New-Post Final Revision
The Unfairness of Transgender Women Competing in Sports
The Inclusion of transgender women in female competitive sports is still a new topic that’s under heavy debate in the realm of ethics, science, and policy. While inclusivity is a core value in modern society, this is something that requires a little more attention in the world of competition. Is it really fair for biological women to compete against transgender women that have distinct biological advantages? Many female athletes dedicate their lives to sports just to see their records broken, sponsorships taken, and career opportunities lost by competitors with advantages that biological women don’t have. This paper argues against allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, it takes away from the integrity of female competition, robs opportunities from women athletes, and is even distorting athletic records. Policies that are evidence based should be implemented to protect women’s sports and ensure fairness.
Policies vary across organizations and the IOC Framework on Fairness seeks to promote a safe and welcoming environment for everyone. Organizations reserve the right to decide whether or not transgender women could compete or not but need to be transparent on why they made their decision. Eligibility should be established and implemented fairly in a way that does not exclude athletes from competition based on physical appearance, sex variations, or physical advantage. In recent years, policies are starting to change for the better, transgender inclusion in sports are starting to be looked at by the wider public.
At first, The International Olympic Committee allowed transgender women to compete in women’s categories if their testosterone were below a specific level but lately, scientific findings suggest that muscle mass, bone density, and other physiological advantages persist even after hormone therapy. Some organizations like FINA, the board that governs swimming, as the World Athletics have implemented new restrictions based on puberty instead of hormone levels. Although this is a big step in changing policies for the better, there are still lots of people that think these new policies aren't enough to ensure truly fair competition. While some high school and college level programs allow transgender athletes to compete based on their gender identity, professional and Olympic-level sports have started to implement stricter regulations. Previously, the NCAA, for example, had to adjust their guidelines to require sport-specific testosterone levels, but these rules still did not fully address concerns about the physical advantage retained after puberty.
Research consistently shows that male puberty provides irreversible physical advantages in strength, endurance, and body composition. Even after hormone suppression, transgender women display greater muscle mass, lung capacity, bone density, and even reaction times compared to biological women. A study in Sports Medicine found that even after a year of testosterone suppression, these athletes still had roughly a 10-12% advantage in running performance. In sports that require athletic ability like weightlifting, swimming and track events, these advantages directly impact the competition making it nearly impossible for biological women to compete on a fair level. There's a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that shows us even after two years of hormone therapy, transgender women still had 30% more muscle mass than biological women. These findings tell us that even with medical intervention, transgender women still have an unfair edge in many sports, making competition unjust for female athletes.
The main concern in allowing transgender women to compete in female sports is the physical difference that remains even after hormone therapy. A biological man, even with reduced testosterone retains high muscle mass and higher lung capacity. These result in a clear unfair advantage in strength and endurance for transgender women over their female competitors. Even the slightest advantage is evident in various sports. For example, in a sprint, even the smallest fraction of a second can be the difference of getting gold versus silver, or getting their hands on career or sponsorship opportunities. In recent years, several transgender athletes have demonstrated the ability to outperform elite female athletes by large margins. Combat sport concerns for safety arise with transgender women, these athletes maintain greater striking power and durability that what you see with a biological female, posing a safety risk to female opponents, weightlifting and swimming further show us how the biological difference stays despite hormone therapy, making competition unjust in women’s categories.
Not just women but there is a significant amount of athletes that train for years. Some train for the majority of their lives to excel with their respective sport, now female athletes are losing scholarships, sponsorships, and career opportunities to transgender competitors. The ongoing debate reflects concerns that current eligibility policies may unintentionally create competitive imbalances. These concerns sparks called for policy review to better ensure fairness for all athletes. (Fixed unethical implication, comparing participation to harm or theft) In cases where transgender athletes are dominating successful (More respectful wording), the runner up athletes are denied placements on the podium, funding, and professional contracts. For example, in 2022 Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer won the NCAA Division 1 Championship, the biological female behind her that have trained for years were pushed down rankings, losing their chance at titles and records that could have changed the trajectory or their athletic careers.
Sponsorships play a major role in the careers of athletes. Companies invest in the skills and potential of athletes based on performance, visibility, and ranking. If transgender women continue to outperform biological women, fewer sponsorships will be available making it harder for women to sustain a professional athletic career, this impact extends past competition, it affects the grand scheme of women’s ability to succeed in their respective fields. The mental impact of competing in an unfair system should not be ignored. Letting transgender women to compete in female categories is leaving women feeling discouraged and demoralized when they are being forced made (more nuetral language) to compete against competitors with unfair advantages. This form of competition might lead to fewer women pursuing careers in professional sports, further damaging inclusion in the world of sports.
Since allowing transgender women to compete in female categories, records have been repeatedly broken, this prompted a debate on how previous achievements could potentially lose their value. rendering the previous achievements meaningless. (Less of an emotionally charged statement) Women’s sports exist to acknowledge and celebrate female athleticism, yet transgender participation undermines this principle. Allowing the distortion of athletic records is damaging the world of female sports, in weightlifting, transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard outperformed many female competitors, taking medals home in the events where biological women previously held records. Cases like this show us how transgender inclusion in female categories skews the historical integrity of women’s sports.
