The Onion

If we're considering testosterone to be a PED, perhaps we should ban everyone from sports...

On a more serious note: why not advocate for putting people into "testosterone-level groups", similar to how boxing, etc, do it with weight classes? Rather than just excluding trans women from competing.

I also feel I have to ask: how do you feel about your niece losing in competitions to cis women who have biological advantages, such as higher (natural) testosterone levels, longer limbs, bigger hands, smaller busts, etc?

Just a note, there's some studies that have shown that a massive proportion of high tier female athletes actually have chromeosone issues that would put them into the intersex category.

My niece is a competitive swimmer. If a trans woman kept her from winning the competitions she's trained so hard for, getting up at 4am for practice, spending weekends training or at meets, etc, thats absolute horse shit.

So if that trans woman also worked hard, got up at 4am for practice, and also spent weekends training and going to meets, she doesn't deserve to win after her own hard work?

Honestly, it should be up to whoever is organizing the event.

If you have a problem with how the hosts run their competition, withdraw and/or make your own.

Really depends. For people that never went through puberty of their birth sex there's effectively no difference in terms of strength.

After adulthood it's definitely debatable, after a few years of treatment physical capabilities mostly align but not entirely, and while unlikely it would kinda suck for the rest if someone did win olympic gold bc of anatomy differences or something (plus countries with a history of cheating potentially could abuse it by sending an athlete that is not actually on HRT). I also don't think the ability to compete in high level sports is anywhere near a fundamental human right.

However it would also suck for the transwoman in question having to choose between high level competition in the sport they likely poured their life into and transitioning (as there is no way a transwoman on HRT could ever compete at the highest level vs males in sports unless it's something where cis women can, too).

Personally I'd argue for pro sports requiring proof of consistent HRT for x amount of time (based on studies of at what point physical capabilitues are equal for the vast majority) should be sufficient. If against all odds we end up with a disproportionate amount of transwomen winning competitions (we won't) rules could still be changed.

At an amateur level it makes very little sense to restrict transfems, the difference isn't great after a while on HRT and so much of the point of amateur sports is usually on a social level that if you restrict transpeople from playing/competing with their own gender, you will often remove a large reason for wanting to do that sport in the first place.

Are trans women keeping her from winning competitions? Last I heard they aren't dominating anything.

getting up at 4am for practice, spending weekends training or at meets, etc

Nice job on the appeal to emotion too. It isn't like trans people still have to put in the work to do well and have their own challenges to overcome. They have to compensate greatly.

To be clear about my opinion on trans people in sports (because we always ignore transmen here), I am waiting for sports and exercise scientists to do more research and make more conclusions. The science is too nebulous on it. Women's medicine is centuries behind, and trans medicine even further.