Transgender Women In Sports: Whom Should They Compete Against?

The inclusion of transgender women and girls in women's sports, as well as transgender people in traditionally sex-segregated competitive sports, is a contentious issue.

Due to sex differences in human physiology, opponents of transgender hormone therapies contend that transgender women have an unfair advantage over cisgender women in competitive sports and may put them in danger. Advocates for transgender athletes contend that medically prescribed estrogen and puberty blockers reduce transgender women's muscle mass and testosterone levels, reducing their potential competitive advantages. Additionally, proponents contend that youth sports, in particular, are about young people's sense of belonging, well-being, and socialization. According to the American Medical Association, transgender people's mental health is harmed by legislation that prevents trans women from participating in women's sports.

Sports sex verification debates have arisen as a result of the controversy. Since the middle of the 20th century, sports organizations have added eligibility requirements for women's sports that are determined by physical examination, sex chromosomes, and sex hormones in a variety of ways in response to the participation of transgender women and women who are suspected to be transgender, male, or intersex. Women's safety and fair competition are two of the reasons these regulations are advocated for. Regulators have been slammed for being discriminatory against transgender and intersex women, having a disproportionate impact on women of color, and violating medical ethics.

False claims that allowing trans athletes to compete will harm cisgender women are made by many opponents. This strategy of "divide and conquer" is completely ineffective. All women suffer when transgender women are excluded. Gender policing is encouraged, and any woman could be subjected to invasive tests or be accused of being "too masculine" or "too good" at their sport to be a "real" woman. The ACLU represents two young women in Idaho—one transgender and one cis—who are harmed by a law that targets trans athletes.