Transgender Women Should Be Allowed to Compete in Olympic Sports Essay

The discussion of whether transgender women should be allowed into the competitive sport, specifically Olympic, has reached its peak in recent times. Several studies have been conducted in an attempt to find the interconnection between the level of testosterone and the competitive advantage of transgender women. However, there is still no substantial evidence that would prove the unfairness of such competition, considering the fact that many additional factors should be counted along with it. Therefore the essay aims to analyze the situation based on credible and scholarly sources, defining arguments for and against the participation of transgender women in Olympic sports.

Reviewing the issue, it is crucial to remember that this is not only about the physiological advantages, but in the first place, it is a social concern that raises many moral and ethical questions. Firstly, the sport itself initially is a social construct regarding the form it has nowadays. Whether they are Olympics, school, or college, the competition may not be directly about sport, and many criteria are considered, such as an image of the sportsman, race, sexuality, and reputation (Ennis, 2021). When deciding if transgender women should be allowed to participate in the competition in the female team, the social question appears.

The public’s main concern is that female transgender athletes will have a natural advantage. It is all due to the higher level of testosterone in their bodies and that some of them can pretend to be transgender to compete against women (Chen 15). However, the study conducted in 2017 to find the interconnection between the level of testosterone and the level of performance did not identify any persuasive evidence of this (Chen 15). Moreover, in the history of the Olympics have been numerous cases when the sportsmen were born with different imbalances such as more solid and flexible muscles, higher levels of hemoglobin, robust bones, and many more (Chen 17). Eventually, those factors hardly ever prevented them from participating in the competition and were considered as unfair excellence not stopped them from the performance.

An additional proof that the issue is more social than physiological is that throughout history, only female athletes have been tested on the belonging to the gender, which matches the physiological criteria for the competition. Male transgender athletes, for instance, are freely allowed to participate in both men’s and women’s sports without any additional procedures. Since those whose initial sex was female are considered weaker and with more minor physical advantages, they seem like a threat to other men because they are less likely to exceed them.

Therefore, the policy of the International Olympic Committee can be considered misogynistic, for they were testing only the gender, particularly of the female athletes relying on the subjective criteria (Ghosh 38). The definitions of sex and gender are evolving and changing constantly, and the situation should be viewed from many different sides concerning the inclusivity and opportunity for all people to participate in sports activities.

The primary concern of society about transgender women competing against cisgender women is that they might create an unfair advantage for other athletes due to their natural physical qualities. It will deprive them of the opportunity to equally participate in Olympic Sports and create a preponderance on the side of the transgender sportsman (Ingram, 244). Another problem is connected with the denial of the real identity of some athletes. There is a possibility for a regular cisgender man to pretend to be transgender to compete against a female (Ingram, 241). Therefore, the inequality in forces will be significant, and other participants might feel and uncomfortable and oppressed.

Also, according to Wang, people with male sex from birth have “longer and larger bones, which gives them mechanical advantages over women, since they have greater leverage, increased height, and larger frames to support muscle” (2021). They are more resistant to traumas in sport and more endurant. However, there are still no clear lines and factors that would determine the signs which would influence the outcome of the Olympic competitions and highly impact the process of participation.

In conclusion, the issue of transgender women in sport still has more questions than answers, and there are plenty of aspects to study and discuss. However, based on the current data and researches, some arguments for and against transgender participants can be observed. Firstly, there are no clear proof and evidence that the athletes who were born with the male sex succeed better in sport and excel cisgender women in results. Moreover, many sportspeople have several natural advantages that can be useful in their type of sport, for instance, high hemoglobin. Still, it was never considered as an excuse to prohibit them from taking part in Olympic sports.

Arguments against the permission for transgender women to compete with a female are the possibility of a woman pretending to be transgender, biologically beneficial characteristics, and a higher level of testosterone. Despite all of this, sport is another form of social activity that should be inclusive for people of all genders, sexualities, and races. Therefore, until proven otherwise, transgender females have to be allowed to participate in Olympic sport as any other woman without prejudices and discrimination.

Works Cited

Ennis, Dawn. “Olympics To Abandon Testosterone Criteria For Trans Women Athletes, Announces ‘Framework On Fairness”. Forbes. 2021.

Ingram, Benjamin James, and Connie Lynn Thomas. “Transgender policy in sport, a review of current policy and commentary of the challenges of policy creation.” Current sports medicine reports, vol. 18, no. 6, 2019, pp. 239-247. Web.

Chen, Victoria. “Ethical Issues Concerning Transgender Athletes.” Penn Bioethics Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 2018, pp. 15-18.

Ghosh, Aindrila. “Equality in Sports: A Transgender Perspective.” Global Sports Policy Review, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 36-42.

Wang, Hanzhi. “Fairness for Transgender Athletes in Sports Competition.” 2021 International Conference on Public Relations and Social Sciences (ICPRSS 2021). Atlantis Press, 2021.