The physical differences that exist between males and females lead to differing results in sporting events. More specifically, due to the taller height, increased muscle mass, larger lung size, and other factors, males on average perform better than females. This is the primary reason for the establishment of gender-based sports, where males and females play on separate teams for their respective categories. This separation gives females more of a level playing field, a chance to attain records of their own, and also provides safety from potential injuries from male players.
It is important to clarify that sports are separated by sex, but called gender-based because gender used to be a synonym for sex. Sports aren’t separated by the more recent social identity based definition of gender. However, a more recent trend is that transgender individuals have been requesting to play for teams that more closely align with their identifying gender and not their matching sex. In other words, some or many transgender individuals desire to play on teams with matching personalities or expressions rather than following the sport intended separation based on biological sex.
With sports being separated by sex, or biological male and female, and gender being a spectrum about identity and expression, there is some incompatibility because the discussion is about two different concepts. When a sport is separated by biological sex, this means that only males should join the male team and only females should join the female team. The problem, however, is that people didn’t foresee the emergence of this new social gender construct. This means that most, or all, sports don’t have a rule specifying that biological males and biological females must join their respective sex-based category. It was simply obvious and understood that males play with males and females play with females.
This provides a loophole for individuals to claim that they can join either team because of their identifying gender. Some will add on to this loophole, pointing out that there are individuals with disorders of sex development. The argument is that some of those individuals don’t neatly fit within either the male or female category. This leads to the, again incompatible, conclusion that because there are disorders of sex development, all social genders should be allowed to play for either team, even if an individual doesn’t have a disorder of sex development.
A sport must clearly state whether it is separated by sex, social gender, or one team open to all. If sports are to remain sex-based, it only makes sense to have the categories of biological male and biological female, and a potential third category of intersex. The existence of disorders of sex development doesn’t justify allowing a normal 46,XY biological male to compete with a normal 46,XY biological female in sex-based sports. This is because disorders of sex development are incredibly rare and because biological males have physical advantages over biological females.
If the request is that sports instead be separated by social gender, the definition must be provided for man and woman in United States culture, as well as all other cultures around the world. With social gender consisting of a potentially infinite number of genders, then it seems necessary to create new categories for all specific genders who request. If a sport is based on a singular open category, the makeup of the team must be considered. With sports being fiercely competitive, the result would become a situation where it is survival of the fittest.
Because of the inherent advantages, biological males may dominate and become the majority members of a team, preventing biological females from having an opportunity to compete. Teams may desire to incorporate people of various types, but that would hurt their chances at winning. In order for team diversity to perpetually exist, the sport’s governing body would need to implement a rule stating that all teams must consist of certain numbers of specific types of people.
Because of the attempts at mixing social gender with sex-based sports, concerns have been raised about the impact that it can have on women’s sports. The physical differences between males and females have been described and demonstrate why there is a performance gap as well as why many sports have been separated into the sex-based categories of male and female. The female category remains separate so as to protect the integrity of the dedication, effort, and achievements of female athletes. Females have put in a lot of work to arrive at their individual skill levels and to achieve records.
But it isn’t only about records. Many female players are aiming for scholarships, and with scholarships being extremely competitive, a biological male could ruin the dreams of female players. This is precisely why teams previously didn’t allow someone from the male category to switch over and compete. The differences in performance and record times were seen by all, and it was clear that a male could dominate.
There are medications, such as hormone therapies, designed to assist an individual in attaining a body that is more like the desired sex. When discussing sex-based sports, the idea is that an individual could physically transition to the opposite sex. With biological males being the sex with physical advantages on average, feminization becomes the biggest subject of debate. The two common treatments to induce feminization are estrogens and anti-androgens. Estrogens redistribute the body’s fat mass to typical female areas such as the breasts, hips, and thighs, stimulates breast development, makes the individual’s skin softer, and decreases muscle mass. Anti-androgens block the effects of testosterone, resulting in suppressed body hair growth, reduced muscle mass, and potentially a reduction of bone density.
However, even with current medications and procedures, it may be too early to allow trans women to compete with biological women. There aren’t enough studies to show either way whether the medical procedures cause a biological male’s body to perfectly transition into the features and capabilities of a female. The question is whether a male has transitioned far enough to a female body. Hormone therapy doesn’t change every aspect that makes a difference between males and females. These procedures don’t reduce height nor lung size, which are major advantages, and muscle mass and bone density still may not perfectly match that of a female. This means that the male would likely still be more physically capable than the average or top female players, still holding the advantages that are at the core of why many sports are separated based on sex.
It may be useful to consider a possible future where medications, surgeries, or even DNA modification, are able to transition a male to obtain a body physically indistinguishable from the body of a female. The question then becomes the level of female performance that should be the goal of the medical procedures. An individual may have the choice of becoming a below average female, an average female, or an above average female. Certainly any athlete who has an interest in winning would always choose an above average female body, matching the best current female player. The physical advantages again make their appearance here if such individuals join female sports teams, where most female competitors would be pushed out. The average or slightly above average biological females who once had a chance at winning at least second or third place now have no chance at competing.
Some have made the claim that allowing biological men to compete in biological women’s sports aids the cause of feminism. For those who believe in the concept of gender as a social construct, and who believe that trans-women are the same as biological women, a case could be made. Performances are stronger and more exciting, causing more people to become interested in watching, which leads to better pay and a more positive view of women’s sports. But for the other side who believes in sex-based separation of sports teams, that woman is defined by biology, and therefore that trans women aren’t women, it hurts women.
Biological men have the potential in some cases to break women’s records to such a degree that it will be many years before a biological woman has the potential to break that record, if they ever can in a situation where biological men are continued to allow to compete. It’s also important to consider young girls who are just starting sports. They have a dream of being one of the best players on the team and possibly even to continue their dream into the future. If we allow biological boys to compete with biological girls, then the girls are at a disadvantage right from the start. Mixing the sexes in sports may help the social gender version of feminism, but it greatly hurts biological women. Biological males would again dominate, which was the entire situation that feminism was fighting against.
