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Word Count: 600 Kamis & Glick (2021) finds that though there are plenty of reasons for the IOC to include transgender women in the women’s division of sport, there are just as many to argue they should not. Cunningham et al. (2021) finds five distinct reasons for transgender women to be included in women’s sports at all levels based on human rights and equality and presents ideas on how to integrate the athletes. Anderson et al. (2019) finds an algorithm which accounts for social and physiological factors in an athlete would create a fair sport environment like the Paralympics, where handicaps are put in place according to the athlete. A common theme in would be transgender athletes and sport. Transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete alongside cisgender athletes in team sports, rather than individual sports. This would allow for a balance in naturally occurring advantages and disadvantages to be spread apart and as close to neutral as possible. Evidence for the individual unfairness can be shown through the example of Will Thomas, unknown NCAA swimmer, who transitioned to Lia Thomas, NCAA national champion the following year (Sanchez, 2022). A counter would be that it is unfair to exclude athletes based on their sport being individual or team based (Danesi & Havadi, 2022). However, the unfair advantage or disadvantage that is afforded to individual transgender athletes disrupts the balance of the fair play code within sports, and an even playing field is necessary for all athletes. Restrictions on the sport allowed to be played by transgender athletes allows for the innate advantage or disadvantage to be neutralized when playing with a cisgender team, whereas in an individual sport the advantage or disadvantage is in full effect. Transgender athletes should only compete against other transgender athletes. This allows a more even playing field for the competing athletes. When competing with cisgender athletes,

transgender individuals are either at an advantage or disadvantage dependant on their identifying gender (Kamis & Glick, 2021). A counter would be that segregating transgender people from their identifying gender is a step back in society equality progress, and it is discriminatory (Gessen, 2021). However much like the Paralympics, this is not discriminatory and simply allows similar athletes to compete on a level playing field for the same level of achievements and respect. By creating an only transgender division within sport at every level of competition, the most even playing field possible is created therefore giving the athletes the fairest competition possible. Transgender athletes should be fully included in all sports and competitions while competing under their identifying gender. Society has progressed too far in regard to equality and inclusion of all LGBTQ+ persons to stop at the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports. There are countless articles, reviews, evidence, as well as testimonies from coaches, referees, and judges that advocate for the inclusion of transgender athletes, given certain rules based on things such as hormones are followed (Pitsiladis et al., 2016). A counter would be that transgender athletes disrupt the leveled fair-play field in sports via biological advantages or disadvantages (Stossel, 2021). However, if a transgender athlete is following each step required of them to compete, like ensuring hormone levels are on par with a biological example of their gender, then fairness should not be called into question. Also, athletes regardless of gender identity already vary as it is, such as height, so by enforcing hormone regulations then the even playing field is maintained. By including transgender athletes in sport, society further strengthens its position as LGBTQ+ allies and maintaining fair play by means of restrictions such as hormone therapy. References:

Anderson, L., Knox, T., & Heather, A. (2019). Trans-athletes in Elite Sport: Inclusion and fairness. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences , 3 (6), 759–762. https://doi.org/10.1042/etls20180071 Cunningham, G. B., Isard, R., & Melton, E. N. (2022). Transgender inclusion in Sport. Kinesiology Review , 11 (1), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1123/kr.2021-0040 Danesi, J., & Hadavi, S. (2022, June 21). The excuses for the exclusion of trans athletes . Niner Times. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.ninertimes.com/opinion/the-excuses- for-the-exclusion-of-trans-athletes/article_4316f78e-e286-11ec-8270-0bf94275e079.html Gessen, M. (2021, March 27). The movement to exclude trans girls from sports . The New Yorker. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the- movement-to-exclude-trans-girls-from-sports Kamis, D., & Glick, I. D. (2021). Improving competition and mental health for transgender athletes. The Physician and Sportsmedicine , 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2021.1949250 Pitsiladis, Y., Harper, J., Betancurt, J. O., Martinez-Patino, M.-J., Parisi, A., Wang, G., & Pigozzi, F. (2016). Beyond fairness: The biology of inclusion for transgender and intersex athletes. Current Sports Medicine Reports , 15 (6), 386–388. https://doi.org/10.1249/jsr.0000000000000314 Sanchez, R. (2022, March 3). 'I am lia': The trans swimmer dividing america tells her story . Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/03/lia-thomas-penn-swimmer-transgender-woman- daily-cover Stossel, J. (2021, August 5). Transgender athletes have an unfair advantage . timesnews.net. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.timesnews.net/opinion/blogs/transgender- athletes-have-an-unfair-advantage/article_943db146-f521-11eb-9818-43c27684696a.html

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