This week, yet another study on trans people’s performance in sports and athletic competitions was released, this time by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study confirms findings from several other studies performed over the last few years that trans women have no biological competitive edge or advantage over their cis counterparts in sports and athletic competitions.
Conducted in Brazil by a team of eight researchers, the study used the results of 52 other studies from around the world and analyzed data from 2,943 trans women and 2,309 trans men in comparison to data from 568 cis women and 665 cis men. Researchers found that in total contradiction to the assertion that testosterone-dominant puberty ensures an irrefutable and irreversible advantage for trans women in sports and athletic competitions, trans women’s physical abilities are almost exactly the same as that of cis women playing the same sports. They found that the physical performance of trans and cis women in upper and lower body strength and maximal oxygen consumption are very similar, and that trans women had relative levels of fat mass and relative levels of lean mass to cis women.
In an interview with El País, one of the study’s co-authors, Bruno Gualano, stated, “This refutes the logic behind blanket bans on transgender women in sports. Most of these policies are based on the assumption that transgender women retain inherent physical advantages and would therefore dominate women’s competitions. The data does not support this idea.”
Although this is technically good news (and I’m certainly not mad this study exists), reading about this over the last few days has left me with more frustration than excitement and validation. I do believe these studies are important, especially as a historical contradiction to the ongoing narrative that anti-trans sports policies keep sports “fair” in the media right now. But I also believe it’s important we also hold the truths represented in these studies up with the truth that sports and athletic competitions — at even the elite levels — have never been and probably can never be completely “fair.” We’re so focused on leveling the playing ground for athletes, but the playing ground is not free from the realities of capitalism, accessibility, misogyny, and the simple fact that even athletes with similar bodies have different advantages and disadvantages depending on the day. The argument that trans-exclusion keeps athletics “honest and fair” is just another boogeyman thrown up to make trans erasure from public life easier and quicker.
Does that make these studies any less important and meaningful? Obviously not. But I know for certain that no amount of science is going to change the minds of people who are convinced that trans-inclusion will take away equity in sports. We have to start thinking bigger — how can we break down the barriers to athletic competition that makes it nearly impossible for some groups of people to compete?
Some Good Trans News For Once
Federal court rules that Christian teacher has to follow the rules & use trans kids’ pronouns. When a Maryland substitute teacher was instructed to use the correct name and pronouns for trans students, she tried to seek a religious exemption from doing so. After being denied the exemption, she sued the school district in an attempt to push them into giving her the exemption. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has officially struck down the teacher’s lawsuit saying she could not adequately prove the exemption was necessary and that using the correct names and pronouns for students was “hostile” to her religious views. A really great turn of events here.
Justice Department drops demand for records naming transgender kids treated at Children’s Hospital L.A. After the Department of Justice subpoenaed the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles for the medical documents of their young trans patients, a group of families sued to block the subpoena and won.
‘Magic is political’: Magic: The Gathering fans raise nearly half a million dollars for trans organization. Over the course of two days, groups of gamers from all over the world managed to raise $450,000 for Trans Lifeline, an organization in the U.S. and Canada that provides “direct emotional and financial support to transgender people in crisis.”
California Attorney General files lawsuit against youth health firm over gender-affirming care. Following Rady Children’s Health decision to completely cease its trans healthcare programs for patients under the age of 19, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the healthcare center claiming they are violating California law by failing to provide these treatments. I’m very curious to see how this plays out in court.
Trans Kansans and allies use Statehouse restrooms in act of ‘malicious compliance’. This is technically a mixture of good and bad news. In late January, the Kansas House and Senate passed their own version of a trans bathroom bill that requires Kansans to use the bathroom that matches their sex assigned at birth. In response to the new law, a group of trans activists held a “pee-in” at the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka. About 50 trans activists and allies ended up participating in the “pee-in” and filed in and out of the bathrooms of their choosing during the action.
Trans news from across the pond:
Council of Europe votes to pass trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy. The headline speaks for itself! All of the 48 member nations within the Council must now enforce this new regulation within the borders of their countries.
