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Gender
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TL; DR The physiological differences after transition remain unequal and therefore do not truly represent fair competition.
The rules currently allow athletes who have transitioned from female to male to compete, however, for athletes having transitioned from male to female, there is much more controversy. It remains important for officials to guarantee fairness for all athletes, but most importantly for female cisgender athletes. Latham (2018) states that on average, women have two thirds the strength of men, smaller bones and lower oxygen carrying capacity. It must be acknowledged that not all of the physiological differences can be managed during the transition process, thus, physical male benefits, such as those previously identified, remain within the transgender athlete.
In efforts to maintain equality, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) state that testosterone levels must be kept below 10 nanomoles per litres for at least 12 months (Ingle 2019), however, women’s natural testosterone levels range between 0.12 and 1.79 nanomoles per litre, while men’s remain much higher between 7.7 and 29.4 nanomoles. Which means transgender athletes, whilst following IOC guidelines, could still exhibit physiological advantages, with testosterone up to 5 times higher than most female athletes. Despite efforts to create fair conditions, it is simply not achievable. as physiological benefits remain within transgender athletes, therefore their participation within female sports should be reconsidered.
Ingle, S. (2019). IOC delays new transgender guidelines after scientists fail to agree. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/24/ioc-delays-new-transgender-guidelines-2020-olympics
Latham, A (2018). Physiological difference between male and female athletes. (online). (last updated 28 June 2018). Available at: https://work.chron.com/physiological-differences-between-male-female-athletes-20627.html
I understand your argument to a degree but where should they compete?
I think this is an interesting argument, but I want to hone in on one of your first sentences:
- "The rules currently allow athletes who have transitioned from female to male to compete, however, for athletes having transitioned from male to female, there is much more controversy. It remains important for officials to guarantee fairness for all athletes, but most importantly for female cisgender athletes."
My immediate thought is, "Okay, its acceptable for FTM to participate in cisgender male sport but not MTF because that would be unfair. This implies that a MTF athlete participating in cisgendered female sports is unfair because the transgendered person has an 'advantage.' But then, by that logic, isn't it unfair for the a FTM transgender athlete to participate in cisgendered male sports. Isn't the trans athlete at a disadvantage?"
This logic implies that its okay for trans men to be at a disadvantage in a male sport, but not okay for a trans woman to be at an advantage in a female sport because both are still seen as their birth sex (as 'weaker women' or 'stronger men.'
If the real goal was fairness both of these categories would receive the same amount of attention, but instead we're splitting hairs about testosterone levels.
In conclusion: The solution to trans athletes (and any athlete that doesn't fit contemporary definitions of gender or sex) cannot be barring them from competition. If we really want to create a more inclusive society that treats people with fairness we need to radically reexamine gender, and the structures in society that are supported by it. I think we need to reimagine what athletic competition looks like - a system without gender.
TL;DR- Transgender women should be allowed to compete alongside cisgender women as inclusivity in sports should be priority.
Regardless of gender, athletes come in all different shapes and sizes with different strengths, and a person's physicality should not get in the way of them pursuing their dreams. As transgender triathlete Chris Mosier said, 'barring trans people from participation hurts everyone' as 'it’s unfair for us to police bodies and make determinations of who should be able to compete in sports' [1].
If a trans woman, for example, was turned away from a sports team purely because of her being transgender, it may be a very invalidating and distressing experience, especially if she was sent to a men's team (like Chloie Johnson was when CrossFit barred her from the women's team).
In addition to this, it has been demonstrated by science that 'people who transition do not retain the athletic benefits from the original gender' [2].
As stated by transgender footballer player Blair Hamilton:
"[hormone therapy] does take away your muscle mass, your
explosiveness. Your ratios from type-one to type-two fast-twitch fibres change – your body completely changes. I don’t think they realise how much of a change hormone therapy makes" [3].
Therefore, allowing women, whether trans or cis, to compete alongside one another is completely fair, and how it should be in order to achieve much needed equality and fairness in the world of sports.
Transgender women should not be excluded because trans women are women, and excluding trans women would inevitably uphold a harmful division between all women. Also, inclusivity and acceptance in a sports team is most important.
