Roxanne Conlin: Trans rights is the next wave of gender equity

Ever since I finished law school in 1966 — over the objections of some who said I was stealing a job from a man — I have been fighting for women's legal rights. That includes some of the early Title IX battles of the 1970s, in which nearly every gain for women was seen as taking something from men and "ruining" sports.

Now I see the struggles of our transgender sisters, especially those still in school, trying to assert their full rights under the law. But this time, some of the people who are saying that these girls are "stealing" opportunities are cisgender women. It especially pains me when feminists, of any gender, oppose transgender girls participating in school sports.

Whether these girls are short or tall, strong or not, fast or slow, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that they are girls. Period. Full stop. And just like any cisgender girl of any size or ability, they must be given the same rights and opportunities as all other girls.

If we've learned anything from the women's movement, I would hope it is that rights are not like a pie — that if you give some to someone else, there's less for everyone else.

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Every child, transgender or not, deserves the opportunity to be treated just like every other child, and to benefit from being included in activities, such as school sports, that match their gender identity. They also deserve to be able to use the bathroom without drama or shame.

I hope we can embrace the philosophy of the American Civil Liberties Union's wonderful, late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her ground-breaking work included defending the rights of men who were discriminated against, like the widowed dad of a young child who was denied the Social Security payments he would have received if he were a mom. Ginsburg rightly determined that, if gender discrimination in all its forms was struck down, people of all genders would benefit.

So here we are now. This is the next wave of gender equity. Please support these mere children in their struggle to be just like everyone else.

Roxanne Conlin is a Des Moines attorney.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Trans rights is the next wave of gender equity