Transgender Females versus Biological Females

"There are obvious biological realities that give transgender female athletes a massive competitive advantage over women and girls."

It is not beneficial for those women, including those who are transgender, for this divisive and sometimes dangerous situation to continue." 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

"No one is pleased to have the iron door of necessity slammed in his face or on his toe."

"Every culture draws a clear and inviolable distinction between men and women. The distinction is clear because no matter how exotic the culture, no stranger requires instructions before dividing it into two sexes; it is inviolable because it is no more possible for human beings to change their sex than their species."

Philosopher David Berlinski, Discovery Institute

"[The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES)] pass over in silence evidence that males outperform body-size-matched females by up to 30 percent in many sports."

"[The CCES report is] frighteningly bad [and] absurd to a degree that is comic."

"[The CCES report] has a good claim to be one of the worst published papers on trans-inclusion in female sport."

Kim Pike, philosopher, Open University, United Kingdom

 

"Ms Thomas accepts that fair competition is a legitimate sporting objective and that some regulation of transgender women in swimming is appropriate."

"However, Ms Thomas submits that the Challenged Provisions are invalid and unlawful as they discriminate against her contrary to the Olympic Charter, the World Aquatics Constitution, and Swiss law including the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women… and that such discrimination cannot be justified as necessary, reasonable, or proportionate to achieve a legitimate sporting objective."

Court of Arbitration for Sport

University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Josh Reynolds/AP

The World Aquatics association recently celebrated a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to dismiss transgender swimmer Lia Thomas's legal battle against its rules banning transgender athletes from competing in women's races if they have been through male puberty before transitioning. On the other hand, World Aquatics has an 'open' category available to transgender athletes to compete. Refusing Thomas's effort to overturn World Aquatics ruling in refusing transgender females under their conditions is considered "a major step forward in our efforts to protect women's sport".

From the United States, to Canada the confounding issue of accepting transgender women in competitions against biological females has been a vexing problem, one that society itself is uncertain about although science appears not to be. To be completely fair to biological women, all sports should have female-only categories, while differentiating those from co-ed leagues that could invite transgender women to compete.

It is scientifically, biologically irrefutable that athletes born male own a significant biological advantage over biological females in terms of strength, endurance, lung and heart capacity. In a completely sane and just world of sports that in and of itself should mitigate against permitting transgender females to compete fairly against biological females whose physical attributes and bodily capacities will never match that of males. 

 

If the distinction and its conclusion is held to be an affront to 'human rights' for transgenders, it is far more of an affront to the dignity of human rights for biological females.

In 2022, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport purported to find that transgender athletes born male who undergo testosterone suppression "have no clear biological advantages" over female athletes in elite sports. This study was picked up by media outlets as conclusive. Factually, transgender athletes born male are taller, possess larger lungs and higher fat-free mass than their female counterparts.

 

As though completely oblivious to these biologically-determined advantages, the CCES report emphasized:

• After differences in lung volume are accounted for there is no intrinsic sex difference;
• When adjusting for height and fat-free mass, relative differences in strength [between men and women] disappear.
  

"World Aquatics’ transgender policy causes profound harm to trans women, who are particularly vulnerable in society and suffer from high rates of violence, abuse, and harassment in society and in sport."

"The ban is not a fair, proper, or reasonable balancing of rights. It is grossly disproportionate and has the effect of excluding virtually all trans women athletes from international aquatics."

Danne Diamond, director of policy and programs, Athlete Ally advocacy group

 

"[The CCES report] makes a series of substantive and methodological errors [and] lacks academic integrity because it distorts or ignores key findings from the literature to such an extent that it appears to be guided by ideology rather than scientific knowledge."

Malmo University report