The victory of New Zealander Laurel Hubbard is just the latest in a growing line of instances in which transgender women are claiming the top spot in women’s sporting events.
The 41-year-old dominated the Pacific Games weightlifting competition this week, winning a gold medal for her efforts – and breaking women’s records in the process.
The inclusion of transgender individuals is threatening to upend women’s professional sports.
The male-to-female trans athlete previously qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and was expected to be a favorite for the gold, but an elbow injury forced her to withdraw from the event. Had she competed, she would’ve probably won.
Hubbard isn’t a lone figure. She joins the ranks of sprinter CeCe Telfer, powerlifter Mary Gregory, and cyclist Rachel McKinnon, all of whom took top places in their respective sports, soundly beating their biologically female competitors. Much like Hubbard, Telfer and Gregory also broke women’s records with their wins.
The inclusion of transgender individuals is threatening to upend women’s professional sports.
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CeCe Telfer, NCAA[/caption]
BIOLOGY IS NOT A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT.
Although self-identifying as women, these individuals tend to be stronger, faster, and more agile than their biologically female counterparts – a fact neglected by proponents of political correctness. It’s also worth noting that men’s sports aren’t threatened by the inclusion of transgender men. It’s those born with a uterus who are receiving the short end of the stick as society tries to figure out what defines men and women.
Social justice warriors defy any and all pushback, calling it “transphobia.” They argue that gender is a social construct. It’s a theory in feminist sociology that states society and culture, not genetics, define whether one is male, female, or “other".
While the argument about what constitutes “gender identity” and “gender expression” – other confusing facets of gender in contemporary society – remain up for debate, what isn’t up for debate is the fact that those born with male body parts and hormone levels have physical superiority over most biological females. It is settled science.
What isn’t up for debate is the fact that those born with male body parts and hormone levels have physical superiority over most biological females. It is settled science.
Hubbard’s inclusion in the Commonwealth Games last year prompted researchers in New Zealand to voice their concerns over the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sporting events. The scientists argue these individuals have an unfair advantage over other women, and are calling for sporting committees to fix binary gender categories – if only to make things fairer.
In a paper published in the BMJ Journal of Medical Ethics, researcher Lynley Anderson and her associates Alison Heather and Taryn Knox argued that capping testosterone levels, which has been proposed as a solution to maintaining a level playing field, just won’t cut it.
The researchers found that the 10nmol/L level permitted by the International Olympic Committee was “significantly higher than that of cisgender women, whose sex and gender align as female.”
"It is ten to 20 times higher than a cis female, so this is one of my major concerns,” argued Heather. "At the moment we are really targeting inclusiveness for our trans females to compete in a female division and in that aspect we are not considering a fairness issue for cis females."
The researchers also argue that the advantages transgender women have over biologically female counterparts extends well beyond testosterone levels. Namely, they have denser and larger muscles, better muscle distribution, and higher lung capacities. Males even have an advantage when it comes to the amount of oxygen they can accumulate.
All this lends to greater strength, agility, dexterity, stamina, and endurance.
A viral video featuring U.S. Olympic gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson had them reacting to the abilities of men doing women’s gymnastics. “This is like depressing watching this,” notes Liukin.
It’s slowly, but surely becoming the new normal in women’s sports.
OLYMPIANS SPEAK OUT.
Prominent athletes including Martina Navratilova and Paula Radcliffe have openly criticized the decision to include trans athletes in women’s sports.
Women’s records aren’t going to look that much different from the men’s in the not-too-distant future.
Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam tennis champion, argued in the Times that the current rules on transgender participants reward cheats. “Letting men compete as women simply if they change their name and take hormones is unfair — no matter how those athletes may throw their weight around,” she wrote.
Marathon world leader Paula Radcliffe likewise expressed to BBC Sport her concerns that elite sporting events could be open to “manipulation” by men who will take the opportunity to make money and win medals by going up against physically weaker female opponents.
"People will manipulate this if there is an opening there to make money and win medals and we've seen the lengths people go to, the lengths Russia went to cheat in sport,” she said. She added that female sports ought be protected, but that it is also important to protect transgender women and their rights.
"Absolutely, any transgender men or women should be able to access sport - it just depends which category,” said Radcliffe.
Olympians Sharron Davies and Kelly Holmes have shared similar remarks.
For now, women’s sports only sees minimal inclusion of trans athletes. But should things progress as they are, women’s records aren’t going to look that much different from the men’s in the not-too-distant future.
Ian Miles Cheong is the managing editor of Human Events
