Transphobia has rapidly become an epidemic in the United States, particularly among transgender athletes. But advocates like Schuyler Bailar are committing to educating the opposition and transforming gender literacy. Bailar joined Wake Up with cheddar to discuss his new program, LaneChanger, watch now!

Wake Up With Cheddar

Transforming Gender Literacy with Schuyler Bailar's LaneChanger

Transphobia has become an epidemic in the us, especially among trans athletes. As of now, 18 states have laws that bar transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. But advocates are stepping up and working on educating the opposition and transforming gender literacy. Joining us now is one of those advocates skylar. Baylor, trans athletes and advocates Skyler. Good morning to you. Thank you for joining us. You're launching a new gender literacy program called lane changer. So tell us what you hope to accomplish with this program. Thank you so much for having me. Yes. I hope to provide gender literacy to anybody everywhere. Most people in the country, I travel around doing 400 plus talks around the around the country the past several years, and most people don't even know how to define the word transgender. If we can't even define the word transgender, how can we have these really difficult meaningful conversations about trans people? We can't right. We need to be able to start with that gender literacy. And I hope to bring that to anybody everywhere through mind changer. Well, as an athlete yourself, what are your thoughts on these laws that bar trans athletes from participating in sports with the gender? They identify as? Yeah, these laws are incredibly harmful. They are devastating. Um, they are discriminatory. They're unkind. And the biggest thing that people miss is that they affect everybody right in order to exclude the trans people. You have to actually know which ones are trans, which means you need to police all bodies, not just the trans wants. And so what we're looking at right now is the enforcement of the policing of all bodies, especially women's bodies and crows bodies. And when people miss that, they're missing the greater context of these stories. Well, as we round out the final day of Pride month, how can ali's properly support the trans community all year round? Well, I think one of the first steps in supporting the trans community is learning about trans literacy, right? So taking my lane changer courses the first way to to start. Um I think beyond that there are actions we can all take whether small or big in our communities, whether it be advocating for gender neutral bathrooms, whether that be voting at the polls. And that means not just in the midterms and the in the primaries, but in local elections, right? These are becoming more and more important every single day, making sure we use the correct pronouns and names for those around us. Standing up for people in small conversations and big conversations when they miss gender trans people when they say mean things about us. And there's lots of different ways to take small and big action. Well, Skyler, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us this morning. It has been such a pleasure. That is Skylar, Baylor, trans athlete and advocate. Thanks again