How Anti-Trans Sports Bills Potentially Harm All Athletes

In March 2021, Brandon Boulware went viral as he begged lawmakers to not pass legislation that would ban his daughter from playing on the girls’ volleyball team: “I ask you: Please don’t take that away from my daughter or the countless others like her that are out there. Let them have their childhoods. Let them be who they are.” Brandon’s daughter is transgender, and the proposed legislation in Missouri where he and his daughter live would require that kids play sports based on the sex on their birth certificate. If the law passes, Brandon’s daughter would have to play on the boy’s team, or not play at all.

At least half of US states have introduced bills that would ban transgender athletes from competing in sports along with their peers of the same gender. Lots of lawmakers have said that they’re “defending women’s sports,” and saying that it’s unfair for cisgender girls and women to have to compete against transgender girls and women (because they assume transgender women have an inherent physical advantage due to their sex assigned at birth).

The arguments in support of these bans rely on a lot of misinformation; we’ll get into some of the questions you may have about these arguments below. This issue has become very politicized, but it doesn’t have to be. It isn’t (or shouldn’t be) divisive to think that kids should be allowed to play, that our identities can’t be legislated, and that everyone wins when we support each other to be our truest, happiest selves.

It’s important to remember the very real ramifications of this debate. Kids who play sports experience a range of benefits in life - including improved physical fitness, emotional wellbeing, social skills, and self-confidence. Transgender youth are more likely than their cisgender peers to be bullied and to experience assault. A study from the CDC found that more than one-third of trans students have attempted suicide. But trans kids who are allowed to socially transition (using the name, pronouns, clothing, etc. consistent with their gender identity) and supported in their gender are no more likely than their peers to experience depression. Playing sports with peers of the same gender is a really important way for trans youth to build community, be accepted, further develop social skills and of course - have fun!

Now, here are some questions you may have about these bans, and some resources to learn more:

Don’t trans athletes have an advantage in sports and athletics?

One of the main arguments behind these various bans centers on the idea that male and female sexed-bodies are completely different, and that this gives trans girls and women in particular an advantage. Biological sex is a complicated issue, and even scientists disagree on a lot of the specifics. However, it’s important to note that research shows that sex is much less binary (strictly male or female) than we think. This means that there’s more natural variation in all of our bodies than many of us are taught. Remember, gender and sex are different - and it’s impossible to tell someone’s gender from what their body (or genes) looks like. To learn more about how sex and gender are related, and how they’re different, check out Reimagine Gender's brief on this topic.

Most sex-based differences don’t develop until puberty, so for young kids pre-puberty this point is pretty much moot. Even after puberty, the impact of sex-based characteristics on athletic performance isn’t so clear cut. People often talk about testosterone in sports - but testosterone varies considerably within people of all genders, and it’s not clear that higher levels of testosterone mean better athletic outcomes. In fact, one study found that 25 percent of elite male athletes had testosterone levels below what is considered the lower limit for men (while about 5% of female athletes had high levels of testosterone). Research has shown that higher testosterone isn’t actually an advantage in all (or even most) sports.

In addition, many trans athletes actually face significant social disadvantages. Certainly, great athletes have a certain inherent athletic ability, but it’s hard to succeed without a supportive family, a team that embraces you, and a coach willing to work with you. This is exactly the reality faced by some trans athletes. Trans athletes are at constant risk of having their identity questioned, their body subjected to invasive, degrading examinations, and their successes booed, not cheered. All of this creates an environment in which many trans athletes have to overcome considerable odds and even trauma to show up at a match, race, or game in the first place.

I see this issue in the news all the time! Is this a new issue, and is it causing major problems?

Transgender, non-binary, and agender people have always existed and the question of how to accommodate gender diverse people in the binary sports world is not new. Some people worry about the fairness of allowing transgender athletes to compete, but state and district-level associations have provided guidance related to middle and high school athletics, and the organizations that govern adult, elite sports and athletics (like the International Olympic Committee and the NCAA) have had policies in place, often for decades, to protect the fairness of the game.

