STOCKTON, CA—Cackling as the steps of the dastardly plan crystallized in her mind, local trans teen Brie Chandler told reporters Tuesday that she had hatched a nefarious plot to undergo years of medical treatments and counseling to win at swimming. “It’s oh, so simple: several years of sweet-talking medical…
  • Jimmyeatsausage@lemmy.worldEnglish
    64·
    6 months ago

    Except science and reality as it exists today. I literally stated up front that there was little evidence. That doesn’t change what the existing evidence shows.

    Available evidence indicates trans women who have undergone testosterone suppression have no clear biological advantages over cis women in elite sport. • The higher levels of red blood cell count experienced by cis men is removed within the first four months of testosterone suppression; • There is no basis for athletic advantage conferred by bone size or density, other than advantages achieved through height. Elite athletes tend to have higher than average height across genders, and above-average height is not currently classified as an athletic advantage requiring regulation; • On average, trans women who are pre-testosterone suppression still have lower Lean Body Mass (LBM), Cross Section Area (CSA), and strength than cis males. This indicates that the performance benefit experienced by these individuals cannot be generalized by examining cis male athletes; • Non-athletic trans women experience significant reduction in LBM, CSA, and strength loss within 12 months of hormonal suppression. It is important to note that this 12-month threshold is arbitrarily defined, and no significant studies examine the rate of LBM, CSA or strength reduction over time; • When adjusting for height and fat mass, LBM, CSA, and strength after 12 months of testosterone suppression, trans women still retained statistically higher levels than sedentary cis women. However, this difference is well within the normal distribution of LBM, CSA, and strength for cis women (Jassen et al., 2000); • LBM, CSA, and strength loss continues for trans women after the 12month initial testosterone suppression; • The limited available evidence examining the effect of testosterone suppression as it directly affects trans women’s athletic performance showed no athletic advantage exists after one year of testosterone suppression (Harper, 2015; Roberts et al., 2020; Harper, 2020); • Post gonad removal, many trans women experience testosterone levels far below that of pre-menopausal cis women. 5

    • Sarmyth@lemmy.worldEnglish
      24·
      6 months ago

      The issue that I think is highlighted by the article is that it presupposes that the transathlete is undergoing hormone suppression. That isn’t a prerequisite to participate in most sports, and to require it would require disclosing more detailed medical information than might be prudent.

      So, while the study is small, it is also not representative of many instances of trans athleticism. A transwoman not on HRT is just as much a woman as one who’s been on it for years, according to advocates, and should be equally eligible to participate in women’s sports. If that belief isn’t held, you’ll be labeled a transphobe and bigot as well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      • SphereofWreckening@ttrpg.networkEnglish
        42·
        6 months ago

        You’re a bigot because of your reactionary response to a situation that doesn’t exist. I can make up a scenario in my head and get upset about it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s happening. And you’ve been doing it all over this thread and projecting that anger onto trans people.

        A transwoman not on HRT is just as much a woman as one who’s been on it for years, according to advocates

        You’re also transphobic for implying that trans women not taking HRT are less women than those that do. They’re just women, all of them.