An incident in the world of women’s rugby has sparked a heated debate about the inclusion of transgender players and its impact on fairness and safety. The player involved is non-binary and was assigned male at birth.
Concerns Have Arisen
Studies have found that transgender women lose their advantage in sports after two years on hormones. As such, concerns have arisen among some cisgender athletes regarding the physical differences between cis women and trans women early in their transitions.
A Whole New Tackle
A cisgender female player described the experience of being tackled by Ash – the non-binary rugby player in question – as “a whole other thing” in comparison to playing against other cis women. Ash’s tackles were reported to be much more powerful than those that players had previously encountered in competitive women’s rugby. Three women were allegedly injured during the game.
The Topic Is Complicated
The topic of trans women in women’s sports is nuanced. Thoughtful discussions about the matter are necessary to allow for a deeper understanding of the concerns of both cisgender women and transgender athletes. By navigating the issue with sensitivity, solutions that uphold the principles of both equality and competitive integrity can be found. As such, Rugby Ontario has commenced talks with Rugby Canada to develop action plans and communication strategies.
The Internet Responded
News of the story was shared across social media and a plethora of heated discussions followed. “The problem is that things like this need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis. We can’t just let trans women and non-binary people compete in women’s sports without asking any questions, because it leads to stuff like this, but we also can’t just ban them all,” one person wrote.
Situations Like Ash’s Are Rare
People found themselves deep in debate. “This is exactly what we warned they’d do. Come into women’s sports and dominate because they can’t win in the men’s,” one person said. “This is so rare though. The media reports it every time it happens but, in reality, it’s rare,” another replied.
LGBTQ+ People Defended Trans Women
LGBTQ+ people were quick to defend transgender women and, in Ash’s case, non-binary people in women’s sports. One individual said: “The average trans woman who is on hormone replacement therapy doesn’t have a significant advantage in competitive sports against cis women due to the effects of estrogen on strength on muscle mass. It’s basically ‘anti-steroids’ that put trans women on a relatively even playing field. They’re taller than the average cis woman but that’s not an overwhelming advantage in most cases.”
People Shared Personal Stories
Some people shared personal stories relating to the issue. “I play a full contact sport that is very inclusive. I play with cis men, cis women, trans men, trans women, non-binary folks, intersex people, on and off of all sorts of HRT – you name it. I’m intersex, raised [female]. Nobody swept the field. At all. I’ve watched 4 ft 11 cis women absolutely send 6 ft tall cis guys flying,” one person said.
Advantages Are Natural
Some commenters discussed natural advantages among cisgender women. One individual said: “Oh my God. Just let them play sports. There are very few [trans athletes], they don’t always win, and sports are already inherently unfair because everyone’s body is different. Is it fair that some cis women are 6 feet tall and some cis women are 5 feet tall? No. But nobody’s trying to ban 6 foot cis women from basketball due to an ‘unfair advantage.’”
Trans Women Have Bigger Problems
Others called for society to focus on more important issues. One person said: “Can we, as a society, stop obsessing over the very tiny number of trans women in sports and pay more attention to trans women who are homeless? Because there are way more trans women just trying to get a roof over their heads than there are trans women trying to win a medal.”
An Invented Culture War
Some commenters made some interesting points about what the sports landscape would look like if transgender women did indeed have an advantage. One such individual wrote: “If trans women athletes so dramatically outperformed cis women athletes, recruiters would [be] targeting and snapping up trans women for teams [before bans]. They didn’t and that should be all the evidence anyone should need to conclude that this entire ‘issue’ is just a branch of the ongoing invented culture war being pushed by the christo-fascist GOP.”
Trans Women Do Not Dominate
A fair few commenters expressed frustration. “I’m so tired of the media digging up every story they can possibly find to support their narrative. Trans women do not dominate in women’s sports. Five minutes of research will show you that. Please just leave us alone,” one person wrote.
Every Case Is Different
People called for case-by-case assessments. “There [are] a few edge cases of trans women who do seem to have an unfair advantage but using those to justify bans against all trans women doesn’t seem fair. We need policies that can handle individual cases without punishing everyone else unnecessarily,” one person wrote.
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