Theory and Practice: An Alternative View on the Politics of MathFest 2023 in Florida

*[Cover photo used with permission of Erin Reed,* *original source*]

On April 27, 2023, Michael Pearson published a blog post on Math Values titled “Dialogue is Necessary,” in which he makes the case for continuing to hold MAA MathFest 2023 in Florida in spite of the state’s increasingly hostile anti-LGBT laws. As a transgender member of the mathematical community, I respectfully disagree with Dr. Pearson’s position on the conference location but do agree that dialogue is necessary. As such, I am glad to be writing this guest post sharing my perspective.

First, allow me to introduce myself. I am a rising senior at Skidmore College pursuing a double major in mathematics and computer science. I am also a transgender woman. As such, I have a vested interest in making an inclusive mathematical community which is accessible for people of all genders and sexualities. It is this intersection which causes me to take interest in the location of MathFest 2023.

Unlike Dr. Pearson’s argument which positions this as an abstract issue of dialogue and opposing views, my concern is practical. As I discuss in my recent piece in Skidmore News, the framing of transgender rights as an abstract debate of ideals rather than the survival of a group of people has been invaluable to those seeking to eliminate us. While we can look at how many Democrats live in Florida or Republicans in California (both of which are meaningless when taken outside the context of gerrymandering and the electoral college), ultimately the issue is not the numbers but the Republican Party as an entity, which has power in Florida and is using that power to enact all-out war on the transgender community. I also reject the framing that this is an issue of “both sides” being unwilling to engage in discourse, as trans people have been vocal about our humanity and how us having rights has either negligible or positive effects on everyone else. No amount of our arguing has caused the Republican Party to reconsider, and no amount will as long as they believe they can use our existence as culture war fodder for their base. We are not an abstract idea, we are people who are being thrown to the wolves for political gain.

A popular feminist slogan of the 1960s and 70s stated “the personal is political,” and in the service of demonstrating my humanity I would be remiss to not discuss how the location of MathFest affects me and others on a personal level. Were MathFest 2023 located in another state, I would have loved to have gone. However, I do not feel safe traveling to Florida given the current onslaught of anti-trans legislation in which Florida leads the nation, and as such will not be attending. I am certain I am not the only individual who was forced to make this decision between mathematical advancement and personal safety. As to Dr. Pearson’s statement that “we can’t simply write off broad swaths of the country simply because we don’t agree with them,” some may have that privilege. I don’t. There are significant areas of the country that are not accessible to me because of who I am.

For those who have not been following as closely as I have, Florida has over the past two years signed a multitude of laws restricting transgender individuals’ ability to access medical care, to avoid discrimination, and even to use public restrooms aligning with their gender; prompting multiple LGBT advocacy groups and individuals to advise against travel to Florida for transgender people (including the creator of the map above). While I have been reassured that the law restricting the use of restrooms to the sex a person was born with does not apply to the convention center, hotel, or restaurants, the fact remains that I can’t use a bathroom in Florida without feeling some trepidation or fear of a vigilante’s own interpretation of the law. Despite what Dr. Pearson mentions about using the MAA’s presence in Tampa to “demonstrate our commitment to these values,” if one of these values is safety of trans mathematicians, then it is literally illegal to demonstrate such a value in Florida.

Additionally, while Dr. Pearson argues that we will not change minds by “segregating ourselves,” I know from history that boycotts of states can work to affect change. In 2016, North Carolina passed a similar law banning transgender people from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, causing numerous large corporations to withdraw their presence in North Carolina or change plans for expansion into the state and causing an estimated billions of dollars in losses. This forced the state to remove the bathroom ban from law the following year to stem the economic damage. Economic protests can work in a way few other methods can; whether we admit it or not, money talks and that includes the money spent on MathFest and other MAA events. What message do we want to send to discriminatory politicians such as DeSantis?

While I doubt that the location of MathFest 2023 will change this late in the game, I still believe it is important to raise my concerns and engage in discussion about the safety of MAA events (including those in the future whose location may still be chosen) and inclusion in the mathematical community. I am sure we all want a community in which we are all safe and able to pursue the advancement of mathematics regardless of gender, race, sexuality, or creed; and that is simply not possible at an event hosted in Florida. This is by no means an incitement to boycott MathFest or any other MAA program. It is, however, a request to the leadership of the MAA to consider what they are supporting, passively or actively, and the safety of all members of our community.

Chloë Boatright is a rising senior at Skidmore College pursuing a double major in mathematics and computer science with a minor in physics. She also writes for the Skidmore News student newspaper about LGBT rights and politics.