Transsexuals, the great sports debate

Laurel Hubbard, during the weightlifting competition in the last Tokyo Games.Miguel Gutiérrez (EFE)

The successes of American transsexual swimmer Lia Thomas have sparked a heated controversy surrounding equal opportunities in sport and the rights of people who change their sex. Some compare the effects of the situation created to doping in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the seventies and eighties, they consider that the swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania benefits from a biological advantage in terms of muscle mass and strength conferred by the male puberty and conclude that the case poses a threat to the integrity of female sport.

Others argue that there is a danger of segregating transgender people as was done with black women, and that they do not cheat or violate the rights of other athletes. "The case is the tip of the iceberg of a trend that can cause a schism in women's sport," concludes María José Martínez Patiño, a former hurdles specialist, suspended in 1986 for a male chromosome and who competed in the 1992 Games after that the International Federation agreed with his appeal, and today a researcher at the University of Vigo and collaborator of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the study of gender problems in sport.

Constantino Iglesias, president of the Spanish Weightlifting Federation, knows the debate well. It was in this sport that a transsexual competed for the first time in the Olympic Games, those in Tokyo this past summer. New Zealander Laurel Hubbard, 43, missed all three of her snatch attempts and was left without a result in the Olympic total. After the Games, he retired. “This issue is not resolved. We must seek equality in sport and the possibility that transsexual athletes compete with physical advantage against cisgender women [those whose gender identity coincides with their sexual phenotype] is an injustice. It's like doping, ”Iglesias says. “They take advantage of legislation that is not developed because the IOC does not dare to confront this type of group.He is the one who has to create a category. They cannot compete together. It's a joke. But nobody dares to say: 'no, gentlemen, it can't be'. We want to help those people, but Hubbard unseated someone to compete in the Olympics and it's not fair. Try as you may, you are not going to bring the muscle mass of a person who has developed and played sports like a man to match that of women. A transition year is not enough, its advantage is very great ”.you are not going to achieve that the muscle mass of a person who has developed and has played sports like a man is at the level of that of women. A transition year is not enough, its advantage is very great ”.you are not going to achieve that the muscle mass of a person who has developed and has played sports like a man is at the level of that of women. A transition year is not enough, its advantage is very great ”.

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Transsexual swimmer Lia Thomas and her dominance in the pool open a great controversy in the US

The IOC established the first rule that allowed transsexual athletes to compete in female events in 2003 and amended it in 2015. It established the requirements for the participation of a transsexual who declares herself to be female and set a cap on testosterone levels of 10 nanomoles. per liter of blood. Swimmer Lia Thomas explains that she followed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for two and a half years. The difference between the male and female swimming records is approximately 11%. The therapy equaled a 2% to 5% loss in Thomas' time. A group of parents of her teammates at the University of Pennsylvania sent a letter to the NCAA (the association that organizes American college leagues),in which they describe the situation as a threat to the integrity of women's sport. Cynthia Millen, judge of the United States Swimming Federation, resigned her position considering that Lia competes with an advantage over the rest of the swimmers.

Alba Palacios, Torrelodones player.

Víctor Granado, president of the Iberian Sports Group, the entity that encompasses inclusive LGTBI clubs in Spain, maintains that sport is based on the premise of the absolute superiority of men over women. “From there”, he develops, “the theory is supported that if a transsexual is very good, it is that she cheats. What we argue is that transsexuals do not cheat, they do not go against the rights of other women and they do not have a sports advantage at all. No one considers that Phelps, Indurain or Nadal are athletes outside the parameters of other athletes, or where that excellence comes from. Marion Jones was performing above normal. Maybe,The performance of this American swimmer [Lia Thomas] is out of range because not all performance comes from testosterone and male puberty. Indurain, for example, had exceptional lung and heart capacity. The comparative injury is only reported when a transsexual stands out or wins, because it seems that a transsexual cannot stand out and win ”. Granado emphasizes that the Olympic authority admits that there is no scientific consensus on how testosterone influences performance, so it recommends that this is not the only criterion when it comes to legislating. The IOC document is not mandatory and federations can go it alone.because it seems that a transsexual cannot stand out and win ”. Granado underlines that the Olympic authority admits that there is no scientific consensus on how testosterone influences performance, which is why he recommends that this is not the only criterion when it comes to legislating. The IOC document is not mandatory and federations can go it alone.because it seems that a transsexual cannot stand out and win ”. Granado underlines that the Olympic authority admits that there is no scientific consensus on how testosterone influences performance, which is why he recommends that this is not the only criterion when it comes to legislating. The IOC document is not mandatory and federations can go it alone.