When pressed, most lawmakers introducing bills banning transgender girls from girls’ sports couldn’t cite a single instance in their state where a transgender athlete competing had been a problem - most states don’t even know how many transgender student athletes there are, but the numbers appear to be very low. More than a dozen states have had policies allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender - if there were problems, including unfair competition or a disproportionate number of transgender athletes receiving college scholarships, we would have that data by now. But, that has not been the experience in these states (nor in states that until recently had affirming policies). In fact, one of the most famous and contentious cases in recent memory is actually a case in which a transgender boy had to compete against girls precisely because of one of these bans. Mack Beggs, an 18-year old transgender boy, was forced to compete in wrestling against girls, and he won. He was booed and berated; many argued he shouldn’t be wrestling with girls, even though this ban prevented him from wrestling with other boys.

The percentage of the population who identify as trans or gender-diverse is increasing, but the lived experiences of trans and gender-diverse people is hugely varied. Some trans people will choose to take or block hormones, while some will not. Some gender-diverse people will not identify as either a man or a woman. It is simply not the case that all trans and gender-diverse people identify with the binary gender that is opposite of the gender traditionally aligned with their sex assigned at birth (for example- someone assigned female at birth who identifies as a man), as these bans assume.

Aren’t these laws meant to protect women’s sports?

It is important to ensure that sports are welcoming and fair to all. Many of these bans have been framed as “protecting women’s sports.” Aside from the fact that transgender women ARE women, this argument is disingenuous. There are currently a lot of actual threats to girls and women’s sports. If people were genuinely committed to girl’s and women’s sports, they would provide adequate funding, pay women athletes the same as men athletes, reduce the gender equity gap in high school sports, and address the many issues which prevent girls from participating in sports.

These policies aren’t only used to attack trans girls and women, they also do harm to cisgender women. Any girls or women who others think are “too masculine” can be harassed, and subject to testing procedures which are often invasive. Many of these bills make it acceptable if not required for girls to undergo genital examinations. This would obviously be traumatic, and could put a lot of girls at risk, particularly when sexual assault of young women athletes by coaches and team doctors is already a significant problem. As more than 500 NCAA student athletes stated in their recent letter to the NCAA President and Board of Governors:

"It is impossible for women athletes to feel safe and supported in environments where their personal identity and integrity is questioned. The reality is that many of these bills cannot possibly be enforced without inviting policing and bullying of all student athletes who do not meet stereotypes of gender, and could empower any person to force any student athlete to undergo invasive physical exams or hormone tests in order to ‘prove’ their gender."

We need to take a step back and ask ourselves… is this really what we want? Student athletes having their genitals examined? Trans kids who have already overcome great odds being humiliated and punished? Some lawmakers have suggested genetic or hormone testing to determine biological sex... but remember that study that found that 25 percent of elite male athletes had testosterone levels below what is considered the lower limit for men? It is arbitrary for us to make distinctions about physical ability and biological attributes based solely on sex. And if we start to legislate based on sex, equity demands that we hold everyone to the same criteria – meaning lots of athletes (regardless of their gender identity) might not make the cut.

If the purpose of the legislation was actually to address physical advantages within sports, then we would need to take a number of actions, including: determining which physical characteristics have bearing on success in the sport; develop a normal range for all athletes in that sport by sex; test all athletes to determine whether they fit within the normal range; and eliminate those athletes who don’t conform. This of course will leave some gifted athletes out (remember Michael Phelp’s advantage over other swimmers because of his proportionally longer wingspan, double-jointed ankles that provided additional range and low lactic acid which reduced his fatigue?), but if we want physical, biological fairness in sports, these are a few of the measures we will need to take. But this isn’t what proponents are suggesting, because this legislation isn’t actually about fairness — it’s a guise for discrimination.

Transgender sports bans are an arbitrary measure targeting a small, vulnerable group of people, to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. These bans will have a sweeping, negative impact not only in the lives of trans people, but of everyone. Policies already exist to make sure that sports stay fair. As for youth sports and athletics - let’s let kids be themselves, and let kids of all genders play.

How Anti-Trans Sports Bills Potentially Harm All Athletes