correction
An earlier version of this column incorrectly stated that in two events Lia Thomas swam faster than any female college swimmer in history. She has swum faster this season. This version has been updated.
Sports are, of course, partly about inclusion, about opening a lane to anyone who wants to experience the joy that comes from running and scoring and fostering deep friendships with teammates. But participation isn’t everything; what our society holds high is triumph. And for any athlete, being denied a fair shot at the victories that can make them a hero in their school, their country or even the world is a mammoth loss.
We must certainly find a way to celebrate our trans athletes. At the same time, cisgender women have fought for decades to demand a level playing field. Here is the crux of the issue: women’s rights thrown up against human rights. But it’s the science, the biology, that must drive the argument.
For centuries, women had to play sports with men, if they were allowed to play at all. The photos of brave Kathrine Switzer running the 1967 Boston Marathon before women were permitted entry, an official attempting to shove her off the course, are now legendary. But since 1972, Title IX has protected women’s right to the same entree to sports as men. That means the same chance to build confidence, to cement positive body image, to enjoy all the lifelong gains that come from playing sports — along with the opportunity to excel. So if a cisgender woman can’t fairly compete against a man — or a trans woman who experienced male puberty — she has been denied both equality and opportunity.
When we compare elite men’s achievement standards to women’s, the gap in most sports is a huge 10 to 12 percent. It’s testosterone that drives that performance gap, catapulting athletes to superior brute strength and more explosive power of movement. That is why sports authorities have for decades judged fairness by testing testosterone in both men and women. But hormones aren’t the only factor.
To be clear, trans women are women. Full stop. We must also be clear that trans women who have gone through male puberty acquire physical advantages female puberty does not provide: More red blood cells store and use oxygen more efficiently. Wider shoulders mean a leverage advantage, and narrower hips make for more efficient movement dynamics. Longer legs and arms, bigger hands and feet, can more easily handle a ball or cover a field.
A transgender woman who has transitioned from a testosterone-driven to an estrogen-driven system loses speed and muscle mass, yes, but puberty’s “legacy advantages” do not change with a new hormonal profile. Simply reaching an authority’s acceptable testosterone level should not qualify a trans woman to compete in the female category as currently designed. The physical disparity remains too great for true equal performance potential.
Let’s consider Lia Thomas. The transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer is at the core of the NCAA’s recent announcement. Thomas competed on the men’s team for three years. This year, she’s swimming with other women, but even after two years of estrogen therapy, she clobbers her competition, previous champions themselves. Many of her teammates entirely support her identity outside swimming — yet one declared she has “monumental” advantages. In two events, she swam faster than any female college swimmer this season.
To understate it, there is no easy answer. USA Swimming proposes to have experts holistically judge a transgender athlete’s prior development, but no amount of analysis can erase male puberty’s advantages. Perhaps a fairer plan is to give competitions a new “open” classification: Cisgender, transgender, intersex — all are welcome. Okay, there probably won’t be many entries just yet. But there weren’t many women competing in sports when they were first allowed, either. Switzer ran solo not that long ago, and now nearly half of the 30,000 Boston marathoners are women.
I feel for transgender athletes, and for the people who love them. Many have encountered shame, bullying, hard knocks; sports can, for a moment, replace all that with happiness and confidence. Who wouldn’t feel for an “other” who has summoned the courage to live her truth? And who now, atop her other challenges, suffers criticism for playing the sports she loves? Transgender women need the chance to compete, and to win; doing so fairly will make their achievements all the more rewarding.
Let transgender women athletes run like the wind, as they deserve. And at the same time, let’s allow cisgender women to run against their equals. We’re not at a solution yet, but open minds and empathetic hearts will lead us to the answer.
