Do trans women actually have an athletic advantage? An honest assessment.

Unlike these fascist motherf***ers I actually care about women's sports and follow many of them, so I was excited when this survey of studies was published in 2023:

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgad414/7223439

It's the most comprehensive data that I've seen looking at the effects of hrt on strength and athletic performance, and is well worth a read. From the evidence synthesis: "In nonathletic trans women, feminizing hormone therapy increased fat mass by approximately 30% and decreased muscle mass by approximately 5% after 12 months, and steadily declined beyond 3 years. While absolute lean mass remains higher in trans women, relative percentage lean mass and fat mass (and muscle strength corrected for lean mass), hemoglobin, and VO2 peak corrected for weight was no different to cisgender women."

The included studies repeatedly find comparable performance between trans and cis women, with the caveat that the data must be corrected for height/lean mass. A 6'1" 180lb trans woman is stronger than a 5'1" 110lb cis woman - duh! - but, according to the data, a cis and trans woman who are both 5'8" 160lbs have approx equal strength and VO2 Max.

Because height/total lean mass is a major determinant of success in many sports, and because women who experience male puberty will on average be taller than women who don't, I think there is a fairness issue here - but one that can be easily corrected. A height/weight threshold for trans women, in addition to an hrt requirement, would eliminate any statistical advantage. The limit could be catered to each individual sport (i.e. capping it at the average height of a female participant), and would only need to be invoked at the elite level. If we're talking about fairness, that's what the science says.

But, of course, it's not about fairness, it's about gatekeeping womanhood, and scoring cheap political points from our exclusion, dehumanization, and erasure. I hate them so much. I will now cope by watching some strong-ass women cream each other on a rugby pitch 👍🏽