This is a good (bad) example of how incoherent anti-transgender policy is in some corners of America.
A Texas state judge has ruled that a transgender boy may continue competing in girls wrestling matches under circumstances that clearly illustrate the incoherence of state law.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A judge has upheld a Texas policy that required a transgender boy taking testosterone to compete in the girls' wrestling tournament, where he won a state title.
A doctor administered the testosterone as part of Mack Beggs' gender transition. The Dallas Morning News reports that a Travis County judge dismissed an attorney's lawsuit that sought to bar the Euless Trinity wrestler from competing.
To be clear, the judge upheld the (bad) policy that requires transgender boys to compete as girls because complainants who challenged the law wanted to prohibit Mack Beggs from competing at all. Complainants charged that allowing Beggs to complete as a girl gave him an unfair advantage over girls because he's taking testosterone. Ruling against the policy would have disqualified Beggs from competing.
Mack Beggs is not a girl, does not look like a girl, and is actively taking testosterone as part of his female to male transition. State law, however, requires that wrestlers compete in wrestling matches that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificate.
Texas is effectively forcing a boy to compete as a girl and, if anti-transgender critics don't like it, they should reconsider their stance on transgender rights. Simply saying he should not be allowed to compete as a boy or girl will not fly, because that would almost certainly be unconstitutional.
This would not be an issue at all if athletes were allowed to compete and play on teams that correspond with the gender they identify as, but I don't expect hardliners in the state legislature will understand this is a mess of their own making.