Transgender Athletes in Todays World

Sam Palafox

Jane Paden

Noah Baxter

Carlos Bernal

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 In today’s world, inclusivity seems to be a topic that is controversial. The fact that certain

groups of people may not have the same opportunities as others in all aspects of life cannot be

ignored. In the world of sports, many rules and regulations have been set in place that exclude

many groups of people from competing. Recently, many organizations have begun the process

of updating their rules and regulations to allow more athletes to compete. As the times continue

to bring out change, many major sporting events follow in the footsteps of others by making their

event more inclusive. The Tokyo 2021 Olympics followed in these footsteps, and allowed

transgender athletes to compete for the first time. A big name added to the line up was Laurel

Hubbard, and with this addition changes within the IOC’s rules have brought a controversial

discussion into the media today. Despite the backlash from the media and the public, the

change in rules allows more diversity within the athletes.

Background on Laurel Hubbard

Laurel Hubbard is one of the first openly transgender athletes allowed to compete in the

2021 Olympics. Hubbard was born in Auckland, New Zealand on February 9th, 1978 as a male.

Prior to her transition, Hubbard had already made an impact in

the weightlifting world by setting many records in junior divisions,

holding a national record at the men’s events and she was even

appointed to be an Executive Officer for “Laurel Hubbard” (2021). BBC.

Olympic Weightlifting for New Zealand (Ibbeston, 2021). Hubbard began her career in

weightlifting in order to “become more masculine,” but she still felt uncomfortable in her own skin

(T-Gate). Although she was achieving great things and making history in mens weightlifting, she

found it challenging to continue living as a man. She said it, ““became too much to bear…just

the pressure of trying to fit into a world that perhaps wasn’t really set up for people like myself,”

which caused Hubbard to end her career as a male lifter in 2001 at the age of 23 (Hubbard).

After Hubbard ended her career as a lifter, she disappeared from the public eye. She

only returned to the public when she felt it was time to come out as a transgender woman. After
coming out she began her transition from male to female in 2013 at the age of 25. Hubbard

made her first public appearance in 2017 after she was included in the World Championship

Squad in Anaheim.

Behind Transitioning

“Testosterone blockers,” also known as anti-androgen, are used to suppress the

production of testosterone giving users physical features that are typically perceived as

feminine. They are one of the most well known drugs taken during transition from male to

female, but not the only one. Oestrogen therapy comes first, increasing the levels of oestrogen,

the hormone responsible for the female reproductive system and secondary traits, in the user.

This alone is typically not a significant hormonal change to induce a complete transition.

Anti-Androgens are added to Oestrogen therapy to prevent natural testosterone from

overproducing in response to raised estrogen levels.

This graph shows the levels of testosterone over

time in transgender females as they continue their

hormone therapy. The levels of testosterone, on the

x axis, are shown to go down a drastic amount as

time, on the y axis, continues to move forward.

“Testosterone Levels Achieved by Medically Treated Transgender Women.”

(2018). Endocrine Practice.
The Science

In athletics, the question of whether male to female athletes have an unfair advantage,

even after undergoing hormone therapy, is an ongoing discussion. The leading notion in the

discussion is testosterone levels. Greater testosterone levels are considered advantageous as

higher levels result in increased muscle mass and increased athletic performance in areas such
as speed and strength. The normal range of testosterone for women is less than 2.6 nmol/L

compared to a males 6.9-10.4 nmol/L.

Rules and Regulations

The International Olympic Committee regulates guidelines on this topic while maintaining

fair competition for cisgender females and inclusion for transgender females. To be allowed to

compete, transgender women have a list of rules and requirements they must meet. They are

required to have a testosterone level below 10 nmol/L, which must be maintained for 12 months

prior to and throughout the competition period. Penalty for failure or noncompliance of testing

results in a 12 month suspension. Alongside this rule, Olympic athletes are required to claim the

identity of their gender for a minimum of four years prior to Olympic competition.

Although rules are strict now, in 2003 trangeder athletes had to comply to rules that

included both obilgatory sex reassignment surgery and two years of horomone treatment

(Garden News and Media, 2016). The requirement for sex reassignment surgery was decided to

be unethical, as many countries do not share the same beliefs or legislation. This led to its

removal from the IOC’s Transgender athele guidelines in 2016.

