Trans athletes aren’t hurting fairness in sports

When it comes to transgender rights in sport, the Government of Alberta seems to want to make a quick decision and never think about it again. The problem is this rushed decision doesn’t really seem to factor in the impact on trans athletes at all.

The Alberta government has recently passed a new bill that would ban trans women and girls from participating in women’s sport teams. The intent of Bill 29 is to “emphasize fairness, safety, and inclusion,” according to the Government of Alberta’s website. It also assures that the bill will protect trans people’s ability to “meaningfully” participate in sport. Instead of playing on a women’s team, trans people would have the ability to participate on co-ed teams. However, in this misguided attempt to keep sport “fair” for cisgender women, the government is being deeply unfair to trans people. 

Most anti-trans sports legislation is based on the idea that trans women have a physical advantage over cis women. In fact, science doesn’t support that at all. Studies have found that trans athletes who have undergone hormone therapy really don’t have any advantage. While there is some agreement that miniscule advantages can make a difference at the professional level, there’s also differences between athletes who are all cis. In basketball or volleyball, taller height gives athletes an obvious advantage regardless of sex.

Even earlier this year at the 2024 Paris Olympics, this was an issue. Imane Khelif, a cis boxer with naturally elevated levels of testosterone, faced scrutiny due to the supposed advantages the testosterone gave her. Gender eligibility testing and the policing of women’s bodies harms cis women and trans women alike. Forcing athletes to fit neatly into one box achieves nothing but harming those athletes and the broader sports community.

To counteract the grey area, some states in the United States (U.S.) have developed policies to determine who can participate in women’s sports. The Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) suggested that in order to participate in women’s sports, students would have to prove they had started menstruating. They’d be required to answer invasive questions about their cycles just to participate in something they love. Talk about dehumanizing, not only for the trans athletes, but the cis ones too.

And the dehumanization doesn’t end there, especially for trans women. The moral panic surrounding trans women’s participation in sports has continued to “other” trans women — the exact opposite of what they need. According to athletes Allison Hadley and Aria McGowan, sports have been an important part of their health, not just physically but mentally. Sports have been somewhere for these athletes to feel safe, accepted, and validated.

For members of a community who are often vulnerable to mental health issues, a safe space to be themselves and improve their mental health is huge. Letting trans women participate in women’s sports is important for socialization. It’s a safe space for them to express and validate their identity while participating in something they love. For Hadley, the prospect of not being able to participate anymore has left her feeling “empty.”

The most unbelievable part of this all is that trans athletes are a small minority of athletes. So what is the point in passing this legislation? In fact, the government has admitted that it doesn’t really know how many trans athletes are competing in Alberta anyways. So, not only are these rules harming the sports community, but they’re unnecessarily scapegoating trans athletes.

Yes, the Alberta government proposed creating co-ed sports teams for trans athletes to participate in. But if it doesn’t even know the number of trans athletes in Alberta, how will it find enough athletes in each sport to create co-ed events? On top of that, it’s unknown if the government would provide any funding for these teams, creating just another barrier. Additionally, pushing trans athletes into another league entirely could be extremely othering.

Trans athletes have been through a lot. Legislation like Bill 29 achieves nothing but creating more barriers for all athletes to participate in the sports they love. For some, that can be a huge determinant for their mental health and overall well-being. It’s time for Alberta to stop hiding behind uncalled for fear and realize how important trans people are for our community. They deserve every bit of respect as everyone else — it’s time we start acting that way.