Lauren Fratto POLS 1100-501 1

Final Domestic or Foreign Policy Essay

Political Science 1100-501

Lauren Fratto
May 3rd, 2022
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After reviewing the many issues presented on the website ISideWith I concluded to

research and formulate my paper on the question “Should transgender athletes be allowed to

compete against athletes that differ from their assigned sex at birth?” According to the poll that

ISideWith continually gathers data on, 57% of pole takers say yes, trans athletes should be

allowed to compete against athletes that differ from their assigned sex at birth, and 43% say

no. This poll has had a lot of participation, with over 93,00 people voting yes and over 71,000

people voting no. This issue is not only hotly debated in our country, but in our own state, I

appreciate the chance to look further into both perspectives and formulate my own researched

opinion on the matter.

To begin, I will discuss recent current events in the state of Utah regarding this topic.

Recently the state legislature hastily proposed a bill that would ban transgender girls from

competing in sports in K-12. From the news source NPR, we gain an insight into what is

motivating legislatures to push this bill to ban transgender female athletes “Leaders in the

deeply conservative Utah say they need the law to protect women's sports. As cultural shifts

raise LGBTQ visibility, the lawmakers argue that, without their intervention, more transgender

athletes with apparent physical advantages could eventually dominate the field and change the

nature of women's sports.” (Associated Press, 2022). The article goes on to say “The proposal,

although framed as a compromise, failed to gain traction on either side. LGBTQ advocates took

issue with Republican politicians appointing commission members and evaluation criteria that

included body measurements such as hip-to-knee ratio.” (Associated Press, 2022). Conservative

lawmakers in Utah are claiming that women’s sports need to be protected by the government,
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so that women are not dominated within their participation in sports. It is important to note

that the Utah bill only pertains to sports participation in K-12.

In response to the legislature’s speedy passage of the bill, Utah’s Governor Cox vetoed

the bill and provided an attached letter. I was able to read Cox’s full letter to the legislature

which was provided on the Salt Lake Tribune’s website. In the letter, Cox makes many good

points, but what particularly stuck with me was this

“Finally, there is one more important reason for this veto. I must admit, I am not

an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it and the

science is conflicting. When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of

kindness, mercy, and compassion. I also try to get proximate, and I am learning

so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face

enormous struggles. Here are the numbers that have most impacted my

decision: 75,000, 4, 1, 86 and 56. 75,000 high school kids participating in high

school sports in Utah. 4 transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah. 1

transgender student playing girls sports. 86% of trans youth reporting suicidality.

56% of trans youth having attempted suicide. Four kids and only one of them

playing girls sports. That is what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t

dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just

trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. " (Gov. Cox,

March 22nd, 2022).

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Cox makes several important points in this passage, however, to me what stands out

most is the information that there is only one trans girl/woman who is competing in sports in

Utah’s K-12, just one. The legislature managed to override of Cox’s veto and Utah will become

the 12th state to enact a ban on transgender athletes, and it will take effect on July 1st.

(Associated Press, 2022).

I also want to highlight a recent event that Cox mentions in the letter and has been at

the center of the National debate on trans athletes' rights. Cox writes “I also think it is

important to address some of the arguments that came up during the passing of the 4th

substitute of the bill. Many legislators brought up the trans swimmer at the University of

Pennsylvania, who has recently dominated women’s swimming, setting records and lapping the

field. I agree with those who are concerned with this egregious example. I believe this is terrible

for women’s sports. There are natural advantages that come from our birth sex, which is the

very reason that we have men’s and women’s sports in the first place.” (Gov. Cox, March 22 nd,

2022). Governor Cox is surely not the only individual to weigh in on swimmer Lia Thomas from

the University of Pennsylvania. From the news source the New York Post we gain more insight

into the conservative opinion on transgendered athlete’s participation in sports. The author

