The available evidence does not indicate that trans women possess inherent and absolute advantages in sports. There has been little research regarding the impact of testosterone suppression on the ability of transgender athletes at the elite level.24 A recent review of the evidence on transgender women’s participation in sports at the elite level found that much of the existing evidence drawing conclusions about the athletic abilities of transgender women athletes pre- and post-testosterone suppression is flawed or inapplicable, because instead of studying transgender women athletes, such evidence relies on data about cisgender men’s bodies.25 Moreover, when it comes to crafting participation policies for trans athletes at the elite level, only biomedical factors are policed to make sports more “fair” — despite compelling evidence that socioeconomic factors (such as access to nutrition, training time, and quality equipment) are associated with athletic advantage in sports.26
Since trans athletes have been included in sports, opportunities for women have not been diminished, nor have trans athletes dominated the podium. Trans women have been allowed to compete at the Olympics, the elite pinnacle of sport, since 2004.27 During this two-decade-long period, no trans woman has ever medaled at the Olympics.28 In the U.S., states have passed policies explicitly allowing trans athletes to compete in school events since 2008.29 And, recent CDC data shows that state policies that prevent transgender high school students from playing are correlated with lower participation by all high school girls between 2011 and 2019; meanwhile, participation by all girls remained unchanged in states with policies allowing transgender students to play.30 The real harm to women and girls in sports is lack of resources, funding, and ongoing problems of sex-based harassment and abuse, not the inclusion of trans athletes.