Trans News I Wish I Didn’t Have to Report
Major medical orgs partially U-turn on trans surgeries – here’s what they said. Some detrimental new statements from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) on healthcare from trans youth came out last week. Both the AMA and the ASPS now seem to be kowtowing to the far-right agenda by backpedaling on their previous guidelines on gender affirming surgeries for trans youth. Now they’re claiming trans youth should wait until adulthood to receive these treatments.
Tacoma children’s hospital closes gender-affirming care clinic. At this point, I’m just documenting these closures so we have a record of their compulsory compliance to anti-scientific rhetoric being spewed from the far-right. This time, it’s MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, WA suspending their healthcare programs for trans youth.
GOP Senator accuses Netflix CEO of promoting ‘transgender ideology’ in kids’ shows. Missouri Senator and one of the biggest losers in the government right now, Josh Hawley, accused Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos of pushing the trans agenda in kids’ shows on the platform during the congressional hearing on the pending Netflix-Warner Bros. merger last week. God, I wish he was right about this one.
Republican Rep claims ‘cisgender’ is ‘made-up word’ Left use to ‘destroy civil order’. Not really sure why I’m including this here except to remind everyone that, sure, some of these people on the far-right are incredibly cunning but we shouldn’t forget that many others are incredibly clueless.
Pentagon threatens to cut funding for Scouting America over gender-inclusive policies. The U.S. Department of War is threatening to pull funding from the Boy Scouts — now known as Scouting America — if the organization doesn’t amend its gender-inclusive policies and reverse its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. I hope Scouting America can find a way to get new investors and formally free themselves from the U.S. government altogether soon.
GOP candidate for governor of Tennessee wants to execute the parents of trans kids. If I said what I think Tennessee governor Monty Fritts deserves to get for even saying these statements out loud here publicly, I’d probably have the FBI knocking on my door.
ICE is treating trans immigrants with a new level of cruelty. Nothing reported here will be surprising to people who have been following ICE activities for any extended length of time, but I do think it’s important for people who are just now getting into anti-ICE organizing to read about what happens to trans immigrants in their custody.
Utah lawmakers sweep their own study on care for trans kids under the rug as they push to ban it. If there is one story from the last few years that can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these attacks on trans people are nothing more than an attempt to erase trans people just because the far-right wants to, it’s this one.
Last Bits of Trans News
Black trans trailblazers that you may not learn about in history class. Great little trans Black History Month lesson here from the team at Erin in the Morning.
Meet Sweden’s Elis Lundholm, the first trans skier in the Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympics are now in full-swing, and along with watching your favorite winter sports competitions, you can read this wonderful profile on one of the trans athletes participating in the events.
The Trojan Horse before the Supreme Court: A trans athlete’s case reveals a right-wing campaign that goes well beyond women’s sports. Some well-researched commentary on the “trans athlete debate” by one of my favorite writers on the subject of trans participation in sports.
Berkeley students make 300,000 Wikipedia edits to preserve queer history against Trump. This is not explicitly trans news but I do think this is a great example of digital organizing in regards to the ongoing attempts to remove our histories from the public record.
Comments
How leaders and organisations can be informed with evidence, science and the consensus of literal peak-bodies, and still choose the option that harms is why I literally have zero faith in humanity. Nothing in this world holds weight like money and zealotry.
This study is low-confidence, meaning the results aren’t reliable enough to draw firm conclusions. The data is unclear and could suggest trans women are weaker, equal, or stronger—it simply doesn’t tell us. Because of that, it doesn’t prove anything definitive about advantage in sports.
This paper was based on useless data according to the people who published it. They actually controlled for the fact that males are much larger and stronger and then said “ta da! Males have no advantage!”
This is why the world hates you people. You lie about literally everything. There is no these freaks wont lie about, including their attempts to destroy women’s rights and fairness and safety.
moderators, please remove this comment
Eat shit, “Sophia.”
Seconded! The way Ausostraddle has denied the facts on this led me to cancel my subscription.
Really interesting study that offers food for thought, agree also that assuming that sports and everyone in them operate from the same baseline of fairness is sort of silly anyway, it is a long convo as to why the sports landscape is what it is. On this issue, it’s also one of those things where it isn’t about this anyway. So I appreciate the study but also think it will, and obviously in this comment section, has already fallen on deaf ears.
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