Controversy on the Participation of Transgender Women in Women’s Sports

Name
Instructor
Sociology 103 Social Problems
Date
Response Paper #2
The successes of Lia Thomas University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer have generated a heated controversy around equal opportunities in sports and the rights of people of transgender people. One of the arguments against Thomas is linked to a biological advantage in terms of muscle mass and strength right male puberty and that her participation threatens the integrity of women’s sport. However, others argue there is a danger of segregating transgender people, as was the case with African-Americans in the past and that transgender people do not cheat or violate the rights of other athletes. Dissemination and marginalization widen inequalities and this is amplified and reinforced over time (Seamster 31).The participation of transgender athletes and sportswomen can potentially create a schism in women’s sport as there are concerns biological women are disadvantaged when competing against transgender women.
Unlike athletes with high testosterone levels or male chromosomes, transgender women are biological males such as Lia Thomas, who have undergone hormone replacement therapy or live as women. Transgender women do not compete against themselves but instead compete against cisgender women whose gender identity coincides with their assigned female gender at birth. The muscle mass of an individual who was s born male and played sports in the past tends to be more than that of women. One or a few years of transition are not enough to ensure a level playing field. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) caused a drop in Thomas’s time compared to when she competed as a man, but the drop was not large, which partly explains why she outperforms women.
Meeting the needs of transgender people is an intersectional issue that there is social marginalization an intersection with gender-based discrimination, classism, and racism. Minority individuals who identify as transgender are more likely to face discrimination and stigma in all aspects of life. Still, trans people in female sports still have an advantage as they are biological males. Pitsiladis et al. (387) highlighted that hormonal influences and previous training when there are different hormone levels are associated with memory muscle and implies that even after transitioning, transgender athletes have an advantage over women. Lia’s dominance in swimming may result in a further backlash against the trans community among those who see her as undeserving and denying an opportunity to female athletes. Increased visibility of trans people in sports draws attention to their marginalization and stigmatization. Even if Thomas is not cheating, the best male swimmers outcompete the best female swimmers, and there are differences in male and female swimming records.
Lia was allowed t...