Anti-trans sports rhetoric: power play, no protection

In reality, one trans woman has competed in the women’s Olympic category, and only two trans women have become national champions in the NCAA. There is no credible evidence to support the claim that trans women “dominate” sports. If anything, trans women are drastically underrepresented in sports, especially at the elite level.

Additionally, a report summarizing 11 years of scientific research found that “available evidence suggests that trans women have undergone testosterone therapy,” although many lawmakers and other public figures claim that trans women have some biological advantage over cis women -Women have no clear biological advantages over cis women in elite sports because they were assigned male at birth.” Another recent study suggests that trans women have disadvantages compared to their cis colleagues because testosterone suppression affects their body.

Testosterone suppression is required by all major sports federations that allow trans women in the women’s category. This means that someone who was assigned male at birth cannot move into the female category simply by declaring their femininity, but must undergo a relatively intensive medical and organizational process to gain access to the female category.

Inaccurate memes about swimmer Lia Thomas claimed she was mediocre at best in the men’s category prior to winning the 2022 NCAA DI National Championship title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle. But that’s wrong. Thomas’ highest national ranking before the move was 11th and it is by no means impossible for a top athlete to move from 11th to 1st in three years. And while Thomas’ professed performance at the championships was impressive, she won by a margin not uncommon in her event. Her final time was more than 9 seconds slower than the American record and also slower than at least one of her competitor Mal’s previous best times, and she did not break any meet, pool or national records. At the same meeting, 27 records were broken, 18 of them by Kate Douglass – whose clear and undeniable dominance no one protested.

This brings us to the heart of the problem: If trans women don’t have that mythical advantage over cis women, if they don’t win women’s competitions in the hundreds, and if most states don’t even have more than a handful of them, why is everyone talking about trans athletes?

The answer is simple: anti-trans athlete rhetoric is extremely effective in providing voice and power to those who use it. This is not about sports, women, transsexuals or fairness. This conversation about trans athletes is about power and control.

Republicans spent nearly $215 million on anti-trans advertising. These ads demonized trans people, trans athletes, trans children, and even gender-neutral pronouns. And conservatives aren’t the only ones demonizing trans people. Lawmakers like Rep. Seth Moulton were also influenced by these slogans because they thought they were embracing feminist ideals and protecting women.

And therein lies the deception: protecting women’s sports is crucial because numerous inequalities threaten the female category – but the inclusion of trans women is not one of these inequalities.

In fact, the exclusion of trans women exacerbates existing barriers in the female category. Girls are twice as likely to drop out of sports by the age of 14 as boys, one of the main reasons for this is social stigma due to gender stereotypes. In the years since bans on trans athletes were enacted, many women and girls have been accused of being transgender and faced harassment while competing.

This result is not at all surprising: the exclusion of trans women requires a strict definition of femininity against which all women in this category must be measured. And at what point is a woman too tall, too strong, too fast, too muscular, her hair too short, her body “too masculine” to be accused of being transgender and therefore not feminine enough?

Anti-trans athlete rhetoric masquerades as pro-woman, but in reality it is pro-control. They lie to you and say, “It’s just common sense,” but “common sense” in a country overrun by systemic oppression is just bigotry in disguise. Don’t fall for it.

When cis Olympian Imane Khelif was internationally vilified because of her gender at the Paris Games, despite there being no evidence that she was transgender, Donald Trump tweeted: “I KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS.” That was a bad but Brilliant move by power because facts didn’t matter – public fear did. This exploits the public’s legitimate desire to protect women and women’s sports to gain control – over women and anyone else they can subordinate.

If you believed the anti-trans athlete rhetoric, your fear was manipulated against you and the entire country. Bans on trans athletes not only threaten women’s sports, they also endanger the American public and undermine our supposedly core American values: without bodily autonomy, we are deprived of the purest form of personal freedom – access to ourselves and our own bodies.

The inclusion and appreciation of trans athletes is a critical factor in the fight for the freedom and self-determination that every person deserves.

Schuyler Bailar is an educator, advocate and author of He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters.