The fight to stop the increased inclusion of transgender athletes in sports competitions is beginning to gain momentum..A recent petition was created via change.org attempting to bar New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard from becoming the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics. It has so far been signed by 21,000 people..Hubbard was born male but now identifies as female. She has been fully transitioned to female since 2012, and has competed in local athletic competitions around New Zealand for at least a decade..The petition argues Hubbard’s birth gender gives her increased physical ability and unfair advantages over other female-born women competing..In order to compete as a female, one can only have a maximum reading of ten nanomoles per litre of testosterone. This number is at least five times more than a biologically female-born individual..New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has defended Hubbard..“Parties here have simply followed the rules. That’s the case for Laurel but also the team in New Zealand – they have followed the rules. The alternative is to have someone who followed the rules but then is denied the ability to participate,” Ardern said..The discussion surrounding transgender participation in professional sport has shifted to the forefront in recent years. The International Olympic Committee created rules stating if a woman assigned female at birth wishes to compete as a transgender athlete, they are permitted to compete on either the men or women’s team so long as they have not taken testosterone..This stipulation fuelled anger within certain factions of the transgender community initially, with some organizations calling the rules transphobic and citing the IOC’s own rules that “the practice of sport is a human right” which shouldn’t be impaired by gender..Interest groups have also highlighted the importance of transgender participation in sport as a key social barrier..Others have argued that the biological inequities inherently given to transgender athletes, specifically male-to-female competing in female competitions with higher levels of testosterone than their other female competitors..But some public figures, like Caitlynn Jenner – a transgender individual and former male Olympic athlete – have also been outspoken opposition for transgender participation in sport..President of Athletics Alberta Linda Blade recently made waves in the community by releasing her book Unsporting: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport..In it, Blade brings up biological evidence to support her claim the new approach to gender ideology in professional sport has the potential to do more harm than good..Blade argues the biological level playing field provided by gender, especially to women in sport, is being threatened by the inclusion of transgender athletes..She said she is often labelled a transphobe for her positions on gender in sport..The previously scheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been rescheduled to this year, with opening ceremonies scheduled to begin in Tokyo on July 24..Jackie Conroy is a Correspondent for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
