The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill last week that seeks to define biological sex on binary terms centered around individuals’ reproductive systems instead of their gender identity.
The proposed law, also known as House Bill (HB) 111, intends to change the Alabama Code, offering specified definitions for sex-based terms and policies pertaining to sex and gender identity. The bill allows public bodies to establish certain single-sex spaces and requires those entities compiling relevant statistical data to classify individuals as either male or female, based on their sex observed at birth.
The legislation outlines that each individual is either male or female, defining sex as a fixed and objective facet, thereby excluding any references to a person’s gender identity.
State Representative Susan DuBose, who sponsored the bill, emphasized that the legislation aims to safeguard women’s rights, ensuring the provision and protection of single-sex spaces. The introduction of the bill is also seen as a response to the growing acceptance of transgender women participating in women’s sports and entering women’s locker rooms.
However, the bill faces significant criticism, particularly from advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in Alabama. Katie Glenn, a Senior Policy Associate with the Southern Poverty Law Center, stated during a House Committee hearing that the bill does not protect women’s rights as claimed, but rather, inflicts harm on the LGBTQ+ community.
This legislation follows a pattern of similar bills seeking to define biological sex that have been introduced in several states, such as Nebraska and Oklahoma. It is one of five anti-trans bills currently in the Alabama legislature. Alabama is one among 23 states that have enacted laws criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
This surge in legislation against transgender and nonbinary individuals on state and national levels led the Human Rights Campaign to declare a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the US in 2023.