REPORT: Biological men do not belong in womens' sports
A recent study found that biological men maintain a physical advantage over biological women, even on hormone therapy.
The report could be used to shape how transgender athletes are permitted in sports as their gender identity.
A new report is laying out the facts that biological men should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports.
The report, published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Oct. 4, found that transgender women (biological men) retain a physical advantage despite years of hormone suppressants.
The results found that transgender women still reported higher levels of muscle mass than biological women. Transgender women also reported stronger grip strength levels than biological women.
Transgender women reported less body fat than biological women, but more than ‘cisgender men.’
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15 “transgender women,” 13 “cisgender men,” and 14 “cisgender women” were examined. Athletes were not included in the study, and all subjects were reported to have similar fitness levels.
“These findings add new insights to the sparse information available on a highly controversial topic about the participation of TW in physical activities,” the authors wrote.
However, they concluded that more research is necessary to “elucidate the effects of long-term [gender affirmation hormone therapy] on [transgender women] sports performance.”
Still, the authors wrote that the study could be used to “inform policy and help in decisions about the participation of transgender women in sporting activities.”
“This is the first study that opens up a range for further investigation in such a way that this answer can be reached with more assertiveness,” Professor Leonardo Alvares, one of the researchers, told Campus Reform. “Some variables need to be observed: specific studies in athletes, type of sport evaluated and the sporting capacity that it requires, age at initiation of hormone therapy, performance of pubertal block during puberty.”
The inclusion of transgender athletes in sports reached a boiling point as athletic committees at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels debated the fairness of allowing biological men to compete in women’s divisions.
The University of Pennsylvania was thrust into the national spotlight during the 2021-2022 academic year after transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was allowed to transfer to the women’s team and won a national title.
[RELATED: Female athletes are victimized by trans athletes, lawsuit argues]
During the season, the NCAA updated its transgender guideline as a “sport-by-sport basis,” which gave each sports governing body the authority to establish its own policies.
USA Swimming revised its own guidelines in February. Biological men must now prove that they do not have a physical advantage over their competition prior to competing as a woman, and record testosterone levels below 5nmol/L for at least 36 months.
In June, the Union Cycliste International (Cycling), International Swimming Federation, World Athletics (Track & Field), and the International Rugby League announced it would revise policies to prioritize biology.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), which governs international soccer competitions, took the opposite approach and sought to eliminate barriers keeping athletes from competing as their gender identity.
Campus Reform contacted the authors for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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