Transgender Kids in Sports:
Just to preface this rant, I am a transgender woman. I lived as a man for 53 years, unhappily. Today, I am happy and medically transitioning with androgen blockers and estrogen. My average testosterone level over the last two years has been 18 ng/dL. My estrogen levels have settled at an average of 316 pg/mL. My body chemistry is very female. I am no stronger than the average woman. But then, I'm not an athlete.
The arguments that are being made are all valid to a point. Both the author and the other commenters make some astute observations. I've read all sorts of articles about transgender women and sports, because I am interested in transgender people not being "othered" by society. I agree that some of the arguments against trans women in women's sports are valid from certain angles. But one argument that is not being made enough and recognized by either side of the debate is that, because being transgender is more accepted and not a pre-destined sentence to be completely marginalized by family & society like it has been in the past, transgender people are coming out at younger ages. Many are coming out before puberty starts and that's where the arguments against transgender women in women's sports falls down completely.
A couple of opening statements that will be further explained below:
1. No pre-pubescent child who is transgender is claiming to be transgender just so they can dominate women's sports.
2. Young transgender girls just want to be able to play sports with their friends and peers, who are all just other girls.
3. As these young transgender girls grow older they will develop just like their female peers, and mostly they will be behind. While Lupron can delay puberty for children of both natal sexes, current medical practices also delay female secondary characteristic development until a child is deemed old enough to start on female hormones, which is usually 14 to 16. Later than their cis-gendered peers natural estrogen kicks in. Transgender boys usually don't start testosterone until the age of 16. But both tend to catch up quite quickly with their cis-gendered peers within a couple of years.
4. By the age of 18, those transgender children I referenced above won't be any different than their cis-gendered peers in physical development, ability, or performance.
Now to my main arguments:
When it comes to Boys against Girls. The differences can be stark, but only after a certain point. Testosterone doesn't differ much between boys and girls until about age 12. From 6 months to 9 years old they are virtually identical. There is no physical advantage, whatsoever, at this age for either sex. For 10 & 11 year old kids, the boys can peak higher than girls 130 ng/dL vs. 44 ng/dL. But the average is much lower for both. In the 7-20 ng/dL range. Once puberty hits. The differences become quite noticeable. From the ages of 12-17 boys range from 7 to 1000 ng/dL averaging higher as they get older. Girls are in the 7-75ng/dL range. This is the age range in which testosterone begins to give physical advantages to boys. 12-17.
Transgender girls and boys are delayed in this situation, because the standard treatment for them is Lupron once they hit Tanner Stage II, which shuts down all gonadal hormone production and leaves both boys & girls in the 7-45 ng/dL range for Testosterone for the duration they are on it. Estrogen is the same, neither sex will produce enough Estrogen or Testosterone to produce any secondary sexual characteristics until the Lupron is stopped.
Now if a transgender boy or girl gets past Tanner Stage II and begins to exhibit the Secondary Sexual characteristic effects of Testosterone or Estrogen, they will have a bit of a harder time physically "crossing over". That brings me to my sports argument.
Any child who starts transition from male to female prior to twelve years old, will only socially transition. No Lupron, no Estrogen, nothing. They aren't any stronger at this age than the girls they are joining. This will make some of you ask, but I know girls that aren't as strong as 10 year old boys! That is because they don't try as hard to become strong. A cis-boy may be stronger than the average cis-girl at 10 years old, but a trans-girl will most likely not be any stronger because, let's face it, they're girls, and they behave like girls and they won't do the things that boys do to be dominant in their social world. A girl can be as strong as a boy at this age, they just have to work at it.
Once a child gets past Tanner Stage II, at about 12 years old, Testosterone starts to give advantages to boys. If it takes one of those boys a while to be comfortable enough to come out as a trans girl, they are most likely loathing the extra muscle, the body hair, the smell. But they are stuck with it for a while. Let's say they go on Lupron at 14. Two years of testosterone driven muscle development will take a bit of time to even out with other girls. The longer someone assigned male at birth waits to begin a transition to female, the more effects their testosterone will have on their development. This effect is different for different people. Highly competitive athletes, college & pro athletes, who start their puberty with Testosterone will develop more fully than those who are not as athletic. That's also why women with more natural Testosterone are generally faster and stronger than other women. Also why Trans-Men who have taken Testosterone for long enough are just as strong as Cis-Men.
Take away the Testosterone though, and that hard earned muscle will fade. The less developed you are, the faster it will go away. Girls with more natural Testosterone won't stay dominant if their body stops producing it. People who transition from male to female, will start to lose it as soon as their body stops producing testosterone, either by medical suppressants, orchiectomy, or gender confirming surgical procedures. The only unknown, is how long it takes for each individual. For someone who starts Lupron at 12, there will never be a difference in average strength between a cis-girl or that trans-girl. At 16, the difference in strength may last a year. The extra bone mass will take years to change if it changes at all. Height and stature, you're kind of stuck with. But no girl ever got kicked off the soccer team because they were taller than the rest of the girls. At 22, the differences may take even longer to fade, but they will. This also assumes that someone who identifies as trans, doesn't make any allowances for it while growing up. If you're 18 & trans and still in the closet, chances are you are not in the gym bulking up.
The last bunch gets their own paragraph. Elite athletes, college, pro, Olympians. These are people who are serious about their athletic performance. If they decide to transition to female after they have developed as a male athlete, they may take some extra time to match their cis-gendered peers. This one is up for debate. The International Olympic committee requires transgender women to take two years before competing as a woman. Military researchers have estimated that some advantage of testosterone could last as long as four years in highly athletic individuals who have trained for a number of years before changing genders. But, after that, it's just hard work and the luck of genetics that give a trans-woman any advantage. Also, don't confuse genetics with gender or XY chromosomes, I'm only talking about inherited traits that could be passed on to children of any gender.
So, yes, there are differences between men and women. But no matter how this debate shakes out, there has to be a way to be fair to the young people who grow up as girls, even though they may have been assigned male at birth.
