M.L., a 16-year-old transgender girl, navigates a contentious national debate over her participation in girls' sports at Riverside high school. Surrounded by supportive peers and administrators, she feels both proud and anxious, as her existence symbolically represents the battleground for transgender rights. The presence of opposing slogans on student t-shirts highlights division among her classmates regarding inclusion in sports for transgender individuals. M.L.'s mother emphasizes the real impacts of these debates on children's lives, asserting that they face the real threat of public disapproval and hate, while trying to simply exist as their true selves.
A lot of people have said things, both good and bad... It's nerve-racking.
They're attacking real kids and real families. Our kids are just trying to be themselves... they're the ones that should be afraid of all the hate.
School is where the humanity of trans kids is most apparent, where their earnestness and fear are most palpable.
The dueling shirts provide a stark visual of what her schoolmates think about her... it's made her feel both proud and anxious.
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