Today, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed a discriminatory executive order narrowly defining ‘woman’. The following is our response:
To the intersex, non-binary and trans communities, we see you. We love you and we condemn this erasure of your identities.
To all women and girls, this faux concern for our rights is not it. Politicians don’t get to label us and put us into their little boxes to try to tell us who we get to be. Trans women are women—period.
To all Nebraskans—we deserve better than this foolery. In the good life, everyone has the right to belong in our communities, schools and spaces.
While this is framed as “protecting women’s and girls’ sports,” we know better and directly call out this hateful measure for what it actually is—a discriminatory attempt to target an already-marginalized group rather than to promote equity and safety in school sports for women and girls. We know who is perpetuating gender-based violence in our communities, and we can clearly see who and what systems are impeding our progress toward gender equity.
Join us in rallying behind all women, girls and those who experience gender-based oppression by rejecting any effort to enshrine sex discrimination against an especially vulnerable group. Work with us to decidedly put an end to this attempt to co-opt women’s rights to oppress others.
We’ll be here, every step of the way, advocating for true gender equity for all.