Trans women should not be allowed to participate in sports opposite of their birth gender

By London B.

According to https://news.gallup.com/, 69% of Americans say transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete on sports teams opposed to their birth gender. The issue of trans athletes, and trans people in general, is ever growing. Nowadays, there are a lot of people transitioning, especially students. Some people think that it’s wrong, while others call it homophobic to be against the trans experience. Even if someone is supportive of a person's transition, however, questions about the ethics of which sports team they should play on arise.  In my opinion, despite being supportive overall of trans people, trans. women should not be able to play on a sports team with biological women.

First of all, it is not fair that biological men could have the opportunity to play on the same side as a woman. Take boxing for example, women-to- women fighting would be fair, but if a biological man, turned feminine, came into the ring with a woman, it would be unfair because men are naturally stronger, faster, and taller than women. Men also have broader shoulders and a heavier build. If a biological man were to play the same sport as a biological woman, it would be looked upon by others as if a man were beating up a woman. 

Secondly, inclusion of trans females may make the other team members uncomfortable, especially in the locker room.  Just like in any other sport, athletes are required to get ready for a game or meet in a locker room. Say a swim team is getting ready for their meet and they have a transgender woman playing on their team, they would have to go to the locker room and change. This might make some of the born-women uncomfortable to be in the same changing room as a female who was originally a male at birth. 

Lastly, women had to fight for the right to be able to play sports in the first place; allowing biological men to compete against them feels counterproductive.  Back in the day, women were never allowed to compete in any sports, let alone do anything they wanted to. They were barely acknowledged. According to National Women'sRights History, it took 72 years for women to even have rights such as voting, the right to own their own property, and the right to run for public office, so for a man to come and dominate women’s sports and competitions, strips away all that women have worked for. 

Although men can take testosterone-lowering drugs to try and make it fair for the women, science proves that it does not significantly decrease the chances of a man, so this counterargument is moot.

I’Jazanae J., a freshman on the school’s basketball and volleyball team, was asked her opinion about men transitioning into women to play women’s sports. She says that “when men transition, it makes women look weak.” She continues on by saying  “Women waited for a long time for people to accept them and treat them as equals, and it is not right that a man can easily join the same team as them.”

Kingston B.L., another freshman who attends Airport High School, expresses his feelings on the matter by saying “ Men should be able to play on the same team as women because they should be considered equal. Some men already get made fun of because of their sexuality and beliefs. I think that they should be able to play on the same team as women without being judged or looked at differently just because their birth gender is not the same as women's.

Overall, trans women should not be able to compete in the same sports as biological women, but this is not meant to be an anti-trans experience.  I know this is a controversial topic, but this is just how I feel.