As part of a transgender and non-binary panel discussion I recently participated in, we received some challenging comments/questions about transgender individuals in sports, feminism & youth transition. They seem to reflect popular topics in news and social media, and may be questions a lot of non-trans people have, so I’m sharing a distilled version of the questions, along with my complete responses here. See also related media links at the end. Questions:
- Should transgender athletes be allowed in gender-separated sports?
- Maybe transgender should be its own sports category?
- Is it “unfair” (due to biology or hormones) for transgender athletes to compete?
- When should transgender youth start hormones or surgery?
- Do transgender individuals fit in with feminism and the feminist movement?
- Don’t “biological women” experience unique challenges & trauma in patriarchal societies, due to their physiology?
1. Should transgender athletes be allowed in gender-separated sports?
Answer:
Yes, absolutely. Individuals undergo a gender transition due to an intense disassociation with their “assigned gender,” and not for any reason relating to sports. Sports are a beneficial, community activity that can help transitioned individuals adapt to / enjoy life in their chosen gender. Transgender individuals are a tiny minority of the overall population (about 1.4% according to this study), who aren’t a significant component of gendered sports, and who are particularly vulnerable*; exclusion would harm them without any significant impact on the sport.
*”Transgender and other gender diverse youth experience stigma and discrimination that put them at increased risk for poor mental health and suicide, substance use, experiencing violence, risky sexual behaviors, and other health risks.” –CDC
2. Maybe transgender should be its own sports category?
Answer:
That suggestion would have the effect of banning transgender individuals from sports. As mentioned previously, the transgender population is a tiny minority (overall 1.4% – smaller still for transgender men vs. transgender women), far too few to form any regional sports teams / clubs on their own.
3. Is it “unfair” (due to biology or hormones) for transgender athletes to compete?
Answer:
Sports are inherently unfair, due to a variety of factors unrelated to training, even within the cisgender population of a gender separated sport (e.g., men’s basketball allows individuals of varying heights, reflexes and other genetic capabilities). Since sports are already unfair, I’d say this aspect is not very relevant to the question of inclusion for such a tiny population.
This “unfairness” question is usually focused on trans-women (or trans-men) playing women’s sports, which is a very complicated subject, due in part to misogyny and under-investment in women’s sports (in spite of Title IX). Even cisgender women (especially women of color) are discriminated against in women’s sports (e.g., for their natural testosterone levels).
It’s also debatable and not well studied whether trans-women have decisive athletic advantages over cisgender women; for example, on the subject of hormones: “the science shows that, at least among elite athletes, the link between testosterone and athletic performance is far from straightforward. (source)” And even if naturally high testosterone was advantageous, most trans-women are taking Testosterone-blockers, so they’ve “leveled down” their testosterone. While there are other potential physiological advantages such as height, hemoglobin levels, or muscle mass, these aren’t universal qualities (e.g., some trans-women are petite and some cisgender women are over 6 feet tall).
4. When should transgender youth start blockers, hormones or surgery?
Answer:
This is a medical question which, as such, should be untouched by politicians. When a particular transgender youth should start hormones should be up to that child (& family) in consultation with their medical team (endocrinologist, etc.).
Transgender youth are not started on hormones pre-puberty; there is no need to do so. What might happen with younger children could be hormone blockers to delay onset of puberty while they explore their gender identity; hormone blockers which are in most cases reversible and low-risk.
Typical hormone therapy (e.g., testosterone or estrogen supplements) would not commence until post-puberty and, for underage children, only with agreement by all parties (the child, the parents/guardians, the medical team); these hormones are also in most cases reversible and low-risk.
Surgery would not be undertaken until after years of gender therapy, observation and consultation, and not before the child came of age (i.e., 18 or otherwise legally an adult).
5. Do transgender individuals fit in with feminism and the feminist movement?
Answer:
Yes, absolutely. While trans-men, trans-women, non-binary individuals and cisgender women each have different experiences and (some) unique challenges, there is a lot of overlap, where all have had to deal with misogyny and patriarchy in significant ways.
Trans-women and non-binary individuals are considered “less than” men by society and disadvantaged in a variety of ways, including housing, medical and employment discrimination. Trans-men also experienced misogynist discrimination fully before their transition and continue to in some ways, especially medically.
Therefore, all belong in the feminist movement, which seeks to challenge and overturn the patriarchy, in order to access and equalize all the rights and privileges which are currently exclusively accorded to (cis) “men.”
6. Don’t “biological women” experience unique challenges & trauma in patriarchal societies, partly due to their physiology?
First, it’s worth noting that many transgender and nonbinary individuals have experienced or do experience the same physiological challenges and social risk/trauma as “biological women” because they themselves were assigned female at birth (AFAB) and were (or unfortunately, often still are) perceived as “biological women.”
In terms of physiological differences between cisgender and transgender women, yes, there are some, especially in terms of uterus / ovaries / menstruation / pregnancy, as well as some average statistical differences (which are generally different, but not universally so, such as height, muscle mass, body shape, hormones and height).
But are biological differences the cornerstones of how women are identified in a patriarchal society? No, because people don’t conduct uterus / ovary / chromosome checks in routine social situations nor housing/hiring decisions, and the vast majority of discrimination towards women is based on perception (of gender / femininity / biology) and not on actual biology.
Transgender women (who are perceived as women) are subject to most of the same discrimination and social risks as cisgender women, everything from cat-calling to lower pay for the same job as a man of equivalent experience. Trans-women (and non-binary individuals) who may be perceived as feminine but “not women” by strangers aren’t subject to exactly the same discrimination, but they are subject to significant discrimination which can include harassment, service refusal, assault and more – these folks are also victims of patriarchy / misogyny because they are still treated as “less than” men.
When evaluating such things, I think we need to critically evaluate the “harm” we think inclusion may cause, and weigh that against the “harm” that exclusion may cause; could the concern over inclusion here be just a case of fear of the unknown? I think we need to embrace inclusion; transgender people are human beings who are deserving of love, respect, and inclusion.
Related Media / References:
- Trans Athletes In Sports | Andrea Gibson (by someone who played girls sports and for whom athletics is very important, 2022)
- Transgender Inclusion in High School Athletics (Policy Brief by GLSN, 2019)
- The Importance of Sports Participation for Transgender Youth (by Fair Play, 2021)
- Transgender Athletes Are Treated UNFAIRLY.. Here’s Why | Athlete Center (YouTube video, 2022)
- Hormone Levels Are Being Used to Discriminate against Female Athletes: Despite slim evidence, testosterone is keeping some women off the field in Scientific American (by Grace Williams, February 2021)
- How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States? (a Williams Institute study, June 2022)
- Trans and Gender Diverse Youth Care from Fenway Health (highly regarded, Boston-based medical center, specializing in gender diverse patients – you may need to scroll down a bit to see relevant info, e.g., links to fact sheets on hormone blockers).
- Gender Critical | Contrapoints – an exploration of cisgender women’s arguments against inclusion of trans-women in feminism (YouTube video, 2019)
- From Ally to Accomplice: A Call To Action For Cisgender Women by Nakisha M. Lewis
