Identity on the Field

  

     Recently there have been a couple of stories circulating in the news that have me pondering a sensitive issue in today’s world; transgender athletes in sports. Firstly, there is the controversy around University of Pennsylvania’s trans-woman swimmer, Lia Thomas who won first place in the women’s 500-yard freestyle in the NCAA championship. Second, Utah governor Spencer Cox vetoed a bill to ban trans-athletes from competing in sports in the Public Education System. These two coinciding stories brought me to question more about what it means for transgender students to participate in athletic programs, and whether it is fair for cisgender girls. 

Before I get into the meat of this topic, I’d like to spend a moment going over terminology so everyone can be on the same page: What is gender? Gender seems to have two different ways of being defined. One definition says that gender is simply another word that means sex, i.e. the male/female division between a species. Another definition classifies gender and sex as two different catagories. Whereas sex is the physical aspect, gender is moreso a psychological construct of certain social norms and practices which are assigned as either male, female or non-binary, the latter can also be interpreted as a spectrum of gender identites. Most people are cisgender, which means identifying personal gender with the sex a person was born to, while those who are transgender identify with a gender not algined to their physical sex.

I am not trying to tell people which definition is correct, only that these two perspectives exist and we should try to understand where those who have opposing views are coming from.

As for my personal viewpoint, I define myself as being cisgender, or that my gender and sex are both male. I’ve never identified as anything else than male, and I feel comfortable with my gender. However, I have come to realize that everyone is different and that some things that are simple for me may be more complex for someone else. I can’t say that I understand what someone who is transgender are going through, and it’s difficult for me to even imagine what it might be like, but I do accept that those things are real for them, and I support anyone who has the need to feel more comfortable in their own skin. 

Now, let’s delve into the subject of transgender athletes competing in gender specific sports; or more specifically, trans-women competing in female division sports. Within the last decade or so, we’ve seen a political frenzy surrounding trans-athletes with shouting matches of support and condemnation from both sides all the while. But I believe that this issue doesn’t belong in the realm of politics, but instead in the realm of science. Instead of asking what the pundits are saying, what are the studies saying? What are the statistical differences between a man and a trans-woman athlete?

    Today, most sports leagues' rules regarding trans-athletes is that they must undergo hormone therapy for at least a year or two before they are allowed to play in their desired division. This means that trans-women must take testosterone blockers and estrogen boosters, while trans-men take the reverse so that the playing field is more equal. Testosterone, more than any other hormone, is what differentiates the division between the sexes.Testosterone is a sex hormone that is crucial for male repreductive development, but also aids in secondary sexual characteristics, such as bone density, muscle growth and body hair. All human beings produce testosterone, but the average male produces far more than the average female. This is the reason we typically have gender divisions in sports because men have a natural advantage over women because of that higher concentration of testosterone. But my question is just how equal is that playing field after hormone therapy? Are there other factors that are coming into play? And if so, what can we do to create equal competition? 

After reading through a few different studies on hormone therapy, I found that one thing they all agree on is that there is a measurable difference between the physical capability of a male before and after the process. In fact, most studies show that the amount of pushups and situps of a trans woman and a cisgender woman can perform are about par, however it was also found that trans women on average run about 9-12% faster than the average speed of a cisgender female athlete. Though this does help to paint a better picture of hormone therapy, I believe more studies are still needed to get a more exact representation of this issue. 

My worries concerning trans-athletes in women’s sports is whether or not growing up with testosterone and stopping it at a certain point does in fact level the playing field, or whether there has already been enough physical development to give trans players an unfair advantage.  One idea that I have is perhaps eliminating gender specific divisions, and instead introducing a tier based system like in boxing where they have light, medium, and heavy weight divisions. But in this case, it can be classified by both weight and testosterone levels. This would eliminate other controversies such as with Caster Semenya of South Africa who was born intersex, but was assigned female at birth, and competes in women’s running but is found to have higher natural testosterone levels. The more objective studies we have, the better we will be able to understand this controversial issue.

    In the meantime, I look at the current state of trans-athletes in sports and understand that this is not as big of an issue as what it is being blown up to be. In the my home-state of Utah, there are about 85,000 student athletes and only 4 of them are transgender. Most political leaders are pushing the “slippery slope” fallacy that if we keep it legal, we’ll eventually see an explosion of trans-athletes and there will be no more women competing in women’s sporting events. But that scenario is unlikely to the extreme. I agree with Governor Cox when he said: "I am not an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion.” I do not believe that any of these kids are transgender so that they can have easier competition in sports, and few among those are trying to make a career out of it. I say let kids be kids without judging how they see themselves. I do believe, however, that we must apply the science more and make unbiased judgment when athletes compete in higher level sports. If this is their career of choice, then the rules must make sure that all players are on equal standing. And for that, we need more evidence based on objective research and not opinionated or overly simplistic assertions.