How bad could it get? America’s ugly election

When America’s biggest transit system

is in trouble, so is the city

NYC’s MTA

Train wreck

Cleaned out

E

smee silverman

feels unusually ner-

vous about the prospect of trying out for

her high-school girls’ tennis team this au-

tumn. That is not surprising: last year, she

played for the boys’ team. For the past ten

months the 18-year-old has been taking a

combination of oestrogen and testoster-

one blockers as she transitions to becom-

ing a woman. “It’s a big emotional shift go-

ing from one team to another,” she says,

adding that she expects it to be made easier

by the kindness she has been shown by

girls her age.

Ms Silverman is fortunate to live in

Massachusetts, where transgender stu-

dents can play sports as the gender with

which they identify. Policies on this vary

from state to state. While more than a doz-

en have introduced guidelines like those in

Massachusetts, which also allow trans stu-

dents to shower and change with members

of their chosen gender, 11 states have poli-

cies that prevent this. Some say birth certif-

icates are the final arbiters of sex; others,

that transgender students must first have

had gender reassignment surgery (which is

generally restricted to over-18-year-olds).

As an increasing number of teenagers re-

ject the sex they are born with, these clash-

ing approaches are sparking court cases.

WA S H I N GTO N ,   D C