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Transgender Women in Women’s Sports

Is it a fair competition?

Elaine Vandenhazel

Salt Lake Community College

English 2010

Professor Cole

15 July 2023
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When competing and watching sports people often discover two different categories in

each sport, the men's and the women’s. This is due to the biological differences between the two

sexes and the advantages/disadvantages they hold when competing against one another rather

than against someone of the same sex. There is a controversial political and athletic issue going

around right now which is, should trans-women be allowed to compete in women’s sports

despite being born as biological males? There are many things to consider when discussing the

subject. Such as, what is transgenderism? Does sex change surgery take away advantages

biological males have over biological females? What are the differences between male and

female bodies? There are several different sides to this perspective, three of which are the most

notable. The first one is that transgender individuals should compete with the sex that they were

born as due to sex advantages and disadvantages. The second one is that transgender individuals

should be able to compete in the sports category with the gender they identify with due to the

right to identify as whatever gender they would like and be referred to with the preferred

pronouns. The third perspective is that transgender persons should create a sports category of

their own so that they will be competing against others who have similar experiences with

transitioning as well as biological similarities.

What is trasgenderism? Transgenderism or transsexualism is when an individual

identifies as someone born of the opposite sex than they were. This includes a male identifying

as female and a female identifying as a male. This could impact the way they dress, their

behavior, their mannerisms, and any other quality that they attribute to the other sex. Persons

who are transgender have the possibility of being diagnosed with something called gender

dysphoria. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “The DSM-5-TR defines gender

dysphoria in adolescents and adults as a marked incongruence between one’s

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experienced/expressed gender and their assigned gender, lasting at least 6 months, as manifested

by at least two of the following:

● A marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and primary and/or

secondary sex characteristics (or in young adolescents, the anticipated secondary sex
characteristics)
● A strong desire to be rid of one’s primary and/or secondary sex characteristics because of
a marked incongruence with one’s experienced/expressed gender (or in young
adolescents, a desire to prevent the development of the anticipated secondary sex
characteristics)
● A strong desire for the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of the other gender
● A strong desire to be of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s
assigned gender)
● A strong desire to be treated as the other gender (or some alternative gender different
from one’s assigned gender)
● A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender (or
some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender).”

This can happen when identifying with the assigned gender brings confusion, mental

health issues, social issues, and other significant stressors in their life. It is common to see these

individuals rejected by their families, their communities, persons at their place of employment,

and general discrimination from the outside world. Persons with transgenderism often desire to

have sex change surgery in order to reaffirm their identity to themselves and the outside world.

What is sex change surgery? Can it legitimately change someone's sex makeup? This

surgery is also known as gender-affirming surgery and has become increasingly accessible to the

public over the last ten years with the growing acceptance of transgenderism. In the article, New

York Times Reveals Painful Truths About “Sex Change” Surgery, the author Ryan T. Anderson

discusses sex change surgery. Here he states, “Sex reassignment is quite literally impossible.
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Surgery can’t actually reassign sex, because sex isn’t “assigned” in the first place. As I point out

in “When Harry Became Sally,” sex is a bodily reality – the reality of how an organism is

organized with respect to sexual reproduction. That reality isn’t “assigned” at birth or any time

after. Sex – maleness or femaleness – is established at a child’s conception, can be ascertained

even at the earliest stages of human development by technological means, and can be observed

visually well before birth with ultrasound imaging. Cosmetic surgery and cross-sex hormones

don’t change biological reality.” While this surgery and the hormonal supplements that come

with it can assist in helping someone feel as though they are the desired sex, it does not change

the genetic makeup of the individual. Sex is something that occurs almost as soon as conception

itself, with males being born with XY chromosomes and females being born with XX

chromosomes.

In the article, Male to Female Gender Affirming Surgery: 20-Year Review and Surgical

Results the authors go over what gender-affirming surgery is and the bodily effects it has on men

transitioning to women. In the image below, it shows the complications after penile inversion

vaginoplasty. In the

article, it states that

16.8% underwent

some form of

reoperation and

85% were able to

engage in regular

sexual vaginal

intercourse. An Italian study discussed in the article states, “that approximately half the subjects
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with gender dysphoria perceived their sexual life as “poor/dissatisfied” or “very poor/very

dissatisfied” before SRS.” How does this affect the testosterone that is naturally produced in the

male body? To understand this better let’s go over the article Side effects of hormone therapy in

men. The side effects noted are tiredness, problems getting an erection, hot flashes and sweating,

breast tenderness, pain from tumor flare, weight gain, memory problems, mood swings and

depression, bone changes, and risk of heart problems. The one that protrudes from this list is

bone changes. Under this heading it states, “Men taking hormone therapy for prostate cancer are

at risk of bone thinning (osteoporosis). There is evidence that the risk of problems such as bone

fractures is slightly higher for men having long-term treatment to block testosterone (for

example, Zoladex).” While it does specifically note the hormone therapy discussed is for prostate

therapy, it is reasonable to assume that transgender persons endure some of the same side effects.

