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A state representative is attempting to redefine the term “gender” in Utah, advocating for thorough medical examinations before transgender students may be allowed to use the school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
State Rep. Michael Kennedy’s proposed bill asserts that a person’s gender is equivalent to their “phenotype,” which he uses to mean the sex designated on a birth certificate. His bill says that students may not use a bathroom that doesn’t correspond with their birth-assigned sex, unless they undergo a physical and genital evaluation by a doctor “proving” that they are the gender they identify with.
As defined in HB 87, “Gender” is the “either male or female phenotype designation of an individual as documented by the individual’s birth certificate,” or “a signed, written documentation from a physician… that, based on a physical examination of the individual’s genitalia, designates the individual phenotypically as either male or female.” The definition concludes that “‘Gender’ does not mean an individual’s own opinion of [their gender].”
The cherry on top is that this representative ran for his position on a platform of reducing the role of government in citizens’ lives. So, tell me, what about having a government-mandated genital examination before being allowed to use the bathroom designates LESS interference?
This is grossly inappropriate, humiliating and belittling. I don’t care how long Utah takes to figure out its ideological stance on LGBT equality as long as it doesn’t harm our youth, or anyone else, in the process.