“In Support of Women's and Girls' Sports”

Mar 14

To Whom It May Concern:

First, let me say that I absolutely support anyone’s right to dress and present as they please, and I do not support any kind of discrimination against trans-identifying individuals with regard to employment, housing, or other sex-neutral areas of public life.

I do, however, believe that sex is real and material, and should be taken into consideration, in certain circumstances.

One of those circumstances is sports.

Sports is about bodies: whose body can run or swim the fastest, whose body can jump the highest, whose body can lift the heaviest weight.

Sports are segregated by sex for good reason: male bodies are larger, stronger, and faster than female bodies. Male sports advantage is real and well documented. Male bodies are specialized for punching other humans; female bodies for bearing, birthing, and carrying children.

Testosterone suppression does not eliminate male sports advantage. Even men with lower testosterone have larger hearts, more heavily muscled bodies, longer arms and legs, thicker skulls, and more advantageous hip/knee angles.

To allow male-bodied people to compete athletically against female-bodied people is simply not fair.

The ability to engage in fair competition, and the possibility of success as the direct result of hard work and effort are an incredibly important part of the value of playing sports. Women and girls are entitled to enjoy these benefits to the same extent that men and boys are.

Allowing male-bodied people into women’s and girls’ sports means that women and girls are
1) denied fair competition and 2) denied success.

I grew up in the 1970s. I did not have the benefit of playing sports as a child. Where I lived, there were no sports teams for girls. Instead, I was taken to the park three times a week to watch my older brother play baseball. From that, I learned that boys do and girls watch; that male bodies run, jump, and move actively through the world, while female bodies sit on the bleachers.

Would my life have been different if I had had the opportunity to play sports? I think it would have. As I grew older, instead of perceiving my body solely as the object of male attention and desire, I might have experienced my body as my own source of strength and joy. But I didn’t have the chance to develop that positive attitude, because I wasn’t able to play sports.

Both of my daughters, who grew up in the 2000s, did have that chance. They played sports. They worked hard on the practice field, came home sweaty and tired, with aching muscles and bruises, and once, even a broken collar bone. But they took pride in their powerful bodies and pride in their victories. They learned to lose and to win, how to be part of a team, how to work hard for something they wanted.

Today, they would not have that same opportunity. Today, any man or boy who “feels” that he is a woman or girl apparently has the right to deny actual women and girls their right to a fair playing field. To deny them victory, laurels, and glory.

What does it do to a young woman, psychologically, to train hard and race hard, only to be utterly humiliated by a male-bodied person on the racetrack or in the swimming pool? A male-bodied person who is taller, stronger, and more heavily muscled than she will ever be no matter how hard she trains?

Here’s what I think: when the male bodied person wins the race, the woman is brought to understand that with regard to anything she has, anything she has worked for: the minute a male-bodied person wants to take it from her, he can.

I can think of nothing more discouraging, nothing more disempowering.

I also have serious concerns for women’s and girls’ physical safety if they engage in contact sports, such as soccer, rugby, or lacrosse, with male-bodied persons. Women and girls have smaller, lighter bones and thinner skulls. They will be disproportionately injured if they compete alongside male bodied people.

To ensure fair play and prevent injury, I strongly support reserving women and girls’ sports solely for biological women and girls. I believe that anything less will destroy women’s and girls’ sports.

Sincerely,
P.S.

P.S.: I acknowledge that trans-identified people wish to play sports. I think it makes sense to have two sporting categories: “female only,” and “other.” Trans-identified athletes (transwomen or transmen taking testosterone) would be free to compete in the “other” category.