Piers Morgan begins by announcing his commitment to transgender individuals and clearing his

name of transphobia, and he follows those statements with this

“BUT, and it’s a massive “BUT,” that shouldn’t entitle those born with male

biological bodies to create a new unfairness and inequality by competing in sport

against women born female. Yet this is exactly what is happening, most notably

in women’s swimming, where trans athlete Lia Thomas is demolishing her rivals
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and making an absolute mockery of sporting fairness. Thomas, 22, was a

mediocre performer when she competed as a man but is now a record-breaking

phenomenon competing as a woman, winning some races by several whole laps

of a pool. I don’t blame Thomas for this situation, and she should be able to

compete as a swimmer. In my view, either against biological men as she did

before, or in a new category against other trans women.” (Morgan, 2022).

As we see from Morgan’s conservative standpoint, he believes that transgender athletes should

be able to compete in sports, however, he does not believe they (specifically trans women)

should be able to compete in sports as the gender they identify with. Before I get to my opinion

on the matter, I want to address both Morgan and Cox’s statements about Lia Thomas. From

the most recent NCAA competition We see that Lia Thomas placed 1st in the 500 meter

freestyle, beating out Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds. That is the only listed race in which she

placed first. We also learn from the rankings that Lia Thomas placed 6 th in overall points at the

NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championship. I hardly think that winning an

opponent by 1.75 seconds is demolishing her rivals and it is apparent that many other women

ranked higher in the competition than Lia. I would argue that she is certainly not “making an

absolute mockery of fairness” in women’s sports.

Now, where does all this information lead us in terms of how the government should

approach this issue? As we learned, the Utah legislature as well as many other governments

around the nation believe that it is the job of the government to regulate who can and who

cannot participate in gendered sports. They believe that it is the governments job to enforce

regulations such as hormone testing, body measuring, and other quantifications to see if you
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are “man” enough or “women” enough to participate in gendered sports. We see from my

sources that this is an issue facing K-12 sports, and college sports. I would also assume that it is

affecting Olympic and professional sports as well, it is a critical issue that is not going away. Do I

believe the government should be involved in the regulation of these sports? I do, but not when

it comes to who is “man” or “woman” enough to play. Subjecting athletes to tests that

determine if they are enough of the gender they identify as to play their sport is dehumanizing

and wrong. The idea that lawmakers need to protect women is also condescending. I do not

believe that transgender women are transgender because they want to compete in women’s

sports. Nor do not believe that men would pretend to be transgender just to dominate

women’s sports.

I believe that yes, transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against athletes

that differ from their assigned sex at birth. When it comes to government involvement in

sports, particularly K-12, the focus of government regulation should be on the safety of the

athletes. Whether that be regulations for safety equipment such as helmets, proper training to

avoid injuries, or finally, regulations to prevent coaches from abusing young athletes. Whether

that abuse is verbal, sexual, physical, or emotional. I would argue that government oversight is

necessary for safety measures, but not to define someone as male or female.
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References:

ISideWith (May, 2022). ISideWithPolls. https://www.isidewith.com/polls

The Associated Press. (March 25th, 2022). Utah bans transgender athletes in girls' sports

despite Govenor's veto. NPR KUER 90.1. https://www.npr.org/2022/03/25/1088908741/utah-

transgender-athletes-veto-override

Gov. Spencer Cox (March 22nd, 2022). Here’s Utah Gov. Cox’s Statement on vetoing the

transgender sports bill. The Salt Lake Tribune.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2022/03/22/gov-spencer-coxs/

Piers Morgan (January 26th, 2022). Trans athletes like Lia Thomas are destroying

women’s sports in way as unfair as doping cheats- stop this woke insanity now!. New York Post.

https://nypost.com/2022/01/26/trans-athletes-like-lia-thomas-are-destroying-womens-sports/

James Sutherland (March 22nd, 2022). 2022 Women’s NCAA division I women’s

swimming and diving championships. Swim Swam. https://swimswam.com/2022-womens-

ncaa-championships-results-records-summary/