Washington Ballot Measure Could Force All Girls to Have Genital Inspections to Play Sports

This story originally appeared on The Advocate.A new, highly controversial initiative will be presented to voters in Washington state this fall that would specifically bar transgender athletes from participating on girls’ sports teams, according to a report from New York magazine affiliate, The Cut. While another legislative attack on trans girls in school sports is sadly nothing new under the Trump administration, the extremism of this particular measure has resulted in strong opposition from advocates of both cisgender and transgender female student-athletes.If passed, IL26-638 would impose special eligibility requirements on athletes from kindergarten through high school, requiring them to certify their sex assigned at birth through genetic screening, a testosterone levels test, or even an examination of their reproductive anatomy at their yearly sports physical.The Cut interviewed several people who were knowledgeable on the topic or who could be directly affected by the passing of IL26-638 (most of whom used aliases to protect their privacy). One such person is Maria, a recent high school graduate and lifelong basketball player who says although she never felt violated during annual sports physicals, a forced genital exam would have certainly changed that.Related: Pramila Jayapal warns Democrats: Don't throw trans people under the bus“I have never had to take any clothes off. I’ve never felt uncomfortable or violated,” Maria told The Cut, adding that if IL26-638 had passed while she was participating in school sports, she probably would have just dropped out. “I honestly don’t know if I would be able to do these tests. It would also make me question, If I do it, are all my teammates going to, too? Or would I just play with the three or four girls who are willing to or have access to do it?”The measure comes amid an ongoing war in this country brought on by the far right to “save girls’ sports.” Since 2020, 27 states have imposed measures tha