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Across the nation and around the world, a sweeping movement to ban transgender athletes and prohibit trans-affirming health care has gained ground and planted a seed in the popular consciousness, allegedly in the name of 鈥渇airness,鈥� 鈥渟afety,鈥� and 鈥減rotecting girls and women.鈥� If allowed to grow, this seed would ultimately undo the advances trans people have made in this century.

It is a lie. Every word of every anti-trans law enacted across is based in fiction, if not outright malice.

But that fiction sure does sound convincing, almost good enough to be true鈥攋ust like the lies of every propagandist, from antiquity through what some now call 鈥渢he Trump Era.鈥�

Here are the facts: , reversible, and have a of being effective. No trans person is demanding No trans athlete seeks to No trans student-athlete has from anyone else. It鈥檚 never happened.

And here鈥檚 another thing: Trans athletes are not new. They have been competing at almost all levels for decades. However, if any qualify to compete in this summer鈥檚 Olympic Games, that will be a historic moment, because no out trans athlete has reached that level of their sport. could be that barrier-breaker.

While Hubbard鈥檚 story would typically be a milestone to celebrate, it鈥檚 instead become a lightning rod for transphobia, hatred, and derision around the world, even amid the plentiful rainbows of Pride Month, and the pink, white, and blue flags representing the . This is a particularly dark time to be trans.

On the first morning of Pride Month, Florida Gov signed a bill banning trans kids from sports into law.

In 2021, 8 states created laws discriminating against trans youth in sports. With Idaho (2020), that makes 9 states with laws prohibiting trans kids from sport.

— The Chris Mosier (@TheChrisMosier)

Every legislative session, a predictable cohort of conservative lawmakers introduce bills targeting the rights of trans people. But this year, the volume and success of those bills is unparalleled.

More anti-trans bills became law in 2021 than in the previous 10 years combined.

— Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio)

Since January, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia have followed the lead of Idaho. A 2020 state law there, banning trans girls from competing with girls鈥攖hose whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth鈥攊s on hold, while as to whether it鈥檚 constitutional. becoming the tenth state of hate.

Proponents of these anti-trans bills often point to Connecticut, where two Black transgender teens competed on their high schools鈥� girls track teams beginning in 2017. Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, then both teenagers, attracted the attention of local parents, news media, and anti-transgender forces such as the , a self-proclaimed Christian and a history of arguing against LGBT rights at the Supreme Court.

As the two trans teens racked up wins in track and field, parents of cis student-athletes booed them just for showing up, Miller and Yearwood told me. In February 2020, on behalf of four cis girls鈥攖hree of them White and one mixed-race鈥攃alling Miller and Yearwood 鈥渂oys鈥� and 鈥渕ales鈥� throughout their brief, while claiming the state鈥檚 athletic league was trying to 鈥渁bolish girls-only sports.鈥� in April; the cis girls .

I鈥檝e spoken with the mother of one plaintiff, who said she had no problem with the trans girls living their truth, up to a point. 鈥淎thletics should be different,鈥� said I told her that I鈥檓 a Connecticut mom, too, and explained that I鈥檝e raised my three children to understand that sports, like life, doesn鈥檛 always seem fair.

But to Stanescu, allowing every trans athlete to compete according to their gender identity, without the need for medical intervention such as puberty blockers or hormones to lower testosterone levels, is especially unfair. 鈥淕irls have the right of participation, but not the right to succeed,鈥� Stanescu claimed about Connecticut鈥檚 current policy. 鈥淎nd that should not be the case. Girls should have the chance to succeed, not just boys.鈥�

However, Yearwood and Miller are not boys, and they don鈥檛 always win. 鈥淲e lose sometimes, too,鈥� Miller told me when I interviewed she and Yearwood in 2019.

鈥淵eah, exactly!鈥� exclaimed Yearwood. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 come first in every race, but some people make it seem like we do.鈥�

In fact, one plaintiff . went on to win a full-ride track scholarship, despite claiming trans athletes were 鈥渦nbeatable鈥� and denying her opportunities.

As for Stenescu鈥檚 daughter, Selina Soule, she isn鈥檛 pursuing sports after graduating from high school. Neither are Yearwood or Miller; they just want to be who they are, something they discussed with other trans athletes in the new Hulu documentary,

CeC茅 Telfer is another targeted Black trans athlete I鈥檝e come to know through my work as a journalist. , and was the first out trans All-American in track and field, . Her achievement also earned her boos and an attack by no less than

鈥淭here are people who say I have the benefit of testosterone,鈥� describing what she called her disadvantages: The hurdles she must jump are far closer than they are for male runners, and she counts her height of over 6 feet as a disadvantage, too: 鈥淗ow tall I am, is a disadvantage, because the wind is hitting us so hard and the taller you are, the harder you fall, basically,鈥� she said.

And then there鈥檚 being on hormone replacement therapy, which generally . The International Olympic Committee has in women athletes. Paralympian trans runner Valentina Petrillo of Italy recently shared with the are not only below the IOC鈥檚 threshold for trans women, but also well below the threshold for cis women.

With all these hurdles in front of them, and cultural and scientific gatekeepers eager to deny them opportunities, trans athletes often have to muster incredible courage just to take the field. So what keeps them fighting for the right to play?

鈥淩unning with a team gave me confidence, made me feel good, and also helped me forget about my sadness and internal struggles,鈥� trans runner , the plaintiff in Idaho鈥檚 lawsuit, told me.

That鈥檚 what sports is all about: building up individuals to be their best selves. All trans athletes want is to compete without having to hide who they are.

So how will they win 鈥渢he debate鈥� over inclusion? By knocking down three tentpoles holding up the liars鈥� circus tent.

First: Many inclusion opponents will say it鈥檚 clear from just looking at Telfer or Hubbard that trans women athletes have an unfair advantage. Apparently, they never saw 6鈥�5鈥� play in the WNBA. She is living proof women can be tall. We come in a variety of sizes, actually.

Second: Science is not on the side of banning trans athletes. Dr. Eric Vilain, a pediatrician and geneticist, told that anti-trans laws have no basis in science. Dr. Jack Turban, a fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine, researches the mental health of transgender youth, and authored an article in titled 鈥淭rans Girls Belong on Girls鈥� Sports Teams.鈥� At best, the science is 鈥減retty shaky鈥� and inconclusive about any genetic advantage trans athletes have over cis athletes, says trans runner and researcher .

Third: We have learned nothing, apparently, from Prohibition laws enacted starting in 1920. This invented crusade against the so-called dangers of drinking alcohol was eventually rejected in 1933. According to the , Prohibition was a colossal failure. It didn鈥檛 end alcohol consumption, it merely spawned bootlegging, the black market, and speakeasies, until a constitutional amendment finally ended Prohibition 13 years later.

Trans bans may fade away even faster than those boondoggle laws of a century ago. What will our children鈥檚 children learn about the backward 21^st-century politicians who once tried to outlaw our existence? They will learn how people armed with the truth finally helped our society move past our differences and embrace diversity. Unfortunately, truth is in short supply, for now.