Transgender Participation in Sports

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Background
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Abstract

The author explores various aspects of transgenderism in sports, related problems that arise in athletes, and the influence of gender on sport career success. The significance of the paper for science is associated with a large number of prejudices associated with people of non-traditional orientation. In case of successful research, further discussions will be triggered, which will help change attitudes towards transgender athletes. The difficulties in the field under study are primarily due to the relatively recent beginning of coverage of this problem, and therefore the number of existing studies in this area is still not very large. The methods used in the study include literature analysis and comparison. As a result of the study, a conclusion was made about the influence of belonging to a certain gender and the main problems faced by transgender athletes were identified.

Introduction

In recent years, the problem of participation of transgender athletes in competitions of various levels has appeared and is steadily progressing in modern sports, including in high-performance sports. This issue is also relevant for the continental and World championships and the Olympic Games. The problem of transgender people previously existed in the social, cultural, religious, and psychological planes at the level of numerous scientific discussions and favorite topics of the media. In recent years, it has moved into the practical reality of sports, where sports functionaries of various levels needed to respond quickly and concretely to the sports community to the difficult challenges of today in world sports. This is a difficult job, involving clinical and sports psychologists, geneticists, biochemists, endocrinologists and gynecologists, lawyers and specialists in many other fields. It continues today, but has not yet brought a clear, unambiguous, accepted by all, answer to the question of the status of transgender athletes in modern sports.

Background

Among the successes in resolving the subject of transgenderism in society, medicine, psychology and sports, scientists include the exclusion of transgender issues from the sections of psychiatric diseases, and their inclusion in the section of psychological problems of a person (Dubon et al., 2018). This solves a lot of social, legal and medical issues on this issue. Due to the research, the International Olympic Committee has revised its requirements for the diagnosis, correction and definition of transgenderism in sports (Flores et al., 2020). It abolished the requirements for sex reassignment surgery, forced hormonal medication, determination of the athletes’ gender by medical, including laboratory/genetic means. It also revised the level of testosterone in the blood of female athletes, taking into account the problem of the presence of hyperandrogenism of different genesis in a number of them.

Previously, before scientific research, in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), transgenderism was considered as a gender identity disorder and was considered a mental and behavioral disorder. However, on May 25, 2019, this was canceled by the WHO decision (Dubon et al., 2018). The latest version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which will come into force from January 2022, states that transgenderism is used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the gender recorded at birth (Dubon et al., 2018).

The process of their adaptation, not only in society in general, but also in the sports family, is complicated. This is due to the fact that in modern science, the modern terminology and classification of transgenderism and transgender people have not yet been fully developed. The special literature on this issue is replete with diverse terms, of which there are already several dozen. This is misleading and controversial, not only for non-specialists, but even for scientists dealing with the problem of transgender people and transgenderism (Richardson & Chen, 2020). A small part of the special terms from the scientific literature includes: agender, androgen, bigender, cisgender/cisgender-woman/man, Female to Male (FtM), Male to Female (MtF), Gender-fluid (Gender-Fluid), bodily dysphoria, mental gender and many others.

In order to properly understand the special terminology that will be used in this paper, a number of definitions will be given and the most commonly used terms that will be used. They are necessary to describe and characterize transgender athletes, with reference to a number of modern, authoritative sources. The interpretation of definitions such as gender is deliberately omitted in order not to complicate the main points of the study presented in this paper.

It is necessary to start with an explanation of the term “transgenderism”. Accorfing to Dubon et al., “transgenderism is a mismatch of gender identity (internal psychological feelings) or gender expression of a person with a gender registered at birth” (Dubon et al., 2018). In other words, “transgenderism is a mismatch of a person’s gender identity in relation to his biological sex” (Richardson & Chen, 2020). The opposite is the term “cisgender” or “cisgender” (from Latin. “cis” – “on this side” and Eng. “gender”) which is “a gender identity denoting people whose social gender coincides with the biological gender” (Dubon et al., 2018). A transgender athlete can be considered a person who, as a result of a sex correction procedure or operation, officially received the status of a person of the opposite sex (Richardson & Chen, 2020). Athletes who have chosen a different social gender without undergoing hormonal and surgical correction are also considered transgender.

The scientists believe that in this issue, the key point is the concept of “self-identification”, i.e., how a person themselves, at their psychological level, evaluates their own self (Flores et al., 2020). At the same time, a person in the body of a man or a woman can be at any stage of the path of their gender identity. They themselves must determine and designate for other people or organizations their belonging to a specific gender. Today, this is the basis for the fact that the IOC and a number of sports federations of the world require a transgender athlete to make a timely written statement about it.

Scientists distinguish 2 large groups: men who feel like women, and women who feel like men (Flores et al., 2020). Hence the manners of behavior, the preferred type of activity and a lot of actions related to this. Therefore, it was possible to choose two terms for this study. These are Female to Male (FtM), or biological by gender women who consider themselves men, and – Male to Female (MtF), biological by gender men who psychologically identify themselves with women (Dubon et al., 2018). The available statistics indicate the dominance of MtF-transgender athletes in modern sports of the highest achievements. The number of FtM transgender athletes is still insignificant with a small number of victories in professional sports.

Male to Female (MtF), or “from man to woman”, is a term, in general terms, talking about the vector of transition of a given personality at the moment. Most often, these are representatives of the biologically male sex with many of its components, but psychologically identifying themselves with a woman. This term is actively disputed and condemned by various groups and scientific trends investigating these problems (Richardson & Chen, 2020). Nevertheless, it appears to be the most convenient and understandable for the materials of this paper among the existing ones. In turn, the reverse of the previous one, the term Female to Male (FtM), or “from woman to man”, indicates the transition from a “female” essence to a “male” one (Dubon et al., 2018).

