Should Transgender Athletes be Allowed to Compete in Sports?
With the recent controversial NCAA Swimming National Championships taking place, the national attention exploded with discussion. Now, you may be wondering why people are actually paying attention to college swimming on a national level, but it is because a transgender women name Lia Thomas ended up winning the 500m race. An eruption of public outrage spewed after the race and many people didn’t like that the NCAA allowed a biological man to compete against biological women and saw a massive physical advantage for Thomas. The NCAA later came out and said that it was in support of Lia’s win and for any other transgender athlete’s participation in college athletics in the name of inclusivity and being anti-transpohobic. Even many other womens swimmers were against it with letters from 36 Arizona women’s alumni swimmers; Texas women’s alumni swimmers; and even some of Thomas’s own teammates expressing their concerns to the NCAA about allowing her to compete in races against biological women. So, is there really an advantage for Lia Thomas and transgender women in sports?
To start out, Lia Thomas absolutely had an advantage over the other competitors in terms of physical stature. What I mean by this is that Lia went through puberty as a boy and completed puberty as a man while the other swimmers started puberty as girls and finished as women. The biological differences between the sexes are one of the main reasons that many say she had an advantage over the other swimmers. Men develop broader shoulders during puberty which is extremely important in swimming so you can pull through the water at a faster rate and with less water resistance. Men generally develop larger hands and feet which are important because the larger surface area covered by your feet and hands, the more water you pull and the faster you will go. Also, since men generally tend to be taller than women after puberty, larger lungs are developed which help with increased endurance and buoyancy (the ability to float), which is important for long distance swimmers and also for swimmers to stay above the water during a race. Lastly, men have a much higher amount of natural testosterone than women do even after taking hormone blockers for a full year like Thomas has. The increased amounts of testosterone lead to higher muscle mass, bone density and also the amount of hemoglobin in the body. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen to different parts of the body. So, if you have more testosterone and hemoglobin, you have a higher rate of endurance.
Next, it is important to look at the biological advantages that transgender women have compared to cisgender women even while taking hormone blockers. The NCAA restrictions are set to where a transgender female athletes must take hormone blockers for a full year before being able to compete, as well as a testosterone level of 10 nmol/L or lower. The NCAA, however, only allows cisgender women to have a maximum of 5 nmol/L or less of testosterone which is proof that their is a visible advantage for transgender athletes in the NCAA. In a study done by Dr. Timothy Roberts, a pediatrician from Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, shows that transgender women after two years of hormone blockers retain a 12% advantage against their cisgender counterparts in terms of overall speed in a 1.5 mile run; a 10% higher number in terms of pushups done; and a 6% difference in the amount of situps that were done. This study was based on a physical test done every 6-12 months by the U.S. Airforce and tested a pool of 46 transgender women. Another reason testosterone is so important in this issue is because it also shows how the discrepancies between cis men and trans men were closed after two years of taking testosterone. Before taking testosterone, the trans men had significantly lower amounts of pushups and situps, as well as much slower 1.5 mile times. This fact goes a long way to show why transgender women athletes should be held to the same requirements as cisgender women based on testosterone levels. Another study done by Tommy Lundberg, a research scientist at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, found that transgender women getting feminizing hormone therapy after one year still had significant advantages in terms of muscular strength and bone strength “to the point that fairness cannot be ensured in most sports,” according to Lundburg. Now, there still haven’t been many studies on this issue which is why it is still such a heated debate topic, but from what has been studied, it seems like trans women still will have higher testosterone levels even while on hormone blockers compared to cisgender women.
Finally, if the NCAA really wanted equality for their trans athletes, they would be holding them by the same regulations that the biological women are held to. Female athletes fought tirelessly for Title IX to be instituted by the Supreme Court and this seems like it could possibly lead to the downfall of women’s sports from issues like these. If there is going to be a continual rise of this happening, biological men will start to dominate women’s sports and we could have a whole other set of issues that come along with it. The best way to stop all of the controversy from this is for the NCAA to hold trans athletes to the same levels of hormones as cis athletes and also extend the amount of time that is required to be on hormone blockers to over two years to get rid of any extreme physical discrepancy.
