Transgender in Sports (Essay Sample)

Name Instruction Institution Date of Submission Transgender in Sports Transgender is a blanket word that refers to anyone whose gender identity, or internal feeling of being male, female, or something else, differs from the sex given at birth. One movement that has begun is allowing transgender individuals to participate in gender-specific sports such as the Olympics. Even though discrimination is never an acceptable thing, various people oppose permitting transgender individuals to participate in sports. This is because it could grant them an unjust advantage over other naturally born gender individuals and could also results to countries exploiting these individuals for an unjust advantage. Therefore, this paper provides an argument for why transgender persons should not be allowed to participate in sports. This is a significant source of contention in sports since there should be no exclusion anywhere in athletics. Discrimination based on gender is unacceptable since everyone has the right to pursue their passions. On the other hand, it would provide unjust benefits for transgender individuals who identify as another gender. (Linghede et al. 1-23) While they are officially one gender, they may contain characteristics from their originating gender or both. This may be unjust since each gender has unique characteristics that enable them to do jobs more effectively than the other genders. For example, males are generally more robust and have a greater capacity for muscular growth than women. On the other hand, women have a greater tolerance for pain and are inherently more limber than males. With that considered, it seems evident that transgender individuals should be barred from competing in the Olympics due to their unfair advantage. Even while it is good to be fair, when it comes to something as major as the Olympics and sports in which the human form is vital, there must be some boundaries on what makes a man or a woman. Everyone who participates in the Olympics should have the same fundamental characteristics if they are to compete on an equal footing. For instance, if a former guy competed in women's shot-put, they would have a natural strength edge over all other natural-born women. There are still valid points on both sides of the debate. While some believe that allowing transgender individuals to engage in sports such as the Olympics will advance the LGTB cause, the Olympics are not a place for politics, and allowing this to happen would create far too many difficulties in the long term if they were allowed to participate. Individuals say that there are techniques to determine whether a person is of that gender to compete. One reason is because the International Olympic Committee (IOC), one of the organizations involved with the Olympics, has a stringent threshold for deciding whether a transgender person qualifies as gender neutral. (Harper and Joanna 151-165) This test establishes if a person has had the necessary surgery to physically change their gender, has begun hormone replacement therapy, and has remained that gender for at least two years. While these tests seem to be sufficient for determining if a transgender person is entitled to compete, several studies show that they are inadequate for determining the competitor's competence. At the moment, the IOC's transgender policy is inadequate (The Ethical Duality in Sports: Social and Psychological Aspects of Transgender Participation). It has been shown that the tests used to evaluate if transgender persons have an advantage are incorrect, indicating that even after changing their genders, they remain unequal. Additionally, even if transgender individuals are allowed to participate in the Olympics, other issues might occur. Another issue that may arise if transgender people are allowed to compete in the Olympics is that nations may exploit a transgender person's unfair advantage. This has occurred previously; for example, Hermann Ratjen, or Dora as he was originally known, competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics (Testing Sex and Gender in Sports; Reinventing, Reimagining and Reconstructing Histories). Although it was initially believed that "Dora" was a natural-born female, it was later discovered that she was actually a male, causing a slew of complications. Germany permitted this as a form of cheating, giving the German team an unfair advantage. Despite the fact that Dora was born a male, the Germans convinced him to pose as a female and earn unjustified medals. Who is responsible for ensuring that this does not happen again in the future? Numerous nations would be willing to cheat and risk sanctions in order to gain an unfair advantage over a competitor. To guarantee fairness across all sports, sports organizations have sought a test for sex verification. This began in the 1940s with physician-issued "femininity certificates." In the 1960s, visual genital exams and chromosomal analysis were performed to confirm sex. The International Olympic Committee set guidelines for competitors who have undergone gender reassignment in 2003. Three conditions for engagement were highlighted in the report: To begin, athletes must have undergone surgery sex reassignment. Second, athletes must establish that their gender is legally recognized. Thirdly, athletes must have profited from hormone therapy. Only four years ago, in 2015, the IOC changed these requirements to require transgender athletes to prove a testosterone level of less than 10 Nano moles, or NM, per liter. Testosterone is the principal male sex hormone, contributing significantly to the development of reproductive organs and other puberty side effects. However, were you aware that testosterone is an anabolic steroid as well? This implies that it may also be used as a medication to stimulate muscle development and regeneration, which significantly benefits the athlete but is also much prohibited. According to the International Olympic Committee, testosterone levels below 10 Nano moles per liter provide no advantage to transgender athletes. At the same time, the typical man possesses between 10 and 30 Nano moles of testosterone per liter. Suppose this is true, and testosterone levels of up to 10 NM per liter are detrimental to trans-females. How come the highest amount of testosterone permitted in a competitive, biologically female athlete is just half that amount, at 5 NM per liter? And this value is still much higher than the typical female's testosterone level. The typical top female athlete has between 10 and 83 times less testosterone in their body than transgender women who must reach the 10NM level. This implies that trans-females can heal and build muscle tissue faster than biological females, allowing them to fit in more practice time, participate in more events, and do so with more energy. I'd argue that the increased testosterone levels still present in approved trans-female athletes account for their dominance in female competitions. The whole aim of hormone management in sports is to promote competitive parity. However, it is now resulting in increased inequity for cisgender female athletes. Even if transsexual women could lower their testosterone levels to match biological females, their muscle mass, fibers, and real organ sizes and capacities could not be changed. Men, on average, had 13.6 kg more muscle mass than females, according to a research published in the "Journal of Applied Physiology." This shows that biological men have a more substantial percentage of muscles and muscle fibers than biological females. A transgender female's heart is more extensive than that of a cisgender female. Additionally, their lung capacity is around 12 percent larger than that of a cisgender female. All of this means that trans-female athletes, who retain their muscle fibers and mass, as well as their heart and lung sizes, are already predisp...