[1 & 3] Tijen Butler in Pink News, April 4, 2019 [https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/04/04/transgender-athletes-why-fair-compete/]
[2] Michelle Castillo in The Week, March 12, 2014 [https://theweek.com/articles/449559/why-transgender-athletes-should-allowed-compete-gender-choice]
no, men are more powerful than women by nature so trans women should be banned from sport
instead of invading women's sports they should work on creating their own. while their identity is woman their biology and body is not
Tl; Dr: bans on transgender women in sports are based on gender stereotypes
The fairness argument for banning transgender women from competitive sports has little scientific. Transgender women exhibit significant physical variations, in the same way as cisgender women. Depending on the time of the transition, some transgender women may not even have experienced male puberty. In general, the testosterone level in transgender women does not differ significantly from cisgender women after a year of estrogen therapy. [1] Therefore, the fairness argument bases itself more on established prejudice rather than scientific evidence.
The harm of the fairness argument, however, exists on a more fundamental level. Reducing the definition of women to the degree of physical strength invites gender stereotypes and policing. The practice bases the female identity on a lack of physical strength and disqualifies strong women as “too muscular.” If testosterone level determines fair competition, should we consider dividing female athletes into different testosterone classes to ensure true equality? Physical differences exist among women, cisgender or transgender. Isolating transgender women represents a subtle reinforcement of the stereotype of a weak woman. The practice hurts both transgender rights and gender equality.
For this reason, the fairness argument for the transgender athlete ban does not stand.
[1]. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2011. "NCAA Inclusion Of Transgender Student-Athletes". National Collegiate Athletic Association. https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf.
[2]. Strangio, Chase, and Gabriel Arkles. 2020. "Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked". American Civil Liberty Union, , 2020. https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/four-myths-about-trans-athletes-debunked/.
'... [T]he testosterone level in transgender women does not differ significantly from cisgender women after a year of estrogen therapy. ... Therefore, the fairness argument bases itself more on established prejudice rather than scientific evidence.'
Oestrogen and testosterone are epigenetic, which means they influence the expression of genes. Their effects on gestation and puberty are, therefore, generally either difficult or impossible to undo. The levels of sex hormones are irrelevant if you don't take into consideration their effects.
'... The practice [of excluding trans women from women's sports] bases the female identity on a lack of physical strength ...'
Sex is systemic. There are differences between male and female eyes, male and female livers, male and female immune systems, and probably everything else. There are lots of compounding things that contribute to males having a general athletic advantage over females, not just strength.
TL;DR: MTF athletes should be allowed to participate in competitive female sports after they've reached the stage in their transition where their abilities are similar to that of the cisgendered athletes.
In support of allowing transgender athletes to compete in their post-transition gender's league, I'm seeing a lot of arguments saying that physical strength varies significantly within genders and the "weak woman" and "strong man" is a baseless stereotype. While it's true that physical strength (and testosterone levels) varies within each gender to an extent, it's unfortunately just fact that between the elite men and elite women in each sport, there is on average a 10-12% performance gap. This is why cisgendered men and women don't currently compete against eachother.
So, we can't debate the fact that MTFs (initially) have an athletic advantage. I would also argue that, unless we are going to allow cisgendered men and women to compete with each other, it is reasonable to use this fact to ensure fairness.
To the point that it is wrong for us not to be equally concerned about the FTMs disadvantage - since the objective of sports is to win, it's more controversial to allow people in that have an unfair advantage (being biologically male) than a disadvantage. It's the same with high schools disallowing non-students or aged out students to be on their sports teams. It is unfortunate that FTMs are at a disadvantage, but since it isn't jeopardizing the others potential victory, it doesn't warrant the same public conversation. Plus, there's not much we can do about it - it doesn't make much sense to bar people who have a disadvantage if they acknowledge it and still want to participate.
However, research is showing that after approximately two (more for running) years of starting testosterone, transgender athlete's physical abilities are similar to that of their cisgendered female peers (measured in soldiers). After this point, there is no reason why transgender athletes should not be able to participate in the sport of their respective gender, and it would be discriminatory to exclude them.
https://law.duke.edu/sports/sex-sport/comparative-athletic-performance/
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trans-women-retain-athletic-edge-after-year-hormone-therapy-study-n1252764
Unless you're ALSO in favor of combining all men and women divisions together, you have absolutely no grounds to defend a trans woman utterly dominating a competition filled with people who can have up to 40% less muscle mass.
You just need to look at the footage yourself if you don't believe me. It's downright comical.
Just out of curiosity, where does the 40% statistics come from? I would love to see a source.
This is poorly phrased. Does this refer to all transgender athletes? Does this refer to strictly trans women competing in womens sports? Is this suggesting that no trans althete, regardless of gender, should compete in women's division?
Make the case or invite a friend to comment!