Do trans women have an unfair advantage in sports?

Let's look at what the studies actually say

It’s true that some studies have found that although testosterone suppression significantly decreases the strength of transgender women during a three year period, it does not fully remove the strength advantages gained in male puberty. But many of the studies used to compare the performance of trans women with cis women in athletics don’t even look at trans women, substituting cis men instead, a flawed approach because multiple studies show that even before hormone therapy, trans women have significantly lower body mass, grip strength, and muscle strength compared with cis men. Similarly, the study used to justify excluding trans women from rugby looked only at the average size and weight of white cisgender women, who are not representative of rugby players as a whole.

The studies that do specifically consider the performance of trans athletes have found that trans women are not biological men, and even have key athletic disadvantages over cis women, including lower body power and lung function. And sports are about more than measuring raw muscle power. Trans women disproportionately suffer from poverty and thus have key disadvantages when it comes to access to coaching, facilities, and nutrition. 

This whole issue is a bit of a red herring, designed by right wing strategists as a way to paint trans people as “other” for their own cynical political gain. That effort was horrifyingly successful, even if it didn’t win many elections – trans women are banned from playing sports with women and girls in half the country. 

Sports are about more than who gets a trophy. They teach you about teamwork, discipline, and building healthy habits. In many more rural areas, sports are at the center of community life, and categorically excluding one class of people from that community life hurts everyone. If the self-described defenders of womens’ sports were genuinely worried by the threat of athletes who’d gone through male puberty, they’d be working to help trans people get the care they need before puberty begins. Instead, they’re working to ban transition care for people under 18, ensuring that young trans people will experience those changes.