Ashley T Brundage, a recent addition to GLAAD’s Board of Directors, spoke out against Florida’s dangerous attempt to ban transgender youth from playing in sports, saying, "Let's focus on empowering trans youth instead of banning them from participating in sports. Empowerment leads to economic growth for our state, and this bill would send the wrong message of exclusion." Leaning into her book, Empowering Differences: Leveraging Your Differences to Impact Change, Brundage advocated that the power to affect positive change lies within our differences. I agree; we are stronger together than divided.

At C3 Equity, we stand with transgender women and girls, as well as nonbinary people of all ages. Rhetoric that promotes the false notions of trans girls or nonbinary young people being a threat to cisgender girls in sports is a political agenda to push conservative beliefs over child welfare. Vaginas do not inherently make people weaker. Neither do penises inherently make people stronger. Having any combination of external body parts does not and should not preclude a child from safety, love, and belonging. All children deserve to feel safe and welcome. All youth deserve an affirming place to belong, grow, and thrive.

Join us in our commitment to protecting trans youth. Learn how to be an ally by visiting

• The Trevor Project’s Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth

• GLSEN’s guide to Supporting Trans and GNC Students.

Read more about Florida’s dangerous bill to ban transgender women and girls from sports in the Tampa Bay Times. Read more about Brundage's book and her interview with GLAAD.