Utah’s Republican governor and other state officials are calling out a conservative state school board member for insinuating in an online post that a member of a girl’s high school basketball team was transgender, when in fact she is not.

Utah’s Republican governor and lieutenant governor are urging the State Board of Education to take action against a conservative board member whose social media post questioning the gender of a high school basketball player incited a tirade of threats against the girl.

Natalie Cline, who has previously come under investigation for inflammatory comments about LGBTQ+ students, singled out the Salt Lake City athlete in a since-deleted Facebook post that falsely insinuated the girl was transgender. Cline later apologized for provoking a firestorm of vulgar comments after she learned that the girl was not in fact trans.

But the school board member defended her initial suspicions, saying that a national push to normalize transgender identities makes it “normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are.”

Many Republican politicians have successfully spread fear about transgender individuals to garner support for athletic bans and bathroom restrictions that threaten to push trans people out of community spaces. The sponsors say such policies are needed to protect women and girls. But as laws banning trans girls from girls’ sports have spread across Republican-led states, false accusations such as this have threatened the safety of both trans and non-trans youths.

  • Audrey0nne@leminal.space
    91·
    9 months ago

    “normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are.”

    I do the same thing when someone tells me they are Christian, it’s easier to simply step back and see what their actions really say about who they are.

    • thefartographer@lemm.ee
      352·
      9 months ago

      “I think we, as Christians, need to-”

      “OH YEAH?! Prove that you were naturally born a Christian! I’m not gonna listen to some trans-religious hypocrite! Also, show me your genitals. Only genitals know the truth of gender and religion.”

    • Stiffneckedppl@lemmy.world
      141·
      9 months ago

      As a Christian myself, I agree. It’s been sickening to me to see the behavior exhibited by people who call themselves Christians, especially in recent years. I don’t blame anyone for having unfavorable opinions about Christians. It’s no wonder, when so many “Christians” who say they follow Jesus look nothing like him. Instead of love, compassion, and integrity they display hate, cruelty, and hypocrisy. It’s like half the church just lost its mind. Christians had such an opportunity during COVID to put on display what being Christ-like is all about, and while some Christians did, as a whole we completely fumbled that opportunity.

      All I can say is that I’m sorry for what everyone is seeing from those people. On behalf of all Christians, I’m so sorry. Just know that we’re not all like that. Not that any of us is perfect, but some of us recognize the complete and utter lunacy of it. And please know that what they’re doing IS NOT what following Jesus is all about. The people with whom Jesus was harshest were the religious people who thought they were being righteous…I think the same would be true now.

      Again, I’m so sorry for all of it!

      • Duranie@literature.cafe
        72·
        9 months ago

        As a non denominational Christian that is sickened by the abuse by power hungry “Christians” I’m out here with you :). I get a raised eyebrow now and then since my boyfriend is a Jewish socialist, but honest to God he displays more characteristics of what we’re supposed to strive for in loving and caring for others than the majority of self proclaimed Christians I meet.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
    853·
    9 months ago

    Mark my words- Physical gender checks for high school girls sports (and only girls sports) will be coming somewhere in the U.S. soon.

    • key@lemmy.keychat.orgEnglish
      35·
      9 months ago

      Didn’t that happen like 3 years ago? “Fairness In Women’s Sports Act” requires a physical gender check.

    • flames5123@lemmy.world
      272·
      9 months ago

      You mean sex checks. Gender isn’t physical. They’ll call it “gender checks” though.

      • quindraco@lemm.ee
        16·
        9 months ago

        Sex and gender are synonyms. In modern common usage you are completely correct that they need not refer to any sort of physicality, but that doesn’t mean they differ from each other. Sex and gender are like “buy” and “purchase” or “flammable” and “inflammable”.

        • flames5123@lemmy.world
          1·
          9 months ago

          Sex influences gender, but they are not synonymous. You cannot be non-binary by sex. Sure, you can be intersex, but NB refers to gender exclusively.

    • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
      10·
      9 months ago

      Come now. As if there aren’t enough closeted conservatives to make them also push for boy inspections… They’ll ask it under the guise of fairness. They’re not closeted pedos, just being gender neutral [about being attracted to kids]!

  • ITeeTechMonkey@lemmy.worldEnglish
    602·
    9 months ago

    Gov. Cox is a complete hypocrite.

    He vetoed a bill that banned trans kids from participating in sports of their identified gender saying he errs on the side of compassion (https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2022/03/22/gov-spencer-coxs/), but more recently signed a bill banning transitioning care for trans kids (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/us/utah-transgender-bill.html).

    Cox you and those who voted for these bills are not just an embarrassment to the state but actively supporting this type of mindset and behavior with this legislation!

    • Beldarofremulak@lemmy.world
      52·
      9 months ago

      That’s just Christianity and it’s a product of the conflict between the Old and New testament. It’s by design. That’s what the whole council of nicea did. The chose what was and wasn’t in the Bible and those influential people chose what worked for them. Why would they choose the letters of a pharisee who went into the desert with his followers, saw big J “after falling off a horse/camel”, and the only evidence is the word of those followers? Jesus freaking hated the Pharisee. They chose those letters because they work for them. Now we have this guide book that people can look to to justify being awesome to everyone and killing children for making fun of a bald man. The whole turn the other cheek thing is suspicious too. Sounds like something an institution that takes advantage of people would want so they can get away with screwing you over. Yah know. You HAVE to forgive them.

    • LemmynySnicket@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      It makes sense if you understand their truth. In their world Trans care is cutting of child dicks and child boobs and then tricking adults into being attracted to trans girls making those adults gay. 99.9% of it isn’t any of that, but to them it is at least 50% that. And as long as the rabble believe that is true they have no choice but to at least pretend to try and stop it. So the better right says stop allowing damage to children, but be nice and support the children. The worse right says pretend Trans don’t exist at all and if we law that, they will just stop pretending.

        • LemmynySnicket@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          Almost definitely but i just never use the words never, always, no one, all etcetera whenever making points about data you have no chance to have all of. Just takes one bad faith nit picked or example given and you now lost the high ground or worse.

  • MishMash@lemm.ee
    42·
    9 months ago

    They are just upset this woman suspected a cis girl was trans. If the girl were actually trans, I doubt they’d have any problems with her comments.

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
    151·
    9 months ago

    Everyone do the right thing and please please do not click here to go to her website

    https://schools.utah.gov/board/members/utah/nataliecline

    Don’t call her and definitely don’t dial *67 to obscure your number. Definitely do not use all the many free temporary email sites online.

    Absolutely do not get drunk tonight and leave her a rambling message about what would Jesus do while eating an oversized burrito.

  • KillerTofu@lemmy.world
    11·
    9 months ago

    “Can’t you tell the difference between the ones made by God and the ones jerry-rigged out of a toe and some old skin?” -Hank Hill

      • MagicShel@programming.dev
        3·
        9 months ago

        I deleted my comment because I realized immediately after posting that asking a suspected transgender student how they identify and having them say female doesn’t actually resolve the problem in the teacher’s mind at all. They are still going to have a problem suspecting… whatever bullshit is in their head.

        But that leaves your comment hanging here, so I’ll repeat my suggestion that the schools should simply respectfully ask everyone’s pronouns and respect them and that should be the end of it. I still think that is good policy even if it doesn’t make bigots feel any better about it.

        • skulblaka@startrek.website
          2·
          9 months ago

          I think that’s a good policy especially because it doesn’t make the bigots feel any better. Fuck 'em. Mutual tolerance is a social contract which they have chosen to violate and are therefore no longer covered by.