Records hold a special significance beyond competition, they work as milestones that inspire future generations of female athletes. If transgender women continue to be allowed to dominate participate in women’s categories, biological women might start to feel discouraged from competing with records being shattered by large margins. Fearing that they will have no more chance of winning if more transgender athletes continue to compete and appear in the scene. This could lead to a decline in female participation in sports altogether, further erasing decades of progress in women’s athletics. Transgender women retain some advantages even after hormone therapy making it unfair for them to compete. On the other hand, transgender men do not receive similar benefits, in fact, they face a biological disadvantage when competing against biological men. If the goal was truly for inclusion, we have the question as to why we don’t see transgender men in men’s categories at elite levels? The reason is obvious, transgender men don’t have the physical traits needed to succeed in men’s categories. This tells us that transgender women competing in women’s sports might not be all about fairness and inclusion, but more about increasing their chances for success. Some critics argue that eligibility rules may unintentionally favor athletes with prior physical advantages. However, it's important to acknowledge that transgender athletes often face intense scrutiny and barriers to participation. (More respectful and less biased framing)
The governing bodies for sports should enforce biological sex-based categories instead of hormone-based policies. Instead of relying on hormonal levels, we should use the scientific evidence recently found that displays puberty giving transgender women irreversible biological advantages, eligibility should be based on whether an athlete went through male puberty. Some organizations like World Athletics and FINA have started implementing these policies but in the grand scheme of sports we still need more consistency. Another possible solution could be establishing a new division or category where transgender athletes can compete without impacting the integrity or female sports. This would allow for inclusivity without having to compromise fairness. a few sports like powerlifting have already introduced seperate categories, recognizing that biological differences create an unlevel playing field.
Several case studies highlight the significant advantages transgender athletes have in female sports. CeCe Telfer, a track athlete who competed in men’s NCAA track without much success, later won an NCAA women’s championship in the 400m hurdles. There’s another case with Hannah Mouncey, she started dominating competition after transitioning, previously not making any remarkable achievements in the men’s categories. In MMA, Mixed Martial Arts competition, transgender fighter Fallon Fox has demonstrated a safety risk to biological female fighters if transgender female fighters were allowed to compete. She has a case where her opponent’s skull was fractured due to the differences in her advantages in muscle mass and bone density. While this is a rare case, it just goes to show that without proper guidelines, simple participation could lead to harm. (Clarifying this is a rare case) These are only a few examples that emphasize that the physical advantages someone gets from male puberty are not negated by hormone therapy, which is what is raising the concerns about fairness and safety in competitive sports.
There’s also the mental and emotional toll that female athletes have to deal with now. Lots of these women train for years, some for the majority of their lives, just to see their opportunities taken (Instead of robbed). Riley Gaines, an elite athlete is just one of many that have spoken out against this issue, telling everyone how competing against transgender women affects morale. Some athletes have decided to quit competing due to records being broken and opportunities getting significantly harder to achieve, some quitting just because of the unfair system. This issue has female athletes feeling unheard, worried that if they voice their concerns they will be accused of transphobia, even if the main argument is about fairness rather than inclusion.
This impact extends past top level sports and even affects the newer generation of athletes. Young girls are losing out on scholarship opportunities due to losing to transgender athletes. This contradicts the original intent of Title IX, which is supposed to provide women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports. There’s a case about two transgender athletes in Connecticut that won the state championship three years in a row for their high school, breaking records in the process thus denying opportunities in their athletic careers. This is just one example of a situation that creates discouragement among young female athletes, many of whom feel they won’t have any realistic chance of succeeding if trangender women continue to dominate in certain women’s categories.
Opinions gathered through public polls show that most Americans are against allowing transgender athletes to compete on women’s sports teams. It’s not about the inclusion of transgender athletes but making sure women aren’t unfairly disadvantaged. Several states have already started restricting transgender participation in female sports but we also have other states that have decided a more inclusive approach. This legal and ethical debate demonstrates a need for a more structured, standardized, and evidence based policies that protect female athletes from unjust competition, while ensuring inclusivity in a responsible and fair manner.
Transgender participation in female categories risks diminishing participation in women’s athletics altogether. Some argue that the inclusion of transgender women in female sports may raise challenges regarding fairness in certain contexts. (Avoid framing trans as a threat to Women's sports) Young girls could become discouraged from pursuing sports thus undoing decades of progress in both women’s sports and inclusion. Female categories in sports are still not completely implemented so it’s important that we create solid standardized guidelines and restrictions to keep competition fair. For example, in competitive breaking, women are just now starting to get their own national female categories alongside schools and programs that cater towards female dancers. If these girls were to compete and see their opponent was a transgender women, they’d know right away about the physical advantages given to them. Men and women aren’t restricted from battling each other but at elite levels, the differences are night and day, and the highest level of sports are usually what athletes strive for.
Biological women have fought for equal opportunities and recognition for years, inclusivity is without a doubt important but it should not come at the expense of fairness and integrity of female competition. With recent evidence and scientific facts gathered about the effects of male puberty, sports organizations as a whole should recognize that competition should be fair for all athletes, including women and transgender athletes. There needs to be policies in place and more structured frameworks that don’t compromise the integrity or inclusion of competitive sports.
Works Cited
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IOC Framework Fairness Inclusion non discrimination 2021. Internation Olympic Comittee. (n.d.). https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Beyond-the-Games/Human-Rights/IOC-Framework-Fairness-Inclusion-Non-discrimination-2021.pdf
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