The issue is now being used by Republicans both as a political wedge and as a means to get trans women classified under the law as men, which could have knock-on effects for the rest of theirBut underlying the Republican argument is an all too familiar patriarchal trope: that men are born physically superior to women. The cultural assumption that boys are inherently more athletic than girls is a difficult one to break, and it’s long been used to marginalize girls and women’s sports.
Despite their failure to name specific instances of problems with trans girls playing girls sports, Republicans insist their rash of bills are meant to ensure “fairness.” Generally, the assumption is true, at least at the highest levels of sports. Men’s world records are better than women’s, for example. But that doesn’t mean all men are born more athletic than all women. Those assumptions become strained when trans bodies are introduced into the equation. There are no trans women with elite-level world records, and trans participation in the Olympics or the NCAA is tightly regulated based on artificially lowering an athlete’s testosterone levels.
Testosterone limits is the latest measure of who counts as a woman in women’s sports. But sex verification of female athletes has a long and horrid history in sports, as athletic organizations have resorted to various ways to prevent men from masquerading as women in order to achieve success — something that has never happened in the history of professional sports.