Category: Sport
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Boys show a clear athletic advantage over girls even before puberty.
Performance data from Little Athletics Australia1 reveals that boys outperform girls in every track and field event from under-9 to under-15 age groups, even prior to puberty. This challenges the common claim that pre-pubertal boys or those on puberty blockers have no competitive edge over girls. The male performance advantage appears early in childhood and is evident across sprinting, jumping, and throwing events.
- Little Athletics Australia. (2018). Australian best performances as at August 2018 [PDF]. https://www.littleathletics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ABP-as-at-August-2018-V1.pdf
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- Little Athletics Australia. (2018). Australian best performances as at August 2018 [PDF]. https://www.littleathletics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ABP-as-at-August-2018-V1.pdf
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Female world-class athletes largely view the inclusion of trans-identified males in female sport categories as unfair, particularly in sports that emphasize physical capacity
Among female world-class athletes, 77% opposed the inclusion of trans-identified males in female categories, citing significant fairness concerns. This opposition was especially pronounced in sports relying heavily on physical capacity, such as track and field and weightlifting. Precision sports like archery saw much lower levels of concern, with only 35.7% of athletes viewing the inclusion as unfair
Shaw et. al (2024)1 surveyed female 175 athletes, stratified into three competitive levels based on proximity to world records and level of competition: 26 world-class (Tier 5) athletes, including Olympic or World Championship finalists or those within 2% of world records; 49 elite (Tier 4) athletes, who have competed internationally or are within 7% of world records; and 100 national level (Tier 3) athletes, who have competed nationally or are within 20% of world records. Overall, 58% of these athletes supported categorizing sports based on biological sex.
- Shaw, A. L., Williams, A. G., Stebbings, G. K., Chollier, M., Harvey, A., & Heffernan, S. M. (2024). The perspective of current and retired world class, elite and national athletes on the inclusion and eligibility of transgender athletes in elite sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 42(5), 381-391. [Link] ↩︎
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One year of cross sex hormone therapy causes robust increases in muscle mass and strength in transmen (females) but modest changes in transwomen (males)
Thigh muscle volume increased 15% in transmen, which was paralleled by increased quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA) (15%) and radiological density 6%. In transwomen, the corresponding parameters decreased by –5% (muscle volume) and –4% (CSA), while density remained unaltered. The transmen increased strength over the assessment period, while the transwomen generally maintained their strength levels1:
- Wiik, A., Lundberg, T. R., Rullman, E., Andersson, D. P., Holmberg, et al. (2019). Muscle strength, size, and composition following 12 months of gender-affirming treatment in transgender individuals. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(3). [Link] ↩︎
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Strength advantage over females is retained by male-to-female transitioners (transwomen)
A systematic review of 24 studies concluded that while male-female transitioners (transwomen) do experience some decrease in muscle mass; values for strength and muscle area in transwomen remain above those of biological women, even after 36 months of hormone therapy.
Figure one1:
The above graph show’s the performance difference between transwomen and biological women in various sports. A systematic review of 24 studies concluded that while male-female transitioners (trans women) do experience a decrease in muscle mass; values for strength and muscle area in transwomen remain above those of biological women, even after 36 months of hormone therapy2.
- Hilton, E. N. & Lundberg, T.R. (2021). Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage. Sports Med 51: 199–214. [Link] ↩︎
- Harper J, O’Donnell E, Sorouri Khorashad B, et al . (2021). How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation. British Journal of Sports Medicine ;55:865-872. [Link] ↩︎