This page includes a topic proposal for the essay and the Research Essay which explores the subject “Should transgender female athletes be allowed to compete in women’s sports?”
Topic Proposal for Research Essay
David Lalchand
Prof. Jack Wernick
Writing for the Sciences
April 18th, 2023.
Should transgender female athletes be allowed to compete in women’s sports?
There is an ongoing debate surrounding whether transgender women athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports on the basis of fairness. The argument being proposed in support of trans women being banned from competing along biological women suggests that trans women have higher levels of testosterone which enable them to possess advantageous physical capabilities. This therefore begs the question of whether testosterone influences athletic capabilities or not. Additionally, this debate has gained trajectory and widespread popularity over recent controversies such as those surrounding transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas and Olympic runner Caster Semenya. However, it has existed for some time albeit less popular and this raises another question: “why now?” The purpose of this research paper is to explore why sports associations are petitioning to ban trans women from competing in sports according to the gender to which they identify, as well as to divulge whether or not they actually possess any significant athletic advantages over other athletes in the same field. It also intends to shed light on the current state of this debate in the world, why this issue has gained the level of popularity it has and how it will affect transgender individuals as a whole. Furthermore, I intend to gather research from competent, scholarly sources to support my topic of choice as well as appropriately use them to influence and mold the structure of this paper.
Research Essay
David Lalchand
Professor Jack Wernick
Writing for the Sciences
May 14th, 2023.
“Testosterone does not grant Transgender Women Athletes an ‘unfair advantage’ over competitors and should be able to compete in women’s sports.”
As of late there has been significant discourse and debate around whether transgender women athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports on the basis that they possess an “unfair” advantage. The unfair advantage in question being higher levels of the hormone testosterone in their body than their fellow biological female competitors. However, sports as a whole are fundamentally unfair, and higher levels of this hormone alone should not act as the sole indicator of heightened athletic performance. Testosterone is a potent androgenic-anabolic hormone that is responsible for helping to build lean muscle mass, which contributes to enhancing physical strength. In addition, it also increases the body’s production of red blood cells thereby increasing the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to muscle cells and increasing an individual’s aerobic capability. Higher levels of testosterone are commonly present in biological males; however, this is not the always the case. It is apparent that this hormone could significantly enhance athletic performance in transgender women because of the sex they were born, but several studies and statements put forward by experts in the field suggests otherwise. Therefore, transgender women athletes should be able to compete in sports according to the gendered category to which they identify owing to the fact that testosterone alone is not a concrete indicator of athletic capabilities.
In her article “Transgender Eligibility Policies in Sport: Science, Ethics, and Evidence” Sarah Teetzel introduces the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) both of which stipulates the eligibility requirements that trans athletes must meet in order to participate at the Olympics (IOC) and college level athletic tournaments (NCAA) (Teetzel, 161). In response to this “unfair performance advantage” both the IOC and the NCAA require “at least one year of hormone therapy for trans women to compete thus “these organizations have decided that hormones play a significant enough role in athletic performance that, without manipulation, athletes who have transitioned are competing with unfair advantages because of their hormone levels” (Teetzel, 164). Conversely, she explains that “researchers in the area have been noting for more than a decade that there is not enough scientific evidence to either confirm or refute that hypothesis” (Teetzel, 164). An example Teetzel references is a 2008 article examining the potential advantages and disadvantages of testosterone which produced inconclusive results (Teetzel, 165). Moreover, the striking lack of conclusive evidence demonstrates that there is undoubtedly an implicit bias on the part of these governing bodies that influences them to enforce such strict and oppressive policies; although the scientists conducting these studies have noted that their findings should not be taken as law. The article ‘Gender Justice’ reiterates Sarah Teetzel’s findings that “there is very little or no scientific research regarding the performance of elite transgender athletes, and when research has been done, scientists explicitly warn people not to use the data to enact total trans bans in sports” (Gender Justice, 2021). Conclusively, there have been very few studies conducted and developing methodology is challenging due to the small sample sizes of athletes available for observation.
