Fairness for Female Athletes

And opportunities to compete for all women/girls whether transgender or cis.

As someone who grew up with three younger sisters while Title IX was being debated and signed into law (and with a father in University administration) I took special interest in its purpose and application. Years later, raising two daughters and a son, all successful high school athletes, it was easy to appreciate its benefit for girls and women in sports among other aspects.

Today, as important as it is to accept those who are transgender, and make sure they have opportunities in sports and elsewhere, it’s mind-boggling to some of us to see people claim it’s fair to women born female for transgender women (especially those who went through puberty while still male) to compete against them in violation of the intent of Title IX. Thankfully, we’re now seeing a few more folks like Caitlyn Jenner, Martina Navratilova, Riley Gaines, and even RFK Jr brave enough to speak up against intimidating headwinds of considerable groupthink (and woefully incorrect application of science) against them. Here’s why the outspoken few are correct-

Biology teaches us that the chromosomes each of us were born with confer different traits on males (XY) and females (XX). One demonstration of that is the difference in the growth curves for males vs females. And even before puberty when males take off, anyone who’s watched elementary school kids play soccer and other sports sees the significant difference in aggressiveness and quickness and strength between most prepubescent boys and girls despite similar height and weight. Bone & muscle mass, and cardiovascular capacity are only a few of the key differences (more info).

The media and many pundits key on the role of testosterone when there are a large number of other hormones and biochemicals that also have significant impact on athletic ability (in addition to feelings and behavior). Even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged size differences between the sexes when he requested funding for female crash test dummies to help alleviate gender inequity.

There have already been serious injuries caused by a relatively small number of transgender women competing in sports like soccer and wrestling and volleyball. A strong spike by this transgender woman gave the defender a concussion that ended her season.

It’s been pointed out that there are already disparities just between stronger and weaker players born female, sometimes causing injury, so this is no different they say. Yet what’s significant for player safety is that this difference is now greatly amplified and becoming more common, so the frequency and severity of injury will increase as more transgender girls and women complete against those born female.

A normal distribution of athletic capability for males vs females plotted for high school athletes assuming a 10% difference in “talent” measured for example as each athlete’s personal best for swimming or running time is shown above (note the difference in volleyball spike velocity between men and women is even greater than the 10% used in this example). These differences are real, and hormone therapy doesn’t undo all of them.

For the case of college volleyball, here are highlights from an impressive women’s match

that can be compared to highlights from a men’s match. Note the increased power and speed.

Besides the risk of injury, transgender women competing against women born female take roster spots and scholarships away from biological females due to their physical advantages, in direct violation of the spirit of the athletic aspects of Title IX. This Duke Law paper from the Center for Sports Law and Policy details the dramatic difference in performance between those born male and those born female.

The fraction of high school athletes who go on to participate in Division I college sports is around 2% and the red arrow on the normal distributions above shows the cutoff to the right of which 2% of female high school athletes have that level of talent or greater. The number of male athletes with equivalent talent is THREE TIMES as great, many with significantly higher capability. The same is true for high school and middle school sports, as well as club sports. Allowing transgender women to compete against those born female will have a devastating effect on opportunity for those born female because the number of trans women doing what Lia Thomas did will increase unless those who used to support female opportunity insist that trans women compete in the “open” division (often called men’s) instead of the division Title IX facilitated for those born female. Rather than calling this “anti-trans” it should be called “pro-female” because transgender women are still free to compete and are encouraged to do so in the appropriate division. There’s nothing “transphobic” about sticking up for the purpose of Title IX and female opportunities. #OverallFairnessMatters

It’s admirable for elite female athletes like Megan Rapinoe and Cassidy Lichtman to support trans women, yet for females who’ve already “made it” to deny the future impact on safety and opportunity for females coming up through the system today seems a little insensitive to the scope of this issue, and naive to future impacts on females seeking equal opportunity. 

How many people remember in 2017 when the US Women’s National Soccer team lost a Friendly to an elite U15 boys team as they prepared for another Friendly against Russia? Those of us who watch (and used to play though at a more recreational level) a lot of soccer and volleyball weren’t surprised.

The motivations that drove the writing and passage of Title IX as viewed more recently has been rewritten somewhat from what I remembered in 1972, yet the legislation itself still stands and is interesting to read. Bottom line: we should promote overall fairness as best as possible for as many as possible. That means girls and women born female compete against others born that way, and trans women and girls compete in their own division, or more practically in the “open” division (also called boys or mens). #SaveFemaleSports

Note added 25.May.2023- It’s good to see FAIR (Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism) speak out in favor of fairness for females. Click here for their statement.

Note added 14.Jun.2023- The latest Gallup poll shows an even larger majority of people now believe athletes should complete against the gender they were born with rather than that which they identify with. 

Yet despite this, it's still dangerous to express that view without being labelled anti-trans, so it's important to help more people see the light. If it's too hazardous for you to speak up, simply share the link you're reading and ask what others think about it. Sharing accurate information more widely is a good way to bring fairness back to female sports. Protect our daughters and granddaughters. 

Note added 11.Oct.2023- From numerous conversations since I posted this I've learned the reason many folks so strongly support trans athletes playing on girl’s/women’s teams is because they sympathise with the lack of acceptance of trans adults (many who have a legitimate biochemical basis for being trans), and feel they deserve special status not unlike the driver for affirmative action for racial minorities 30 years ago. If those of us who advocate for fairness for female athletes would focus on the female/male difference rather than woman/man, our message would resonate more strongly. Likewise if we'd accept trans adults for the choice they've made as adults (although for kids it’s an entirely different matter), and point out they're not being prevented from participation because they're still free to compete in the Open division (sometimes called boy’s/men’s), it'd be more clear that everyone has the opportunities they deserve. There's nothing transphobic about sticking up for female athletes if we choose our words more carefully. #FairnessForFemales

Taken from April 2023 Substack post at Fairness for Female Athletes - NBJansen's Substack

About the author