Discussion

International sports organizations are responsible for ensuring equal conditions for participants. Most sports competitions are classified by gender – male and female. This means that the competition criteria for these two categories should be clearly defined (Richardson & Chen, 2020). There is a sufficient amount of evidence that testosterone, produced by the body naturally or artificially injected from the outside, provides significant benefits of athletic performance. This imposes an obligation to ensure fair and meaningful competition within the framework of gender classification in the interests of a wide class of female athletes. Mixed sports competitions are held, as a rule, in those sports in which gender differences do not play a significant role in the manifestation of sportsmanship. Among them are equestrian sports, mixed combined relay, mixed triathlon, shooting and other sports.

The problem of ensuring fair competition in sports is constantly in the spotlight. Along with the adoption of anti-doping measures, the issue of the need for gender verification is increasingly being raised. It is perceived very ambiguously due to objective doubts about the reliability of screening tests, insufficient elaboration of the problem of intersexuality, as well as ethical and legal aspects of stigmatization of women based on the results of laboratory testing. After the decision of the International Olympic Committee to transfer the authority to regulate the conditions of admission to sports competitions to the relevant sports federations, some States are trying to develop their own approaches to their regulation (Dubon et al., 2018).

The US experience looks rather contradictory in this sense. On the one hand, it is due to the increased attention to the protection of the rights of sexual minorities that have a pronounced political connotation. On the other hand, it is influenced by the historically broad legislative powers of the states. In 2016, the Obama administration signaled that in order to comply with the provisions of federal legislation on non-discrimination, it would monitor and prevent the establishment of restrictions on sports in educational institutions in accordance with the redefinition of the concept of gender as gender identity (Dubon et al., 2018). Donald Trump refused to follow this example, which is why individual states and the private sector retain sufficient freedom to choose their own course (Flores et al., 2020).

This initiative does not interfere with the consistent implementation of a policy of non-discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and gender identity at the federal level. It led to the adoption of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation on September 20, 2019 (Flores et al., 2020). Its developers noted that various groups of transgender citizens, including athletes, were subjected to constant and widespread discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Therefore, it became necessary to adopt a clear and comprehensive national solution to this problem. The reason for this was seen in the absence of explicit prohibitions of discrimination based on gender identity in accordance with federal law, including in sports.

The emphasis on the physiological aspects of this problem was also made by legislators, who referred to a number of studies. The key change was the broad interpretation of gender in industry legislation (civil, financial, labor, educational, etc.), which became gender identity. This, in turn, required the legislative consolidation of the relevant categories in international sports. The category of “gender identity” includes identification with a certain gender, appearance, demeanor or other gender characteristics of an athlete, regardless of their gender at birth (Flores et al., 2020). As a result, the concept of “gender” includes a sexual stereotype, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual characteristics, including intersex traits (Richardson & Chen, 2020). At the same time, it is stipulated that such a perception or belief has legal significance, even if it is inaccurate.

The question of whether identity, rather than biology, will determine the category of gender in sport has been raised, but not resolved. It is unlikely that this situation will radically change the new legislative approach to determining gender. At least for the moment, biological men who identify themselves as women cannot automatically benefit from such self-identification. They cannot fit into that category. Rather, it is about the opportunity to challenge and undermine the arguments in favor of adherence to the biological sex in sports.

Replacing gender with gender identity contradicts the institutional mission of sport, where it is impossible to arbitrarily make a transition from one category to another or completely get rid of classifications. Indeed, there is a need for careful consideration and harsh criticism of acts of discrimination based on gender. However, without an adequate separation of the sexes, it is impossible to create equal opportunities for athletes in sports, and to increase the social status of transgender people.

In general, it can be stated that transgenderism in sports is part of a very important legal and ethical problem. It does not have an unambiguous solution both among the public, including sports, and among representatives of legal science.

Conclusion

The idea of eliminating discrimination against the transgender community is increasingly taking over the world and penetrating into sports. Even the presence of transgender people in the men’s competition causes big problems. Combining the rights of genetic women and transgender people seems to be a much more difficult task. Currently, the issue is far from being resolved, international sports organizations have not developed uniform requirements for the admission of such participants. Therefore, the answer to the question of who transgender people will compete with still does not have a clear design: only two resolution paths are presented. The first option is that for people with sexual development disorders, sports competitions will be held separately, which is unlikely. Due to the second option, which already takes place in a number of cases, athletes under the reasoning about a wide range of norms are infringed in their rights. As in other spheres of human activity, it is necessary to reach a certain consensus in the sports industry. In particular, its achievement is especially necessary on such sensitive issues affecting transgender people competing on the world sports arena.

References

Dubon, M. E., Abbott, K., & Carl, R. (2018). Care of the transgender athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 17(12), 410-418.

Flores, A. R., Haider-Markel, D. P., Lewis, D. C., Miller, P. R., Tadlock, B. L., & Taylor, J. K. (2020). Public attitudes about transgender participation in sports: The roles of gender, gender identity conformity, and sports fandom. Sex Roles, 83(6), 382-398.

Richardson, A., & Chen, M. A. (2020). Comment on: “Sport and transgender people: A systematic review of the literature relating to sport participation and competitive sport policies”. Sports Medicine, 50(5), 1857-1859.

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