Transgender Women Competing in Women's Sports

Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete, accepts the winning trophy for the Women's 500 Freestyle finals.

Written by Hannah Oommen on August 28th, 2023

  Disclaimer: This article will specifically target whether allowing transgender females or males to compete in their preferred sex sports is impacted or impacts the law. This article is political and will not be engrossing on personal opinions.

Across America, headlines have been made with transgender females competing in sports against biological females. Transgender athletes are athletes who changed their gender assignment from the one they were born with. Mainly because they tend to accept and be comfortable with their chosen gender. On the other hand, these athletes have some biological differences compared to cisgender athletes, such as testosterone—a male sex hormone that affects muscle strength—and higher levels of estrogen—a hormone found in women that limits their ability to build new muscle tissue. Moreover, men tend to perform better than women in sports like swimming, track, wrestling, and more. These biological differences bring in various arguments: Is this another opportunity biological females have worked for that is being stripped away by biological males? On the other hand, claims state that this is the next significant step to bring inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community. 

When allowing transgender athletes to perform in sports of their preferred gender, the Fourteenth Amendment comes into question. Many wonder whether it protects these athletes or not.

Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States of America." Now, how are transgender athletes affected by this? Well, it states that citizens shall not be denied any privileges, liberty, or justice enforced by the State under section 1, remarking that transgender athletes cannot have the privilege of competing with their preferred gender wrested from them if the State grants them this right. However, nowhere in the Constitution does it specifically state that transgender athletes can compete in their preferred gender category, meaning that under the 10th amendment, "Rights Reserved to the States and the People, "any law not in the Constitution is up to the State. Therefore, the State can decide and enforce laws that allow or deny transgender athletes from competing in any sport.

Title IX was a federal civil rights law written in 1972 by Edith Green, Patsy Mink, Kirch Evans, Bayh, and Sherry Boschert. It states, "No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance[.]." 

Title IX law enforces all schools receiving federal assistance, implying that public schools allow all students to participate in sports. Nevertheless, when based on sex, it is not clear if transgender athletes fall into this category because they deal with gender identity.

This crucial law plays a significant role when deciding the factor of transgender athletes competing in sports. 

Recently, Lia Thomas—a transgender athlete for the University of Pennsylvania—is in hot water for competing with biological women in swimming competitions. Before Lia's transition, she competed in the men's category, consistently ranking in the 500s. However, now she can be seen placing in the top tens. During the 2021-2022 swim season, she placed 5th in the 200m freestyle, 8th in the 1650m freestyle, and 1st in the 500m freestyle, all against women. 

Numerous legislators are creating proposals and bills to prevent transgender athletes from competing. The movement advancement program said that 22 States ban transgender students from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity, whereas 

Twenty-eight states, five territories, and D.C. do not ban transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. 

The process of enacting a law starts with the House of Representatives, and if it gets passed, it moves to the Senate and then finally to the President.

Recently, the House of Representatives passed a bill restricting transgender athletes from competing with biological women in sports, amending Title IX. The bill passed with 219-204 votes. However, it will still have to go through the Senate, predominantly led by Democrats, who are suspected to be less likely to pass it. Still, if the bill gets passed through the Senate, the President has full authority to veto it, which President Joe Biden intends to do.

Although this topic is an ongoing debate, it is not exactly clear what the future will hold for athletes who are both transgender and cisgender. With President Joe Biden's term ending, we do not know who will be the next U.S. president and who will control the future of all athletes.