Transgender Athletes

Introduction

Transgender athletes’ participation in sports has become a hot-button issue in society, in large part because the conversation around transgenderism has become a focal point in societal conversations. In a sense, transgender participation in sports acts as a litmus test of sorts. That is, if one truly thinks that someone can change their gender, then it makes sense they should be able to compete in sports with their new gender. However, if one is skeptical of a transgender’s participation in sports, this is often seen as a denial of the gender transition itself.

Conservative Perspective

Conservatives contend that transgender athletes, particularly transitioned women competing against cisgender females, is unfair due to the biological differences between males and females. Men naturally have more muscle mass, stronger bone density, larger lungs and hearts, height and weight. Even if a transgender is on testosterone blocking hormones, there are massive advantages to having male anatomy in sports. In the same way as steroids are banned in most competitive sports because they provide unfair advantages, transgender competition in women’s sports is unfair.  

Many sports federations, states, and competitions have banned transgender participation in sports (that is, biological males must compete with biological males, and the same for females). Advocates for LGBT+ rights assert that such bans are a political ploy that perpetuates discrimination against a vulnerable group and takes attention away from real gender equity issues. Conservatives disagree.