When I was a kid, sports were a place to find friends, community, confidence and self-esteem. I loved sports because they challenged me, but the main reason was that playing sports allowed me to hang out with my friends and just have fun.
Now, as an adult athlete and trans man on Team USA, it was heartbreaking to see trans kids in sports being targeted by legislators across the country. . The idea of including transgender and nonbinary people in sports has been framed as “political” when in fact it is not.
It’s exhausting to scrutinize all the information presented as “arguments” on social media, but every day I’m asking parents who have questions about transgender athletes, especially transgender children in sports, I’m talking to coaches, sports fans. That’s why I’m here to answer your question in non-judgmental territory.
Every young person should have the opportunity to play the sport they love without compromising any part of themselves. That’s why I work every day to enable all young people, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, to experience the life-saving power of sport.
Do transgender children have an inherent and unfair advantage in sports?
No, transgender children, like all children, differ in motor skills, physique, strength and speed. Determining whether someone is a good athlete depends on coaching, access to camps and skill development, proper nutrition and rest, quality equipment, mental strength and resilience, and support and encouragement from family. and many other factors are involved. They also have basic abilities such as agility and coordination.in his 2020 expert testimony Joshua D. Safer, M.D., a physician in the Department of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, describes the human genetic makeup and internal and external reproduction of transgender athletes. Said it affects functionality. Anatomy is not a useful indicator of athletic performance.
Indeed, in recent literature, review A research team commissioned by the Canadian Center for Sport Ethics examined all relevant research on trans women in elite sports from 2011 to 2021 and found that existing scientific knowledge supports banning trans women and girls from women’s sport. found that it does not support
According to Human Rights Watch in 2020 report “They keep us out of sport,” says the women and girls involved in sports, who have been subject to intense scrutiny for their appearance, body and performance for decades dating back to the 1940s.For elite female athletes, these tests are It contains Mandatory genital and gynecological examinations. A “nude parade” where women have to show off their naked bodies in front of judges. and assessment of secondary sex characteristics. These humiliating practices were stopped in his 1990s, but similar intrusive testing of children from kindergarten through the age of 12 was introduced in the language of the bill, and in at least one case, become law. No one should be okay with an adult inspecting the corpse of a young child.