To end this off, it is not the trans athletes’ faults for the issues at hand. It is purely the people at the top of the NCAA board for causing this to be an issue because they allow for these advantages to occur while other boards like the IOC have done their research and have been able to have more equitable athletic events. A few, simple regulation changes could possibly put this issue to a close. It is not a matter of anti-inclusivity of trans athletes, it is a matter of equality between transgender and cis gender women in sports.
Works Cited
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1252764
https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/inclusion/lgbtq/SSI_TransgenderSADeadlinesAndThresholds.pdf
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/mar/26/university-arizona-swimming-alums-urge-ncaa-protec/
https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-do-trans-athletes-have-an-advantage-in-elite-sport/a-58583988
https://pinkmantaray.com/ncaa
Samrajkumar S • Aug 18, 2022 at 8:04 AM
Dear Evan Mills,
Hope you are doing good.
I’m Samraj, contacting you on behalf of Greenhaven Publishing. I am contacting you about getting permission to use this article in our upcoming text book “OVP : LGBTQIA+ Rights” by Greenhaven. Please email me at [email protected].
William Roberts • Apr 12, 2022 at 11:27 AM
Although the title could have been worded better, this was a great article!
D.M. • Apr 8, 2022 at 5:25 PM
There is no doubt Lia Thomas has an advantage over biological females and should be disqualified from competing against them. Lia Thomas has all the benefits of a biological male; larger muscle mass, larger heart, increased lung capacity, increased strength, less body fat, higher oxygen carrying capacity, longer and larger bones.
The argument that “Lia Thomas hasn’t beat Katie Ledecky’s record, so that proves she doesn’t have an unfair advantage” is preposterous and in no way discounts all of the advantages Lia is allowed to compete with. Katie Ledecky is a 7 time Olympic Gold Medalist and 15 time Word Champion. Prior to Lia’s transition, Will Thomas ranked #462 in men’s swimming, #554 in the 200 and #65 in the 500. Will Thomas was nowhere close to being at the top of his sport. As Lia, ranks are #1 in the 500 and #5 in the 200. There has been a lot of speculation that Lia deliberately lagged behind in the 200 because beating a 4 time Olympic medal winner, Taylor Ruck, when you previosly ranked #554 would have solidified the fact that Lia has a major advantage. Lia is toying with these women who have worked so hard to be at the top of their sport. People may not transition just to “hunt trophies,” but Lia Thomas took a year off of school for the sole purpose of having the opportunity to compete against women. And once there, Lia went from being #554 to #1 and breaking pool records. Is there really any more that needs to be said? It’s an abuse of women and the NCAA is looking the other way. The writer is correct, this will be the downfall of women’s sports. The UK has documented a 4,000% increase in children identifying as trans in 2018 and those numbers are rising every year, meaning more trans-women will be entering women’s sports.
Fallon Fox, a trans female who competed in a female martial arts match, fractured Tamika Brents’ skull in less than 2 minutes in 2014 and people were outraged. How times have changed!
Grayson Allen • Apr 8, 2022 at 11:38 AM
Great Job Evan
Grayson Allen • Apr 8, 2022 at 11:37 AM
Great Article Evan!
Vivian Murray • Apr 6, 2022 at 11:59 PM
While I do agree that the NCAA needs to update their rules for transgender people, the attack against Lia is simply uncalled for. The evidence provided shows people who’ve been on hormones for one or two years. The issue with this is that Lia has been on hormones since may of 2019 (almost three years!) (https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/03/lia-thomas-penn-swimmer-transgender-woman-daily-cover)
You also claim in your article that she “absolutely had an advantage” and when men develop broader shoulders this is “extremely important” in swimming. By the sound of this it sounds like that trans women like lia should be dominating this sport. The issue is that lia has only won that one race. (https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports/lia-thomas-wins-ncaa-penn-swimming-20220321.html) She did not dominate on the others, she had not broken a single record at all.
