The end of women's sports

[Mark Rippetoe]

And this is certainly relevant: Prenatal testosterone linked to long-term effects in females who share womb with male twin

[zinedine kilbane]

On Transgender athletes and performance advantages | The Science of Sport

This website has some intelligent analysis of the matter. More focused on elite athlethics and the olympics than powerlifting but the science behind it is the same.

One of the main issues it raises for me is the very generously high testosterone level allowed for transgender females according to the IOC. At 10 nmol/l there is significant overlap with the normal male range (7.7 - 30 nmol/l). So a male on the lower end of the normal male range really wouldn’t have to even lower his testosterone levels to compete. All that would be required to compete as a female is to track your testosterone for a year and to submit a signed declaration that you are a female. No surgery and not even any legal documentation!

[Mark Rippetoe]

Nicely done article. Here's the money shot:

Do transgender females who lower their testosterone levels into the female range, as required by current policy, continue to have performance advantages over biological women?

Let's put this to bed: test the SVJ. Compare before and after data. If no before data exists, they are disqualified. If they appear to sandbag the test, they are disqualified. I can tell, and so can you. And we both know what will happen.

It seems clear to me that this is an issue for congenital women who want to compete in sports. THEY are going to have to stop being agreeable and start defending themselves. I understand that in a sane world this should be unnecessary, and under the current circumstances doing so will be made to be distasteful and will therefore be difficult. It will come down to commitment to the sport and to being a competitor. But I think this cannot be fixed by the boys. If the girls want to compete, they are going to have to stop being nice about this. If the presence of a congenital male in the women's division is not acceptable, then the women will have to stop accepting it. The media will say nasty things if you do. So what matters most? Time to decide.

[TonyE]

Nicely done article. Here's the money shot:



Let's put this to bed: test the SVJ. Compare before and after data. If no before data exists, they are disqualified. If they appear to sandbag the test, they are disqualified. I can tell, and so can you. And we both know what will happen.

It seems clear to me that this is an issue for congenital women who want to compete in sports. THEY are going to have to stop being agreeable and start defending themselves. I understand that in a sane world this should be unnecessary, and under the current circumstances doing so will be made to be distasteful and will therefore be difficult. It will come down to commitment to the sport and to being a competitor. But I think this cannot be fixed by the boys. If the girls want to compete, they are going to have to stop being nice about this. If the presence of a congenital male in the women's division is not acceptable, then the women will have to stop accepting it. The media will say nasty things if you do. So what matters most? Time to decide.

Some of them are : Dame Kelly Holmes, Paula Radcliffe and Sharron Davies to write to IOC over transgender athletes - BBC Sport

[ceast]

On Transgender athletes and performance advantages | The Science of Sport

This website has some intelligent analysis of the matter. More focused on elite athlethics and the olympics than powerlifting but the science behind it is the same.

One of the main issues it raises for me is the very generously high testosterone level allowed for transgender females according to the IOC. At 10 nmol/l there is significant overlap with the normal male range (7.7 - 30 nmol/l). So a male on the lower end of the normal male range really wouldn’t have to even lower his testosterone levels to compete. All that would be required to compete as a female is to track your testosterone for a year and to submit a signed declaration that you are a female. No surgery and not even any legal documentation!

Just finished reading it and came here to link. Glad to see someone else posted. Ross Tucker covers the issue really well and it's great to see him get it all down in one article.