Wonderful article. Thank you for writing this. I'm not quite sure if there's anything I could add to this. You cover the points really well. The hollow arguments that are used to promote "fairness" in relationship to a "level playing field" fail in both their logic and their application. When I've had conversations with people about trans women and sports (because let's be honest, it's never a conversation about trans men in sports), I always talk about the fact that the numbers simply aren't there to indicate that there is any sort of issue to begin with. There has been no domination of sports by any trans person. And the championships that have been won can be counted on one hand. The only trans athlete that I can think of that may have had a physical advantage was the trans boy who was forced to wrestle in the girls division down in Texas at the high school level. And he didn't want to wrestle in the girl's division, he was trying to wrestle with the boys, but was forced to wrestle with the girls due to Texas law banning trans athletes competing in the proper divisions.
The argument that the numbers don't exist to justify the hysteria have a little more traction than the discussing the science behind this. It seems to bring the focus back to a different idea of fairness, that of being able to participate in one's own life, and moves the discussion away from the hyperbole and the dystopian fantasies that the right wing want to perpetuate.
I will, however, sometimes use myself as an example of the effect of hormones on physical performance. I have data going back 11 years now with my cycling that clearly shows a loss of performance. The science behind hormones is woefully misunderstood by the vast majority of the population. But for some reason when I can produce a chart that's specific to my own performance, that seems to stick more than a study that I might be able to provide that has way more data and way more visual aids.
Thanks so much! Your final two paragraphs reinforce the argument that "stories" are the most powerful means of persuasion of skeptics; most people simply don't have the mindset of scientists. So I'll think carefully about that as I organize the book. I definitely want the hard science to be in there (in succinct form, easily read by the few who are interested or question it), but also want these points to be clear to non-scientists.
It's a balancing act worthy of Nic Wallenda 😏. Joanna Harper has published very nice data about a small set (8 I think) of runners with before HRT and after times, corrected (very logically I think) for aging effects. Yet they're routinely objected to as "insufficient statistical significance." So one goes with the larger dataset where the conclusions must be inferred from basic physiology, and this is "not proven." Sigh...
But we don't need to convince the Nancy Maces - I have to believe there are some legislators, aides thereto, school board members, and plain active citizens who will listen to facts and reason. So I'll keep working!
I was just discussing sports participation with a new board member as she has a trans child who plays baseball. I told her the same thing, we don't need to be worried about the overtly transphobic people out there. The Nancy Maces and Riley Gaines of the world. It's a waste of time trying to convince them. But there's a lot more folks who I think are open to the conversation if approached the right way.
Do you have a link for that study on runners? And I would love to know what other studies you have. The two that I share widely consist of a meta study that came out of Canada (https://cces.ca/transgender-women-athletes-and-elite-sport-scientific-review) and a study that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/58/11/586). Beyond that I only know of one study consisting of one individual in regards to cycling. The cyclist was Jillian Bearden. She was instrumental in setting up the guidelines for trans women participation in USA cycling before that organization effectively banned trans women.
I'm frantically trying to get my next post out; then I'll have more time to perhaps reorganize my data! Best way to share for me is by email. There's probably no reason not to put that here, but following "usual" procedures: just go to my website https://jaynasheats.com/ and there's a signup form which will give me your email in a protected way, and I'll respond.
Sent you my email through your website. And thanks for the links! I'm actually going to be listening to her speak during a pflag Fresno sponsored zoom meeting on May 28th!
Wonderful article. Thank you for writing this. I'm not quite sure if there's anything I could add to this. You cover the points really well. The hollow arguments that are used to promote "fairness" in relationship to a "level playing field" fail in both their logic and their application. When I've had conversations with people about trans women and sports (because let's be honest, it's never a conversation about trans men in sports), I always talk about the fact that the numbers simply aren't there to indicate that there is any sort of issue to begin with. There has been no domination of sports by any trans person. And the championships that have been won can be counted on one hand. The only trans athlete that I can think of that may have had a physical advantage was the trans boy who was forced to wrestle in the girls division down in Texas at the high school level. And he didn't want to wrestle in the girl's division, he was trying to wrestle with the boys, but was forced to wrestle with the girls due to Texas law banning trans athletes competing in the proper divisions.
The argument that the numbers don't exist to justify the hysteria have a little more traction than the discussing the science behind this. It seems to bring the focus back to a different idea of fairness, that of being able to participate in one's own life, and moves the discussion away from the hyperbole and the dystopian fantasies that the right wing want to perpetuate.
I will, however, sometimes use myself as an example of the effect of hormones on physical performance. I have data going back 11 years now with my cycling that clearly shows a loss of performance. The science behind hormones is woefully misunderstood by the vast majority of the population. But for some reason when I can produce a chart that's specific to my own performance, that seems to stick more than a study that I might be able to provide that has way more data and way more visual aids.
Thanks so much! Your final two paragraphs reinforce the argument that "stories" are the most powerful means of persuasion of skeptics; most people simply don't have the mindset of scientists. So I'll think carefully about that as I organize the book. I definitely want the hard science to be in there (in succinct form, easily read by the few who are interested or question it), but also want these points to be clear to non-scientists.
It's a balancing act worthy of Nic Wallenda 😏. Joanna Harper has published very nice data about a small set (8 I think) of runners with before HRT and after times, corrected (very logically I think) for aging effects. Yet they're routinely objected to as "insufficient statistical significance." So one goes with the larger dataset where the conclusions must be inferred from basic physiology, and this is "not proven." Sigh...
But we don't need to convince the Nancy Maces - I have to believe there are some legislators, aides thereto, school board members, and plain active citizens who will listen to facts and reason. So I'll keep working!
I was just discussing sports participation with a new board member as she has a trans child who plays baseball. I told her the same thing, we don't need to be worried about the overtly transphobic people out there. The Nancy Maces and Riley Gaines of the world. It's a waste of time trying to convince them. But there's a lot more folks who I think are open to the conversation if approached the right way.
Do you have a link for that study on runners? And I would love to know what other studies you have. The two that I share widely consist of a meta study that came out of Canada (https://cces.ca/transgender-women-athletes-and-elite-sport-scientific-review) and a study that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/58/11/586). Beyond that I only know of one study consisting of one individual in regards to cycling. The cyclist was Jillian Bearden. She was instrumental in setting up the guidelines for trans women participation in USA cycling before that organization effectively banned trans women.
https://doi.org/10.18848/2381-6678/CGP/v06i01/54079
has Harper's data and age analysis. It's also available at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307766116_Race_Times_for_Transgender_Athletes
I'm frantically trying to get my next post out; then I'll have more time to perhaps reorganize my data! Best way to share for me is by email. There's probably no reason not to put that here, but following "usual" procedures: just go to my website https://jaynasheats.com/ and there's a signup form which will give me your email in a protected way, and I'll respond.
Sent you my email through your website. And thanks for the links! I'm actually going to be listening to her speak during a pflag Fresno sponsored zoom meeting on May 28th!