Finally let’s touch on the acronym provided my MJ.
True: The article is about how “should transgender people be allowed to compete in sports” but not only does this touch on only one sport and one instance where one transgender athlete won. But the information about that athlete and their “advantage” isn’t even accurate for the case you are comparing it to.
Helpful: How does this help anyone in any form? In my opinion it feels as if it is just bashing on transgender people doing sports in the first place. While not even offering a counter argument like how nobody transitions just to “dominate” sports
Inspiring: I must admit this one is a bit of a weird one but my opinion is that is is just inspiring more hate on transgender people by spreading mistruthes about trans women.
Necessary: again, my opinion on this is that it is that your first point is unnecessary, but the second paragraph actually makes sense. I can see how after a year or two there could be an athletic advantage. The third point felt slightly redundant as it repeats the second point how cis and trans women should have similar hormone levels to compete. I don’t understand the inclusion of title XI and how this could be the downfall of women’s sports if this is kept up as people don’t transition to become trophy hunters. Trans people are scared to be seen as perverts when walking into the bathroom of their preferred gender, why in gods name would we go through all the trouble to win one or two races?
Kind: I must admit this article felt quite negative, as someone who is trans and wishes to try out sports this feels extremely discouraging. I don’t want to dominate unfairly against others. I am not a trophy hunter. The first point doesn’t include any other arguments and in your last point using “biological men” rather than women just hurts.
Allow me to rethink your article to better suit the facts, “should the NCAA change their requirements for trans athletes to be more closely to cis women?”
Or does the clickbait have a nice ring to it?
Amede Olise • Apr 6, 2022 at 3:27 PM
This is a well written article! However, when we talk about the “physical advantages” that Lia Thomas has over other competitors, can we also bring that up the physical advantages that someone like Michael Phelps has over other competitors??? He has a large torso PLUS an EXTREMELY high lung capacity that literally doubles that of the average person, giving him an “advantage” over others. These “physical advantages” are the literal game, not a cheat of the game and is why I disagree. I applaud the NCAA for allowing Lia (a woman) to compete (with other women). I think this was an interesting article but I do not think we should be picking and choosing who competes.
Amede Olise • Apr 6, 2022 at 5:25 PM
Also to be clear, Lia Thomas may have won, but she didn’t win any records. The record for the 500 yard freestyle) which is what she competed in) was set by by a cis woman in 2017.
Evan Mills • Apr 8, 2022 at 12:47 PM
I don’t think that Michael Phelps is a very good comparison for Lia Thomas. He is an extremity in terms of his physical makeup even among other males and that’s what makes him the greatest swimmer and olympian of all time. There are very clear differences in the physiology of males and females that are so extreme that there are two separate divisions for each sex. That’s why I brought that in to start my article and also I brought up Title IX because the women’s divisions were created for females to be able to fairly participate in sports. There is a big enough gap between the two that Lia was ranked 462nd as a male and 36th as a female. To your second comment, she actually did break 4 school records and won the 500m national championship by almost 2 seconds, which in swimming, is an absolute blowout.
Anonymous • Apr 6, 2022 at 1:21 PM
Personally, I have to say that I completely agree with your argument and your points to support such. You posted the article likely knowing it would get backlash, and I applaud you for posing a solid argument despite the fact.
MJ Trentalange • Apr 6, 2022 at 12:36 PM
Before you post an article, T.H.I.N.K. Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it KIND? xoxo – MJ
Evan Mills • Apr 6, 2022 at 2:39 PM
Hey MJ, I would love to hear a counter-argument to my article if you are willing to do so. I’m entitled to my own opinion and I am able to freely express it just as well as you have yours. Thanks!
-Evan