For my title, I have borrowed a mantra from John Rawls, an ethical philosopher. This article by Tanya Aldred argues that it is time to reexamine the rules that allow transgender people to participate in sports. The current system that allows transgender women to compete against biological women seems unfair in many ways. This piece, which I find rational and takes into account all counterarguments appears in the Guardian. Tanya Aldred writes for the Guardian about sports. You can be certain that she will be called a transphobe because of her views.As usual, I start with a disclaimer. I believe that transgender people should be respected in all aspects of life. This applies to law, moral treatment, etc. However, I cannot agree to the idea that trans women are all women. You can also make rational arguments for exceptions. Sports is the biggest, but shelters, rape counselling, sex-segregated jails and so forth are all options. Aldred seems to agree, at least in regards to sports.To read the full article, click on the image.It is not clear whether transgender women should be allowed to participate in school and Olympic sports. Separating men's and women's sports is necessary. Men have a biological advantage in bone density and strength. If everyone competed together, women would lose almost everything. It is unlikely that many people would consider this fair. Although there may be one sport that allows everyone to compete, I cannot think of any. Here is Aldred's summary of relative performance based on biological sex.Conflating gender with sex is a way to confuse the reason why we have sex classes in sport: the male performance edge. There would be no Olympic finals without a separate category for women. The 100m is the event with the largest performance gap. Around 10,000 men around the world have times that are faster than Elaine Thompson-Herah (11.70sec), the current Olympic female champion. Track and field is not the only sport. The smallest achievement gap between the sexes is in swimming, running and rowing (11-13%). However, it jumps to 16%-22% for track cycling and to 29%-34% for weightlifting and bowling cricket balls. A staggering 162% difference exists in punch power between men versus women. This is not to be taken lightly.It would be unfair for transgender women who are not being treated to participate in sports against biological women. They are allowed to compete in certain states and the American Civil Liberties Union supports that position. This is basically saying that biological men can compete against biological women. It ignores the reason for seperating sports by sex. Trangender men can compete against biological men.It is difficult to know what to do after transgender women have received medical treatment. The most common requirement is to lower testosterone titer through hormones or other treatments. Transgender women can compete in the Olympics if they have a testosterone level of 10 nanomoles/liter or less and keep it that way for at least one year. This category is largely a guess, as there's not much evidence. This assumption is increasingly being questioned. One reason is that when a biological male reaches puberty, his muscle mass and bone density will be on average higher than those of women. The advantage of being a biological male will likely last for many years, if it is not already. These are not averages, I need to emphasize that; high-performing biological women will not be outcompeted by transgender women treated or untreated. Aldred shares his thoughts on newer research.Research is showing that the IOC's testosterone guidelines are not able to guarantee fair competition. Ross Tucker, a sports scientist who is an expert on testosterone advantage in sport, sums it all: Lowering testosterone is almost ineffective in removing biological differences between males & females. The IOC decided to delay any further decisions until after Tokyo, leaving it up to the individual sports federations and their transgender policies. Some were bold while others wrote their policies with trans lobby groups, without consulting sports scientists or women's organizations. As Martina Navratilova, Nicola Adams and others have found out, transphobia is a charge against those who question the narrative.One criticism has been addressed: Some biological women can beat transgender women. Aldred responds to that criticism by referencing Michael Phelps, a champion swimmer.Most people argue for inclusion that sport is all about natural advantages and that trans women are just another factor to be added to the list along with Michael Phelps' size 14 feet and double-jointed ankles. This argument has a problem. We don't compete based on foot-size. However, we protect women's sport from the disadvantages of male puberty. Phelps' feet were a benefit as a swimmer, but male puberty gave him an even greater advantage. He broke the world record by winning the 200m freestyle at the Beijing Olympics in 1.42.96. Federica Pellegrini won the 200m freestyle in 1.42.96, breaking the world record for women. She finished in 1.54.82, a time that would not have allowed her to reach the men's semi-finals. She didn't let internalised misogyny stop her.What should we do about transgender women who wish to participate in women's sports? It would be unfair to ban them all from competition. After all, participation in sports is a dream for many, so we should make every effort to accommodate them.Science can solve this problem. It might, but that would require years of research and would likely be unethical. This would include testing transgender women who have been treated differently in order to determine what it takes to get the average transgender female to perform at the same level as a biological woman. It would take a large sample, and biological men have different advantages in each sport so it would need to be done separately for all. My only recommendation is that transgender women who are not in good health should not be allowed into sports with biological females. World Rugby has addressed the issue by banning transgender women from international women's rugby. This was because they could harm biological women who play this contact sport.Aldred offers a solution that many others and I have suggested. Although it is not perfect, it may be the best that we can do right now. It is important to address this issue immediately, as transgender athletes are increasing in number. However, they make up a small minority of competitors. Laws and governments are beginning to take notice.Aldred (Ive bolded her solution):Veronica Ivy, an American cyclist (previously Rachel McKinnon), said hang the heartache. Trans women are women. They should be able to identify themselves as women at all levels. This argument is getting some support. This argument is why we have sex categories for sports. Take everyone and see which biological males wins. I would argue the contrary. Science is still young. Breathe. Breathe. Trans women should have the opportunity to enjoy their sport to its fullest. Research can help them participate in female sports with no disadvantage. To get around the gender issue, we need to go back to sex-based categories, a female category, and an open category that can accommodate trans men who have taken testosterone, women, and men.Although I doubt it, this article reflects a fair amount of research and demonstrates that there is still hope. Please feel free to comment below.h/t Jez
