, host Rose Campbell is joined by Cary Franklin to discuss nationwide efforts to erode the rights of transgender people. While the recent Supreme Court decisions allowing states to ban transgender girls from participating in sports at publicly funded schools have garnered attention, this is only the latest attack by the Trump administration.  Beyond barring transgender people from receiving medical care or serving in the military, the Trump administration has sought to give the government control over how, where, and when transgender people can express their gender identity. At the heart of this struggle is the search for equality under the law. Drawing from the history of anti-discrimination and suffragette movements, Cary considers what equality means in a legal sense, and explores how equal standing is created under the law. While the Supreme Court has historically considered discrimination based on gender stereotypes to be illegal, in recent years the Court has shifted away from this inclusive precedent. In the current political climate, the idea of biological sex is being wielded in much the same way earlier administrations treated different genders or races as "separate but equal," an attitude that appears to create equality while actually perpetuating and reifying hierarchical categories under the law. In this climate of constant attacks on the rights of the transgender community, Cary considers recent legislation and speculates about what the future may hold.