Number 147

Trans Women and Sports

Just lately the social/religious conservatives have been pushing laws through state legislatures that ban trans women and girls from athletic participation with and/or against cis gender women and girls. Their standard line claims that they are protecting 'biological' women, and their athletic accomplishments from being 'canceled' by predatory 'men' pretending to be women. The fact that social/religious conservatives usually don't give two sh*ts about women and their rights leads me to conclude that their rationale for banning trans athletes is merely a smoke screen for their true believes: "Trans people are icky, we wish they didn't exist, so we're going to legislate them out of existence." They're just too cowardly to admit that, so they pretend like they care about women for a few hot minutes in order to push their agenda of transgender hatred.

It's no surprise that I have a deep antipathy towards these morons. Many of my past blog posts reek of my disdain for their pseudo-intellectual rants against me and my trans siblings. The problem I have with this particular issue is that while I disagree with their rationale, I don't necessarily disagree with their conclusion. But that doesn't mean I agree with their conclusion, either. What it means is, I just don't know. Maybe if I write about this complex issue, you and I might discover some clarity.

Here's a list of reasons that make this issue so very complicated.

A.    A child is born. Everyone takes a quick peek between the legs and, usually, everyone agrees on that child's sex and/or gender, ie. female or male. Our culture is slowly changing to embrace the notion that gender and sex, while very close to one another, are not direct correlates; and that while there are only two sexes, there are many different genders. Another way of saying this is that for most folks, their sex and gender are the same thing, but not for everyone. This can often lead to a point of conflict for an individual when the binary of 'biological' sex (male/female), is not aligned with their gender identity (who or what they feel they are). Two things: (1) 'biological' sex is actually much more complicated than a quick peek between the legs - don't believe me, ask a biologist; and (2) If it's a "point of conflict" for the individual when things don't match, it becomes a higgledy-piggledy mess when it becomes a focal point of our society's culture wars.

B.    For the most part, even with our culture slowly embracing the notion of multiple gender identities, athletic participation is still based upon the male/female binary. Boys/men compete against boys/men, girls/women compete against girls/women.

C.    Speaking in generalities, there are physical differences between male and female bodies. A few of these differences have implications as to why male athletic performance tends to be "higher, faster, stronger," than female athletic performance. Please note that I consider these differences to be empirical, rather than qualitative. Male athletes have greater lung capacity than female athletes. Male athletes have a higher ratio of muscle mass to body weight. Finally, male athletes have longer and larger bones, which provide a clear mechanical advantage over female athletes. I wish I could ignore this information, and pretend it didn't exist, but I won't - it's one of the key reasons this is such a hard issue.

D.    Let's talk about trans female athletes and their desire to compete. First things first. Fuck every single person who defends their opinion on this complicated issue by declaring that trans woman are just "predatory men disguised as women... blah, blah, blah." Nice job reducing the experiences of every trans woman into one vicious, inaccurate, and ignorant meme. I can pretty much guarantee that: "Getting to  crush cis gender women in athletic competitions" is really, really low on the list of considerations as a transgender female comes to terms with her gender identity. I might go so far as to say it's not a consideration. A transgender female who wishes to participate in athletics is just that: A person who wants to participate in athletics. But since athletic competition is still based on the binary, we're left with the struggle of figuring out where that participation should take place.

E.    Now, let's talk about what most trans females will probably have gone through by the time they get to a point where they want to participate athletically against other females. The first thing is they've probably had lots and lots of counseling/therapy to deal with issues related to gender dysphoria. Regardless of what you may think, a person can't just declare themselves trans, and everyone in the medical and legal communities give it a thumbs up. There are lots of medical and legal hoops that must be jumped through, first. The second reality is that most trans folks are on some form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), designed to allow their bodies to be ruled by the androgen system that reflects their gender identity. This will definitely impact athletic performance (See point F).

F.    I do have some insider information on the whole gender confirmation process that might be relevant to this issue. I have been on HRT for over two years now. If you do a blood test of my various hormonal levels, my profile would indicate that I am an average middle-aged woman. (Which is a good thing because that is what I am :) Though it's only anecdotal evidence, I know that I am not as strong as I was before starting HRT. When I was researching the physiological differences between elite male and female athletes, it was suggested that there is about a 10% difference between women and men. I'd agree that I'm about 10% weaker than I was before. Additionally, I feel as though I get 'winded' a lot more quickly than I used to.

G.    Another thing that adds a whole other dimension to this issue, is a consideration of the "slippery slope," when it comes to athletic performance. According to those that would banish trans females, their primary rationale is that trans females have an innate biological advantage over cis females. Of course, this conclusion is based on the data that concludes there is a 10% difference between male and female athletes. Keep in mind, though, points E and F. Trans females have almost assuredly had the peak of their athletic potential lowered by HRT. Be that it may, let's get back to a discussion of the "slippery slope." Are Black athletes superior to White athletes? Are White athletes better swimmers because Black people are "less buoyant?" Were people born into slavery bred to be more physically fit? Where do Hispanics or Asians fit in? I hope you were as offended reading those hypotheticals as I was writing them. But the fact remains that many ignorant, ill-informed, racist nincompoops have put forth many insane notions about supposed differences between races and athletic performance. If we start banning trans female athletes because people think they have an unfair advantage over cis female athletes, what's to stop people from introducing other capricious rationales as to why other subgroups of athletes shouldn't be allowed to compete?

Conclusion: Here's what I think. As much as I'd like to claim that every trans female should be able to participate in any athletic competition alongside cis women, I can't quite do it. Male born bodies, for the most part, have a certain physical athletic advantage over female born bodies. If, on the other hand, a trans female has had any surgical procedure that resulted in the removal of the testes, I believe that it is only logical to conclude that she should be allowed to compete with cis females. In fact, if the trans female has been on female HRT for a sustained period of time, she should be able to compete with other women, cis or trans. Listen: I know I'm weaker than I used to be, and I know it's harder for me to stay fit. Does that mean my athletic prowess has been diminished to the same point it would have been had I been a cis female rather than trans? That's a question we'll never have an answer for. But I've made a demonstrable commitment to living as the woman I know myself to be. Of course I should be allowed to compete with other women. The same thing is true of all the other trans females that have made a similar commitment.