Transgender people in sports

[1] A third departure from tradition occurred with the emergence of trans athletes, many of whom challenge the culturally accepted binary gender norms of male and female.

Already a promising tennis player in the men's circuit, Richards underwent gender reassignment therapy in 1975 and started playing in women's tournaments a year later.

)[64] In October 2018, Veronica Ivy (then known as Rachel McKinnon) won a gold medal at the cycling Masters World Track Championship in Los Angeles.

[15] Many scientists criticize the policies because of published papers showing that people who went through male puberty retain significant advantages even after a year of testosterone suppression.

"[75] The framework has been criticized by some medical experts who work for sports federations as ignoring the science on sex, gender, and performance and leading to unfair competition.

[79] A 2017 systematic review of literature relating to sport participation and competitive sports policies reported that there is no direct or comprehensive evidence of transgender women having an athletic advantage over their cisgender counterparts at any stage of transition (e.g. cross-sex hormones or sex reassignment surgery), due to the lack of quantitative research on the subject; this made it "difficult to draw any definite conclusions".

[81] A 2021 literature review concluded that for trans women, even with testosterone suppression, "the data show that strength, lean body mass, muscle size and bone density are only trivially affected.

The reductions observed in muscle mass, size, and strength are very small compared to the baseline differences between males and females in these variables, and thus, there are major performance and safety implications in sports where these attributes are competitively significant.

Consequently, the document proposes that in the absence of persuasive evidence to the contrary, International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines regarding a minimum 12-month lowering of testosterone are "not fit for purpose" in the context of rugby.

[85] According to regulations from October 2019, in order for a trans woman to compete in the women's category: "3.2.1 she must provide a written and signed declaration, in a form satisfactory to the Medical Manager, that her gender identity is female; 3.2.2 she must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Expert Panel (on the balance of probabilities), in accordance with clause 4, that the concentration of testosterone in her serum has been less than 5 nmol/L continuously for a period of at least 12 months; and 3.2.3 she must keep her serum testosterone concentration below 5 nmol/L for so long as she wishes to maintain her eligibility to compete in the female category of competition.

[87] In June 2022, the International Swimming Federation (FINA), an organization that administers international aquatic sports competitions, voted to bar all transgender athletes from competing in professional women's swimming, with the exception of athletes who "can establish to FINA's comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 (of puberty) or before age 12, whichever is later".

[108] UK Sport believes there is not yet enough evidence to prove that the suppression of testosterone for 12 months achieves parity of strength, stamina and physique for transgender women compared with females.

UK Sport believes there is enough evidence to show testosterone supplementation in transgender men seems to create parity within the strength and speed of males.

[125] Provincial governing bodies for high school sports have independent policies on the participation of transgender or non-binary athletes on sex-segregated teams.

[132][133] Many states have tried to mimic the NCAA and IOC rules that rely on testosterone level tests to determine when a trans woman can participate in women's sports competitions.

These kinds of rules are more difficult to enforce in secondary education because of the lack of resources to test testosterone levels, and medical professionals are often hesitant to prescribe minors hormones.

[131] An anti-LGBT movement in the United States emerging in the early 2020s has advocated against allowing transgender children to play in sports under their gender identity.

These states include Texas,[137] Arkansas,[138] Florida,[139] Alabama,[140] Oklahoma,[141] Kentucky,[142] Mississippi,[143] Tennessee,[144] West Virginia,[145] South Carolina,[146] Utah,[147] South Dakota,[148] Montana,[149] Iowa,[150] Arizona,[151] Idaho,[152] Wyoming,[153] Indiana,[154] Louisiana,[155] Kansas, Georgia,[156] North Dakota,[157] New Hampshire,[158] North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio.

In April 2020, the ACLU and the Legal Voice filed a lawsuit, Hecox v. Little, arguing that this law violates the US Constitution and Title IX.

[172] The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2021 by the district court as moot, because Yearwood and Miller had graduated and the plaintiffs would not likely have to compete with transgender athletes in the next season.

's claim that the law violates Title IX, which bars discrimination based on sex in educational programs that receive federal funds.

[201][202] In September 2018, U Sports, the governing body of intercollegiate and varsity athletics in Canada, released a policy addressing eligibility and best practices for the inclusion of transgender student-athletes at their member institutions.

[203] Under this new policy, U Sports student-athletes are able to compete according to their gender identity or sex assigned at birth provided they meet requirements of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program.

The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission cautions that "limiting or modifying access to, or excluding a trans person from, the separate or single-sex service of the gender in which they present will be unlawful if you cannot show such action is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

[205] This policy permits transgender athletes who are not using hormone therapy to continue to participate on the team that corresponds to their assigned sex at birth.

[201][202] On February 6, 2025, the NCAA changed its policy to limit college competitions in women's sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth, effective immediately.

[208] Similarly, transgender males are eligible to participate in either men's or women's competition (but not both categories within one season), provided they are not undergoing hormone treatment for gender transition.

[211] A 2021 PBS/NPR/Marist poll found 67% of Americans, including 66% of Republicans, opposed legislation that would prohibit transgender student athletes from joining sports teams that match their gender identity.

[23] A 2023 poll conducted by Gallup found that 69% of U.S. adults say transgender athletes should be allowed to compete only on sports teams that correspond with the sexes they were assigned at birth.

[214] A 2024 poll by GLAAD found that more than half of both registered and likely voters surveyed said they would not support a candidate who "speaks frequently about restricting access to health care and participation in sports for transgender youth.