While testosterone levels play an integral role in determining athletic capabilities, it alone should and cannot serve as a perfect indicator of athletic ability. Athletes vary in a “multitude of ways, including height, weight, age, and proportion which can all prove advantageous. There are also differences in less-visible characteristics such as lung capacity, recovery rates and even hormone levels, with this variability generally accepted as a standard part of sporting culture” (East, 2016). Other factors that influence an athlete’s performance include the extent to which they train, support from coaches and family members as well as economic and other contributing circumstances. Additionally, Dr. Joshua Safer, an internist and executive director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York, states: “A person’s genetic make-up and internal and external reproductive anatomy are not useful indicators of athletic performance”. According to Safer, “For a trans woman athlete who meets NCAA standards there is no inherent reason why her physiological characteristics related to athletic performance should be treated differently from the physiological characteristics of a non-transgender woman” (Strangio and Arkles, 2020). Moreover, there are trans athletes that exhibit reduced levels of athletic performance when compared to cis gender female athletes. It is in instances such as these that the debate moves from discourse around ethics to an attempt by these sports bodies to perpetuate hateful propaganda that’s not only harmful to trans athletes but women athletes as a whole.
The debate surrounding whether transgender athletes such as Caster Semenya and Lia Thomas should be allowed to participate in women’s sports, directly correlates to the decades long debate over the differences between athletic capabilities of men and women based on biological factors. The refusal by these governing sports organizations to acknowledge the gender with which trans athletes identify, even after fully or partially transitioning (hormone replacement therapy, sexual reassignment surgeries etc.), outweighs the reasoning and evidence they present to support their policies, as the sole contributing factor for the bans and violations of bodily autonomy these policies enact. In the case of South African runner Caster Semenya, speculation and questions about her gender started arising only after she had won the 800- meter final at the IAAF World Championship which prompted the authorities to issue a gender test after her victory even though “visual inspections of her genitals seemed to attest that she was female” (Henne, 794). Her fellow competitors were reported invalidating her gender identity and implying Semenya was cheating with statements such as “For me, she is not a woman. She is a man,” and “Just look at her,” (Henne,794). Similarly, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas received scrutiny for ranking number one among her fellow competitors even though she had met the standards mandated by the NCAA’s policies. The similarities between these two specific cases suggest the simple truth that these women only became the great threat these sports bodies would have us believe they are, only after outstanding performance in their respective sports. Had they consistently underperformed one can only question if they would have posed such a threat to ‘maintaining the integrity of women’s sports.’ As Joanne Harper, a former trans athlete, explains “for some people, no variable matters as much as gender assigned at birth. They can’t get past the idea that I’m a man trying to profit in a woman’s sport” (Teetzel, 165).
The debate suggesting that transgender women athletes possess an unfair advantage stem from not only “confusion about which category specific athletes should compete in but also…gender normativity biases and a lack of understanding about transitioning” (Teetzel, 161). Furthermore, testosterone does not give transgender athletes the “edge” these leading sports organizations perpetuate, due in large to the fact that the evidence supporting this claim is inconclusive. An athlete’s performance is attributed to factors beyond, gender, sex and testosterone levels and these genetic findings are often misused to reinforce stereotypes that result in oppression and discrimination. Ultimately, we owe transgender women athletes the same respect, privacy and bodily autonomy we extend to biological women, because not to do so is inhumane and violates their rights as individuals.
Works Cited
Teetzel, Sarah. “Transgender Eligibility Policies in Sport: Science, Ethics, and Evidence.” Reflecting on Modern Sport in Ancient Olympia: Proceedings of the 2016 Meeting of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport at the International Olympic Academy, edited by Heather L. Reid and Eric Moore, Parnassos Press – Fonte Aretusa, 2017, pp. 161–70. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvbj7gdq.17. Accessed 24 Apr. 2023. (This article provides a series of scholarly evidence to evaluate both sides of the argument)
Henne, Kathryn. “The ‘Science’ of Fair Play in Sport: Gender and the Politics of Testing.” Signs, vol. 39, no. 3, 2014, pp. 787–812. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/674208. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023. (The history of gender verification laws aimed at female athletes in international sport is highlighted in this article, as is the justification for the practice on the grounds that it safeguards fair play in women’s sport.)
Strangio, Chase, and Gabriel Arkles. “Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked | ACLU.” American Civil Liberties Union, 5 July 2022, www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/four-myths-about-trans-athletes-debunked.
The right to compete – gender justice. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://www.genderjustice.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Trans-Equity-in-Sports_Fact-Sheet-Jan-2021.pdf.
East, Susie. “Should a Woman’s Testosterone Level Matter in Sports?” CNN, 12 Aug. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/08/12/health/testosterone-and-hyperandrogenism-in-female-athletes/index.html.
(The last three articles not sourced from the JSTOR database above tackle the argument being proposed for and against allowing transgender women to compete.)