Like any medication, side effects are not the same for everyone and they are experienced

differently.

Now, let’s move along to another study discussing the differences between male and

female bodies, titled Gendered differences in regional body composition and somatotrophic

influences of IGF-I and leptin. In the third paragraph of this article, it discusses the strength

differences between males and females, particularly with males having greater strength in their

upper body due to the lean muscle mass they hold. It continues, “...using MRI, Janssen et al. (11)

reported that men had 42.9 and 54.9% of their skeletal muscle mass distributed to their upper and

lower body, whereas women had 39.7 and 57.7% of their skeletal muscle mass distributed to

their upper and lower body, respectively.” Males produce more lean muscle mass due to

testosterone and females produce more body fat mass due to estrogen. These reasons are

considerable contributors to why female athletes cannot fairly compete with their male athlete
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counterparts. Strength is related to the dimensions of muscle fibers developed and increases with

physical training exercises. Male strength levels are approximately 40% greater than female

strength levels with the difference increasing after both sexes go through puberty. The strength

percentage difference also depends on which muscle groups are being observed. When looking at

the upper body the strength level of a female is 60% of that of a male, and is 60-80% of that of a

male when observing the lower body. This is due to larger muscle size in boys and the muscle

fibers recruited while undergoing exercise. The way the muscles are arranged in a female body

allows for more connective tissues and intramuscular fat. These differences are due to human

reproductive purposes as the female requires additional body fat to facilitate the growth and

protection of a fetus. And as the male requires the means necessary to protect and provide for

their female counterpart.

In the article, Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap has not Evolved

since 1983 the authors discuss gender gaps in sports performances. “A stabilization of the gender

gap in world records is observed after 1983, at a mean difference of 10.0% ± 2.94 between men

and women for all events. The gender gap ranges from 5.5% (800-m freestyle, swimming) to

18.8% (long jump). The mean gap is 10.7% for running performances, 17.5% for jumps, 8.9%

for swimming races, 7.0% for speed skating and 8.7% in cycling.” These statistics show the

differences between the two sexes while engaging in sports across nearly a century of sports

history. This information aligns with the body composition facts of each sex reflecting in their

athletic abilities. Assuming these statistics to be accurate, it solidifies the reasoning behind male

and female sports being measured separately rather than having men and women competing in

the same sport together. With all of these studies being taken into account, it is safe to draw the

conclusion that even after sex change surgery and the use of hormones, biological males will still
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hold advantages over biological females in sports even after transitioning due to their body

composition and testosterone levels. The most hormone therapy and surgery are able to do is

make the individual appear to be more masculine or more feminine.

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References

Turban, Jack. “What Is Gender Dysphoria?” Psychiatry.org, American Psychiatric Association,

Aug. 2022,

www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria.

Anderson, Ryan. “New York Times Reveals Painful Truths about “Sex Change” Surgery.” The

Heritage Foundation, 26 Nov. 2018,

www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/new-york-times-reveals-painful-truths-about-sex-c

hange-surgery.

Thibault, Valérie, et al. “Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap Has Not

Evolved since 1983.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, vol. 9, no. 2, 1 June 2010,

pp. 214–23, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761733/.

Nindl, Bradley C., et al. “Gender Differences in Regional Body Composition and Somatotrophic

Influences of IGF-I and Leptin.” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 92, no. 4, 1 Apr.

2002, pp. 1611–1618, https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00892.2001.

Silvia, G., et al. “Male-To-Female Gender-Affirming Surgery: 20-Year Review of Technique and

Surgical Results.” Slcc.edu, Frontiers of Surgery, 5 May 2022,

eds-s-ebscohost-com.libprox1.slcc.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=4df27233-7884-4b0a

-942c-c38b02c05165%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ

%3d%3d#AN=T701739&db=nup.

“Side Effects of Hormone Therapy in Men.” Www.cancerresearchuk.org, 27 Jan. 2021,

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/hormone-therapy/side-effects-men#:~

:text=Hormone%20therapy%20lowers%20the%20amount.