Research Mess

For the longest time, sport has been a gathering of athletes on an even playing field guided by their own hard work mixed with talent to play a game. There are rules that are stated to make sure that there are no unfair advantages that one person has over another. 40 years ago, to instigate a fair playing field, a woman’s amateur basketball team was formed, and other sports soon followed suit. Soon enough there were women’s leagues everywhere, and although they still faced prejudice, at least there was a fair playing field where they wouldn’t have to compete with the stronger, naturally gifted males. Then came the issue of transgender and intersex people. When talking about transgender people, the most prominent cases and the main focus of this essay will be on males who identify as females. This brings to question the fairness of a naturally born male participating in a female sports team. Some argue that it is unethical, some argue that overall inclusiveness is better. Through this paper we will explore what the negative effects of allowing transgender men and women participate in sports. 

In Jay Schulkins Book Sport he says “Fairness matters to us, and sport has a long tradition of emphasizing fairness and, both literally and figuratively, an even playing field.” He emphasizes how fairness has always been important. However, that begs the question, what is fair? Is it fair to have a man say that he identifies as a woman, and thus be allowed to play in women’s sports? In mid 1900s the drug Desoxymethyltestosterone was banned from the Oolympics. Now this mouthful of a word is a steroid and a type of testosterone that was marketed as a performance enhancing drug. It was meant to increase strength and was even used for men with low levels of testosterone. If a woman were to take this drug before sports, it would enhance her abilities, but if she were found out she would be humiliated and banned from participating. Then, how cancome a man, who has higher testosterone than a woman, can say that he identifies as a woman and participate in women’s sports?. Testosterone has been studied to boost performance in not just athleticism, but also allows the useryou to have higher metabolism, and have to work less than someone with lower testosterone levels to achieve the same result. So, if a drug that supplies the body with excess testosterone is banned, thean how come a man who naturally has excess testosterone is not banned? Allowing transgender women, especially those who have not gone through sex change surgery and hormone therapy, to participate in sports is unethical, and goes against the idea of an even playing field for all of the participants. 

Testosterone is a hormone that is predominantly found in men. It provides an edge when it comes to metabolism, and performance in sports. There has been an article published in the telegraph, UK, that women with higher levels of testosterone are able to run faster, and farther than other women. Only recently, has a new rule been established that trans females must go through hormone treatment and lower testosterone levels before participation in sport. This is because of the unfair advantage that it gives. There was a study that was conducted to see whether women with higher testosterone levels really ran faster than other women. The investigation team calculated that the testosterone group improved maximum speed from 3.57 m/s to 3.64 m/s.

Recently the families of three high school runners filed a federal law suit to block transgender athletes fromto participatinge in female sports. “Mentally and physically, we know the outcome of the race before it even starts.” Now these are not words to be taken lightly. These women have trained their whole lives for a chance to participate in such sporting events, and to have their achievements undermined by a biologically born male who felt like they needed a change. “That biological unfairness doesn’t go away because of what someone believes about gender identity. All girls deserve the chance to compete on a level playing field,.” said…Is another quote, and is worth mentioning. They say biological unfairness goes beyond gender identity. This is mainly due to something that had happened to them. There are two transgender females who participated in sporting events, and won 15 female sporting events. This is highly unfair towards the biologically born females since genetically males are actually better at sports. “Our dream is not to come in second or third place, but to win fair and square,” said 

 Recently there was another article that was posted that covered the ethical dilemma of allowing high testosterone female athletes to participate in sports. There is a debate about whether women who are genuinely born with excess testosterone should be allowed into sports. It has been labeled as dsicrimination, yet they are still forced to take measures to lowering their testosterone levels before being allowed to participate in sports. This is for the sake of having a “level playing field” for everyone participating in sporting events. However, there is irony in this statement. These same people who argue that biologically born women with extra testosterone should take measures to reduce their levels also argue transgender women should be allowed to participate in sports. This article poses a solution to this problem, it talks about having a third category. What that means is that a category for women with unusually high levels of testosterone, or for men who have transitioned into females but still have an unfair advantage. 

In conclusion, due to the unfair edge that excess levels of testosterone gives athletes, trans females must either undergo hormone therapy to reduce testosterone levels, or should be completely banned from participating. By allowing them to participate in women’s sports, it no longer becomes the issue of the trans person’s rights, but it becomes the issue of the other players right to have a level playing field.

Word Count: 995

Works Cited:

Christina Okello. “High Testosterone Female Athletes Pose Ethical Dilemma.” AllAfrica.Com (English), 2017. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgit&AN=edsgit.A497790786&site=eds-live.

Currie, Stephen. Thinking Critically : Performance-Enhancing Drugs. ReferencePoint Press, 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=1718907&site=eds-live.

Hampton, Sarah. “High testosterone levels do help female athletes perform better, scientists confirm.” Telegraph UK, 2019. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/10/15/high-testosterone-levels-do-help-female-athletes-perform-better/.

Pat Eaton. “Girls Sue to Block Participation of Transgender Athletes.” The Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario), 2020. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgit&AN=edsgit.A613765760&site=eds-live.

Schulkin, Jay. Sport : A Biological, Philosophical, and Cultural Perspective. Columbia University Press, 2016. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=1341918&site=eds-live

Reflection:

This was an essay that I really felt like I had to do a lot of research for. With such a controversial topic such as this, it is very important to be well researched and as unbiased as possible. Although there may have been a bias that comes out in my writing, in the end I was able to get my point accross and still support it with good evidence that was well researched.