Facing legislation that could reshape their lives, transgender teenagers became advocates in N.H. – The Boston Globe

As she delivered her testimony, she was direct, poised, and articulate. At this point, she’s had years of practice advocating for herself and teenagers like her. It’s a role she never asked for but feels a duty to fill.

Iris became an advocate when she was just 10 years old, with written testimony that didn’t identify her by name, her mother, Amy Manzelli, told the Globe. Eventually, her parents allowed Iris to identify herself publicly.

“I was just, like, ready to do something,” Iris said from a perch on the couch during an interview at the family’s home.

Iris came out as transgender to her family when she was 7, although her mom said Iris had been giving indications she was a girl from the time she was able to string a sentence together. As a young child, Manzelli said, Iris would ask Santa to turn her into a girl for Christmas.

After Iris came out, she was finally able to live day-to-day as a girl. She wears girls clothes, uses the girls bathroom at school, and joined the girls tennis team at school, although she didn’t make the softball team.

This legislative session, Iris has been to the State House to testify against multiple bills, including one that would bar transgender girls like her from playing on girls sports teams in grades 5-12 (House Bill 1205), could block her from locker rooms or bathrooms (House Bill 396), and would require parental notification for her and her classmates to learn about gender or gender expression (House Bill 1312). Another bill, House Bill 619, would prevent minors from receiving genital gender reassignment surgery, and it would prevent doctors from providing referrals for the procedure, which they say is exceedingly rare.

Proponents of banning transgender girls from sports say it’s unfair for them to play on the same team because they have a biological advantage. They point to the increased strength men have after going through male puberty, which they believe will allow people assigned male at birth to overtake women in sports.

All four bills are headed to Governor Chris Sununu’s desk. Sununu has indicated he supports barring transgender girls from girls sports teams, although he hasn’t directly said if he will sign the bill. If he does, Manzelli said, her family will pursue a legal challenge.

“I’m just petrified,” Manzelli said. “I’ve heard rumors that some of them are going to be vetoed, but unless all of them are vetoed, it doesn’t really matter. … None of them are OK.” Waiting to learn what will happen, Iris said, feels like “just suffering.”

In March, Sununu said it is dangerous for transgender girls to play on girls sports teams. “I fundamentally don’t believe that biological boys should be competing in girls sports,” he said.

He has stood firm on that position in recent interviews, even after hearing stories from transgender athletes in New Hampshire.

“This bill is not about the individual,” Sununu said during a June 27 interview with WMUR.

“It’s about the system as a whole. It’s about fairness, about safety,” he said. “You’ve seen all across the country, other stories of, you know, state champions, biological boys becoming state champions. That affects scholarships. That affects the fairness of competition.”

In April, New Hampshire’s child advocate Cassandra Sanchez spoke against dozens of bills that she said would harm LGBTQ+ youth, including the effort to bar transgender girls from girls sports teams.

“We’re all about equity and fairness, and all children should have an opportunity,” she said. She doesn’t see transgender athletes “trying to get ahead or hurt others by engaging in sports. They’re trying to have a normalized childhood.”

She said many children find a sense of belonging by playing team sports. Sara Tirrell, whose daughter Parker is transgender and plays soccer, agreed.

“The goal is to be part of the team,” Tirrell said.

“Parker’s team in particular won zero games last year. She was not the kid that was bowling anybody over because that’s not who she is,” she said.

Parker stood in the crowd at the Legislative Office Building during the press conference in late April next to her dad, Zach. Tears ran down her face as she listened to her mom publicly explain how she tried to comfort her daughter after a classmate called her expletives and slurs and said she should kill herself.

“As her mother, I remain committed to fostering an environment where she can live authentically and unapologetically,” Tirrell said. That has meant two years of making the hourlong drive to Concord from her home in Plymouth to testify against bills that would impact her family.

In an interview, Tirrell said she first came to the State House in 2023 to testify against a bill that would have added gender-affirming health care to the definition of child abuse.

This year, with her family’s support, Parker decided to testify for the first time, speaking against the effort to bar transgender girls from girls sports teams.

Parker has played soccer since she was 4, and she said it’s become a big part of her identity. She has played every position: defense, midfield, and striker. Soccer is how she met many of her friends. She said it would be “devastating” if the bill becomes law. Joining the boys’ soccer team, she said, is not an option, and neither is using the men’s bathroom or locker room.

Advocating for herself and others has been difficult for the 15-year-old.

“I feel like I shouldn’t have to do it because it seems like a lot for me specifically to have to do as a freshman in high school still trying to figure things out school-wise,” she said. “I don’t want to be, but it’s something important that I have to do.”

“It’s been a lot for me,” Parker said, “just having to deal with all these people trying to dictate how my life is supposed to go.”

Parker is hoping to play soccer again with her team in the fall. But, for now, her future is an open question — one that both she and Iris are waiting for the governor to resolve.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.