Trans Women Are Women, and Sport Is a Human Right

I'm really tired of repeating myself. People keep telling me that the topic of including trans and/or intersex women in women's sport is “complicated.” But it's not. It's very simple. Are trans women really women, full stop, or not? If you think “Yes,” then there's no debate: trans and intersex women, as women, belong in women's sport. If you think “No,” then there's absolutely nothing I can say that will change your mind. You didn't arrive at that belief through reasoning, and you won't get out of it that way either. It's a little like arguing with a flat-Earther: if you are convinced that the Earth is flat, then you'll find any reason, no matter how irrational, to hold on to that belief in the face of overwhelming evidence.But this is what I find myself repeating over and over: to those who already think that trans and intersex women are really, fully women, I don't need to provide further evidence. So, I find myself arguing against people who already think that trans and intersex women are “male” and therefore there must be some unfair performance advantage, despite my repeatedly pointing out that there's no reliable scientific evidence supporting their claim. It often doesn't take much to scratch the surface of their views to find that they really just think that trans women are men in dresses. In fact, the best evidence we have suggests that trans women, in particular, are grossly statistically underrepresented in elite sport; it seems, instead, then that trans women are possibly at a competitive disadvantage compared to their cis counterparts.I've penned peer-reviewed scholarly articles on trans and intersex athlete rights to inclusion.1 I've presented detailed arguments about the science, law, and ethics (particularly regarding sport as a human right). I've penned articles and op-eds for such major news outlets as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Economist, and so many others I've literally lost count. I've appeared on all major news networks, including going into the “lion's den” of Fox News's New York headquarters to go toe-to-toe with someone I think I'm safe in calling transphobic, Abigail Shrier. I've appeared in more documentaries than I can even enumerate.Each time I say the same thing: sport is a human right (just read the first sentence of the International Olympic Committee's fourth Fundamental Principle of Olympism: “Participation in sport is a human right.”) and the burden of proof is on those seeking to exclude a group from a human right. That's how human rights law works. And it's very clear that those seeking to exclude trans and intersex women from women's sport have not met that burden. In fact, I've argued in print that I think it's unlikely that they'll ever be able to meet that burden.But it's like arguing with a wall. You see, the “common sense” position is that trans women are “male” and that they must—even though no evidence supports this—retain an unfair advantage, so the burden of proof is really on trans and intersex women to show that they don't have an unfair advantage. Society has it exactly backwards.I'm routinely asked to “debate” with a transphobe about my basic human dignity, where they call me a man, male, a cheater (see Martina Navratilova's op-ed in the Sunday Times).2 I knock down every one of their arguments every time, but still the “narrative” is that despite the lack of evidence, isn't it obvious that trans women have an unfair advantage due to being “male”? So, I repeat myself. I'm tired of it. I'm tired.In 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) undertook a consultation process with various stakeholders on updating their 2015 “IOC Consensus Meeting on Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism” recommendations.3 These consultations involved day-long meetings at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, with IOC personnel and trans athletes, and another round for intersex athletes. I was part of the trans athlete consultations. It was mere weeks after I won my second UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championship in Manchester, England.The history of IOC guidelines around trans and intersex women athletes (trans men are usually an afterthought and non-binary athletes are often not even considered at all) has been one of increasing inclusion. In their 2003 consensus meeting, the IOC recommended requiring trans athletes to undergo unnecessary genital surgery (genitals don't play sports!) and then a two-year waiting period to compete in their transitioned gender.4 In 2015, they removed the surgery requirement, recognizing how unnecessary and discriminatory it is (do you even know how expensive genital reconstruction surgery is?!), and recommended instead twelve months (and perpetual thereafter) testosterone suppression below 10nmol/L.5It's worth noting that the 10 nmol/L value was chosen pretty arbitrarily (despite what they will tell you). It wrongly believed that 10 nmol/L was the bottom of the “normal” male range. The problem is that the male range of unaltered endogenous testosterone goes down to next to nothing, well below the average for cis women. Part of this is that such recommendations require rigging the concept of “normal” to exclude all the cases that invalidate the claim. As I commonly say, “Sure, there's no endogenous testosterone overlap between male and female if you ignore all the cases of overlap!”Since international sport federations (IFs) started allowing trans people to compete in their transitioned gender for the 2004 Athens Olympics, until, but not including, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, there were over 54,000 Olympians. The number of trans athletes? Zero. Under the more inclusive 2015 update to the IOC transgender recommendation, which many IFs adopted for the 2016 Rio Olympics, the number of Olympians for 2016 Rio and 2018 Sochi, was over 14,000. Much of the news reporting around the 2015 updated IOC recommendation was that trans women would take over and dominate at Rio. How many trans athletes actually participated? Again zero.Even in Tokyo 2021, depending on how one counts, four trans people participated (one did not actually compete as she was an alternate), but no trans woman medaled. The only trans person to medal was Quinn, who is a non-binary member of the Canadian women's soccer team—they won gold.6Every single time people make the fear-mongering claim that trans women will “take over” or “dominate” women's sport, it's not borne out by reality. A trans woman has never won an elite (open) world championship, none hold an elite (open) world record, none have won an Olympic medal, and none have won any major tournament in sports like golf and tennis. This is an irrational fear of trans women. And what do we call that? Transphobia.It's important to call it what it is. Too many “well meaning” people are afraid of using that word for fear, I guess, of alienating people or being “divisive.” You know what's divisive? Making up fantasies about trans women dominating women's sport—despite all evidence to the contrary—and using that fear to deny trans women their basic human right to compete as the women they are.I never wanted to be an “activist” for athlete rights. Truly, I just wanted to race my bike and see how far I could advance in the sport I love. So far, this has led to two UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships in 2018 and 2019. I used to have Olympic aspirations until the trauma causing PTSD and on by an to It's to such but it's a people are they can to you from even every the of still call me a just for are a of arguments being about on it's for trans women to compete in women's sport. is often lost in the is that there are trans men athletes and non-binary athletes. are the trans men I've read that more than I can count. 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If we that this is it's not to trans women. a in of the of in is not for we even women's sport. It be It's two of the to a discriminatory an international human rights trans women are a and trans women of and trans women of from the And the to of discriminatory that further an already group not to be trans women the trans women is not an international human rights which the in sport as a human right is And the competitive women's sport we I think that it's unlikely that any evidence will ever change The is not don't need or in to to what is human the right to in competitive the scientific evidence is that competitive advantage that could ever be to be to trans women will be for an to be and at in sport, the competitive we already in women's sport. The human rights is the one that this And there is no there was another in 2021 the IOC their on and on the of and Sex which was the of the consultations I was involved in in the is even more and inclusive than their 2015 consensus it has the of it clear to IFs that the IOC has never a on trans the IFs to make up their and that the IOC will have nothing to say about full trans even a of evidence. 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These people that there's no to and that to for trans women out of It's an irrational fear, which it trans women are trans women are But sport and the cis men who to this reality. In one trans woman against for discriminatory trans we find a from of the in important In a to know this to but in the of the people we are with and are this we say, a they find this it is their belief that they it like to we can make on this if we the right and are in all to not to be discriminatory just by In a to the about going down the that with that they really are women and that their is This that some including if it with for believed they was an to discriminatory and at the very that is really a woman (and down the that with that they are right is to see sport federations their as it did with the and even sport federations like are seeking to or trans women's in women's sport they think it's “common sense” that trans women women, really what this “debate” is really are trans women really women, or not? If then there's no If then I'm but just can arbitrarily group women in to find all women are about on than women, and we women to compete against women and call that And there be between the average trans and cis woman will be far than the range of the of

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