Science

Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sports

William Kwan

Kornei, Kathrine. “The scientist racing to discover how gender transitions alter athletic performance, including her own.” Science, 12 Mar. 2020, https://www.science.org/content/article/scientist-racing-discover-how-gender-transitions-alter-athletic-performance-including.

The article explores ongoing scientific research into how gender transitions can impact athletic performance. The study aims to provide more evidence-based guidance on the topic of transgender athletes competing in sports. Scientists are conducting tests to measure changes in muscle mass, bone density, and other physiological factors before and after gender transitions. However, the research is still in its early stages, and there are limitations to the studies, including small sample sizes and the lack of long-term data. The International Olympic Committee has established guidelines for transgender athletes, which require them to lower their testosterone levels for at least 12 months before competing. However, some argue that these guidelines may not be sufficient and that more research is needed to ensure fair competition for all athletes.

The article is credible because it is published on the website of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a respected scientific organization. The AAAS is an international non-profit organization that promotes scientific education and research and publishes several reputable scientific journals, including Science. The article references the work of several researchers and institutions, including the International Olympic Committee, the Karolinska Institute, and the University of California Los Angeles, which are all well-respected in the scientific community. The article also acknowledges the limitations of the current research and provides a balanced view of the ongoing debate around transgender athletes in sports. Overall, the article presents a well-researched and objective overview of the topic.

  1. “The question of whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in sports has become a flashpoint in recent years, with some arguing that they have an unfair advantage, while others say excluding them is discriminatory.”
  2. “The ongoing research is aimed at providing more evidence-based guidance to sports governing bodies on the issue. But experts caution that the science is in its early stages, and there are many unknowns.”

Transgender Athletes in High Level Competitions

William Kwan

Turban, Jack L. and Shervin Assari. “Trans Girls Belong on Girls’ Sports Teams.” Scientific American, 1 June 2021, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trans-girls-belong-on-girls-sports-teams/.

In their article “Trans Girls Belong on Girls’ Sports Teams,” Jack L. Turban and Shervin Assari argue that transgender girls should be allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams. They claim that barring transgender girls from girls’ sports teams is discriminatory and goes against the principles of equality and fairness. They note that research has shown that hormone therapy can effectively reduce any physical advantages that transgender girls may have, and that sports organizations should adopt policies that allow transgender girls to compete according to their gender identity. Turban and Assari also argue that allowing transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams can provide important benefits for their mental health and social integration. They emphasize that transgender girls deserve to have the same opportunities as their cisgender peers and that excluding them from sports teams can lead to feelings of isolation and stigmatization.

The authors of this article, Jack L. Turban and Shervin Assari, are both medical doctors and researchers who have published peer-reviewed articles on the topic of transgender health. The article is published in Scientific American, a respected and well-established magazine that covers scientific news and research.

  1. “Excluding trans girls from girls’ teams or forcing them to compete with boys undermines principles of fairness and equality. Sports should be welcoming and supportive of all children, and policies that exclude trans children or segregate them into separate leagues have no scientific or ethical justification.”
  2. “By allowing trans children to participate in sports according to their gender identity, we can promote social integration and mental health. Research has shown that social exclusion and stigma are significant risk factors for depression, anxiety and suicide in transgender youth. Inclusive policies that affirm gender identity can help to mitigate these risks and support healthy development for all children.”
Turban

Transgender Athletes Competing at a High Level

William Kwan

 Dennis L. Weisman,”Transgender Athletes and Fair Competition in Public Policy.” Cato Institute, Fall 2022, https://www.cato.org/regulation/fall-2022/transgender-athletes-fair-competition-public-policy.

  • The article “Transgender Athletes and Fair Competition in Public Policy” by Dennis L. Weisman examines the impact of transgender athletes on fairness in sports competitions. Weisman argues that allowing transgender athletes to compete in sports events that correspond with their gender identity rather than their biological sex creates an unfair advantage for them. The author suggests that sports competitions should be based on biological sex, and that transgender athletes should be required to undergo hormone therapy or surgery to compete in their preferred gender category. Weisman also criticizes the policies of sports organizations that have allowed transgender athletes to compete without taking into account the physical advantages they may have. Overall, the article presents a perspective that supports the exclusion of transgender athletes from sports competitions that correspond with their gender identity, and raises questions about how fairness can be maintained in a changing landscape of gender identity and sports.
  • The Cato Institute is a well-respected public policy research organization that conducts in-depth research on a variety of topics. The author, Dennis L. Weisman, is an economist and professor who has published numerous articles and books on sports economics and public policy. Additionally, the article goes through a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the accuracy and validity of its claims.

1: “Policies that permit transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity may undermine fairness in sports competition and pose a threat to the participation of cisgender athletes.”

2: “In the absence of regulatory guidance and with the intense competition for victories, transgender athletes may gain an unfair advantage by leveraging their biological advantages acquired before transitioning, despite testosterone suppression or other hormone therapies.”

(Dennis L. Weisman)

Pappas, Stephanie. “Our Brains See Men as Whole and Women as Parts. Evolution Might Underlie the Different Processing of Female versus Male Bodies. Both Genders Do It.”

Donya Ishaq

Pappas, Stephanie. “Our Brains See Men as Whole and Women as Parts. Evolution Might Underlie the Different Processing of Female versus Male Bodies. Both Genders Do It.” LiveScience, 25 July 2012, www.livescience.com/21902-women-objectified-brain.html.

In this article which is published in Scientific American, a publication that covers scientific research in news, it highlights research showing that the brain processes images of men as whole beings, while images of women are processed as individual body parts. This phenomenon is referred to as “objectification,” which contributes to the sexualization of women. This will be useful to my thesis because it provides scientific evidence that men tend to sexualize women and dressing modestly can be used to avoid being objectified. 

  • “When viewing female images, participants were better at recognizing individual parts than they were matching whole-body photographs to the originals. The opposite was true for male images: People were better at recognizing a guy as a whole than they were his individual parts.”(Pappas)
  • “People were also better at discerning women’s individual body parts than they were at men’s individual body parts, further confirming the local processing, or objectification, that was happening.” (Pappas)