Misleading: Teachers and Genital Exams
The Claim
Schools are trying to make a law that teachers can make students submit to genital exams.
News posted on
Emerging story
On January 30, 2021, a video surfaced on TikTok and later made its way to YouTube regarding genital exams. The post reads, “This is fuxking discusting [sic], schools are trying to make a law that teachers can see girls private parts to make sure they aren’t trans.”
The claim soon took off across social media platforms.
Misbar’s Analysis
Since this claim surfaced, some created a petition to enact change. The petition, named “Stop schools from checking girls privates,” garnered more than 140 signatures.
These claims originate from recent legislation regarding the potential requirement for genital exams for girls. HB 500 aims to ban transgender students from participating in girls’ sports.
This would require girls to take medical exams to confirm they’re able to compete. The bill is written in a way that indicates it is allegedly meant to protect girls. This is supported by a statement from Representative Barbara Ehardt, who said, “Little girls need to know that they can grow up, compete and be successful in sports, just like little boys.”
Overall, our investigation finds that the claim is misleading, since it implies that teachers are being asked to conduct these exams. However, these policies are currently only being discussed. The bill would not also consider teachers to be the individuals to perform the exams. Instead, the exams would be conducted by medical professionals. These professionals would be responsible for verifying a student’s hormone levels, DNA, and possibly genitalia to help make a decision on their gender.
