I am writing to express my concern about how transgender people in sports do not have enough rights. Transgender people are targeted by harmful policies that heavily restrict them and in some cases outright ban them. These policies are based on stereotypes rather than scientific facts and outright ignore the scientific studies disproving the stereotypes. This is a big problem, and I know this firsthand as I am a transgender athlete myself. In my experience, transgender people feel targeted and restricted by the policies.
Sport policies concerning transgender people are usually based on stereotypes and not on the overwhelming scientific evidence that transgender people do not have advantages in sports over cisgender people. The facts are usually ignored that that leads to more harmful stereotypes. So here are the facts. A study done in 2021, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, found that after 12 months of blockers, there is no scientific evidence that transgender people have advantages over cisgender people. A 2024 study that was partly funded by the IOC and was published in the British Journal of Medicine found that transgender people, after 12 months of blockers, have no advantages over cisgender people, and in fact, they may have disadvantages compared to cisgender people. Even though the IOC helped found the 2024 study, the IOC announced that they would not allow transgender people to compete in their gender identity category in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Sports help people in many ways. Sports have been proven to have many helpful effects, both mentally and physically. They provide community, they help people keep in shape, they help reduce depression and anxiety, and they provide many more benefits. Transgender people want those benefits too. But with the current sports policies heavily restricting transgender people in sports, they can not get those benefits. That is why awareness needs to be raised; transgender people in sports need more rights.
Violet Mazzei
Pelham