Every school is home to gender diverse students, even if it isn't "clear" that this is the case. That said, there is still a dearth of data on the number of gender diverse children in the United States. If we were to focus solely on individuals who identify as transgender, a 2017 report by The Williams Institute estimates that 0.7% of people aged 13 - 17 are transgender. This is slightly higher than the number of transgender adults, which is calculated at 0.6% of the population. According to the same report, about 10% of transgender individuals in the United States are aged 13 - 17, which indicates that the number of individuals who identify as transgender is slowly trending upward. It also suggests that: 1) it is more socially acceptable to identify as transgender than it was in the past, and 2) it is increasingly important for schools to take notice of transgender students.
By wide margins, gender diverse students experience educational disparities in comparison to their cisgender peers. According to the 2015 US Trans Survey, the largest survey of transgender individuals in the United States, 77% of transgender youth had a negative experience directly related to their gender identity; 54% experienced verbal harassment; 24% were physically attacked; 17% left a school due to mistreatment. Of those who did have negative experiences, 52% attempted suicide, 40% experienced homelessness, and 28% performed underground labor (sex work or drug sales). It should go without saying that these are devastating numbers, and they have severe implications for the education system in the United States.
Recent studies have shown that connectedness and safety at school are strong predictive factors for gender diverse youth. (Gower et al., 2019) In this section, we will uncover how schools can do just that, starting with general awareness and then developing more specifically into gender diversity in school sports. Click to the next page to find out how to get started.