Transgender Female Athletes: Banned From Unsupported Elite Sports, Report Says

A review of the available literature on transgender female athletes who have taken steps to reduce testosterone concludes that there is no justification for their being banned from elite competition. “Transgender Female Athletes and Elite Sports: A Scientific Review”, Commissioned by the Canadian Center for Sport Ethics (CCES), English-language scientific research with biomedical or sociocultural dimensions, and several “grey” (non Academic) literature was considered and focused on science. Testosterone and its effects on sports performance.

review author report There is no evidence that trans women retain performance gains after 12 months of testosterone suppression. However, CCES President and CEO Paul Melia Emphasizing the need for further research, trans female athlete Included and welcomed in women’s elite and high performance sports until evidence shows serious harm or lack of fairness to other participants.

This review finds that few studies on the performance of trans female athletes outperform cisgender women (women whose gender identity matches the gender at birth) before and after HRT (hormone replacement therapy). pointing out thatThey are presumed to have an unfair performance advantage based on studies using cis men or sedentary trans women over trans female athletes, thus justifying their ban from elite sports. Findings cannot be used for

The report’s first significant biomedical finding states that “biological data are very limited and often methodologically flawed.” Second, “Some important studies [on the impact of testosterone suppression] It used misleading data sources and actively ignored conflicting evidence. Third, the available evidence indicates that “trans women with testosterone suppression have no clear biological advantage over cis women in elite sports.”

of the International Olympic Committee current guidelines Since 2015, transgender female athletes must have testosterone below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months before competing in the Olympics. Prior to 2015, I had to undergo gender reassignment surgery. There have been some efforts to tighten the rules for the 2020 Olympics by scientists who argue that the current rules are too lax, but the debate has not led to a new policy.

This review was conducted by the E-Alliance, the Center of Excellence for Gender Equality in Sport. Dr. Gretchen Carr of the University of Toronto Dr. Anne Pegoraro The University of Guelph research team only worked with male-to-female transgender athletes in any sport, and cautioned that their results may not be applicable to non-binary or non-binary athletes. intersex athlete.

An executive summary of the report is available here.