These rules, although meant to help maintain fairness for cisgender females, cause

great disadvantage to those with the natural recurrent of hyperandrogenism. Hyperandrogenism

is a condition in which a person’s body naturally produces high androgen levels leading to high

testosterone levels in women. The testosterone tests meant for transgender athletes even

disqualify fair competing cisgender athletes that may have previously been unaware of their

condition. Many athletes have been forced to either take anti-androgen pills or be disqualified

completely from competition. There are many health risks and complications that occur during

hormone therapy, leading many athletes to refuse to take them. Although the discussion is

ongoing the IOC currently states, “Rules should be in place for the protection of women in sport
and the promotion of the principles of fair competition” when addressing both

Hyperandrogenism and male to female transgender athletes. (IOC, 2015)

The Media and Public Response

Although the IOC has these rules in place, a mass amount of negative attention is sent

towards these transgender athletes from both the media and the general public. Many

mainstream media outlets, as well as people on social media, tend to hold the belief that it is

unfair for transgender athletes to compete even with these strict rules in place. A mass amount

of negative attention derives from the fact that many transgender women did not use puberty

blockers and transitioned later in life.

This negative attention however is mainly shown to those who have transitioned from

male to female. The attention placed upon male to female athletes in the media is reflected in

legislation as well. The graph shown is a map of the United

States in which the states that are blue have passed legislation

to stop transgener women from competing in sports. Many

states push out legislation and bills that are solely centered

towards transgender women.

On the other side of the fence, there are those who stand

behind transgender athletes. In the media, some supporters

(2021). The Pew Charitable Trusts. will go as far as to further elaborate upon the rules set by the IOC.

Dr. Eric Vilain, a pediatrician and geneticist, says that the laws used to limit transgender women

are not backed by science and used to “target women who have either a different biology or…

simply look different” (Ermyas, Wakeam, 2021). Dr. Vilain used the platform presented to him by

NPR in order to push for diversity and inclusivity. It is not only those with a background in

science who support the inclusion of transgender athletes, but a large amount of the general

public on social media as well. Many people have taken to social media in order to fight for

inclusivity and the right for transgender athletes to compete. With hundreds of bills being sent to
state legislatures all across the United States to try and prevent the inclusion of transgender

youth athletes, many activists have taken to the media to try and stop these bills. Athletes like

Hubbard, despite being followed by negative attention, are inciting a fight for change. The

attention shown to these athletes by the media only helps spread their message faster.

Final Thoughts

As the world continues to progress, people are beginning to take a stand for one

another. Groups like the IOC continue to do what they can to ensure the highest level of

inclusivity while keeping things fair. There will always be a debate around whether or not these

athletes should be able to compete and at the end of the day science will decide. Athletes like

Laurel Hubbard are the stepping stone to

worldwide change that will continue to

influence and inspire others. Like her,

members of the LGBTQ+ will continue to

make a huge impact and be the catalyst for

more change in the world of Ronan, Wyatt.

“Openly Transgender Athletes 2021.” (2021). The Insider. sports.

 Works Cited

Ermyas, T., & Wakeam, K. (2021, March 18). Wave of bills to block trans athletes

has no basis in science, researcher says. NPR. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/18/978716732/wave-of-new-bills-say-trans-athletes-have-a

n-unfair-edge-what-does-the-science-s.

Guardian News and Media. (2016, January 25). IOC rules transgender athletes

can take part in Olympics without surgery. The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021,

from

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/25/ioc-rules-transgender-athletes-can-take-

part-in-olympics-without-surgery.

Ibbetson, R. (2021, August 2). How Laurel Hubbard was a promising weightlifter

as a teenage boy long before transitioning. DUK News. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from

https://dailyuknews.com/us-news/how-laurel-hubbard-was-a-promising-weightlifter-as-a-

teenage-boy-long-before-transitioning

Jones-Cruise, C. (2021, July 28). The story behind New Zealand transgender

weightlifter Laurel Hubbard. World News Curatory. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from

https://telegraf.id/the-story-behind-new-zealand-transgender-weightlifter-laurel-hubbard/

OC Consensus Meeting on Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism

November 2015 [PDF]. (2015, November). Château de Vidy, 1007 Lausanne,

Switzerland: International Olympic Committee.

 Richardson, R. (2021, June 21). Laurel Hubbard (trans weightlifter) surgery,

before and after, transition, age, family, injury, reddit, height, nationality, birth name.

Primal Information. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from

https://primalinformation.com/laurel-hubbard-/.

Spitznagel, E. (2021, July 22). Trans women athletes have unfair advantage over

those born female: Testosterone. New York Post. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from

https://nypost.com/2021/07/10/trans-women-athletes-have-unfair-advantage-over-those

-born-female/.

Tangpricha, V., & den Heijer, M. (2017). Oestrogen and anti-androgen therapy for

transgender women. The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology, 5(4), 291–300.

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