It is unfair that they participate ”, ditch the president of the Spanish Weightlifting Federation

The regulations of the Spanish Swimming Federation (RFEN) are guided by those of the International Federation (FINA) and the European Swimming League (LEN), which do not include any requirement or norm in this regard, according to sources from the RFEN. “We do not have the capacity to assess a regulation that is in force in another country (the United States) and in a context different from ours. If it were the case that a transsexual wishes to compete in the female category, the regulations that exist are that of the IOC ”, they affirm in the Spanish Federation. Until now, no case similar to that of Lia Thomas in Spanish swimming has been raised or known. However, in February 2020 the case of an eight-year-old transsexual girl was reported to whom the Catalan Federation did not initially want to grant a female license because the Civil Registry did not recognize the transit at that time.

Not everything comes from testosterone ”, affirms the president of the LGTBI clubs

The process is not easy.

A judge must validate the request and may require a psychiatric examination.

"It is a denigrating and discriminatory process," says Ana Valenzuela, vice president of the Chrysallis association, of families with trans children.

The girl's family wanted to protect their daughter from that experience, which was easier after the age of 18.

Finally, the Catalan Federation processed a federative file for the transsexual girl according to her felt sexuality.

Martínez Patiño thinks in relation to the debate: “I am against accepting people who transition from woman to man when, as in the case of Lia Thomas, they are already athletes who have a previous background competing in the male category. Although in the hormonal process they have lost hemoglobin or muscle mass, they still have a great advantage after many years training harder, with more intensity, like men. Its superiority is undeniable ”. The casuistry is very different according to each sport and each person. ”You have to analyze case by case and make decisions with coherence and without letting politics influence, as it did only 40 years ago, when women were excluded from the competition for a case of XY chromosomes, although it did not affect performance, as it was in my case ”, points out Patiño.“Society has evolved a lot on gender issues, but sport has its parameters and criteria based on science, on sports practice, on physiology. We women have fought hard to achieve the current equality in participation and in competitions to spoil it now. 40 years ago, when the first Helsinki World Cups were held, there were only three women on the Spanish athletics team. Lest we go against the dreams, work, effort and sacrifice of the majority of sportswomen by defending the inclusion of trans women ”.We women have fought hard to achieve the current equality in participation and in competitions to spoil it now. 40 years ago, when the first Helsinki World Cups were held, there were only three women on the Spanish athletics team. Lest we go against the dreams, work, effort and sacrifice of the majority of sportswomen by defending the inclusion of trans women ”.We women have fought hard to achieve the current equality in participation and in competitions to spoil it now. 40 years ago, when the first Helsinki World Cups were held, there were only three women on the Spanish athletics team. Lest we go against the dreams, work, effort and sacrifice of the majority of sportswomen by defending the inclusion of trans women ”.

Jonathan Ospina, Sports Science researcher at the European University of Madrid, explains in relation to Lia Thomas: “It is a complex case. His results are extraordinary for the category in which he competes. She made the transition the moment she was competing. Even in the 2019 season, he competed as a man doing the hormonal process, that is, making the transition process to a woman. With which her level of development, skill and ability was maintained because she was not out of training at any time and did not make the transition like other transsexual women, who make a stop in their sports activity. It is an important factor, although not a determining factor. It is fully established that their hemoglobin levels decrease relative to cisgender women after four months of hormone therapy.It decreases the cross section of the muscle, the body mass, the strength ... But it is clear that the hormonal will never lead to cisgender levels ”. Ospina believes that the controversy should lead to a deeper debate. “I don't think Lia Thomas is doing trans people any harm. Few have achieved extraordinary results. The most extraordinary case has been precisely this. This should give us more arguments to continue investigating and to be able to continue establishing the differences. But for a single case like this, it cannot be said that the female category is in danger, far from it ”.“I don't think Lia Thomas is doing trans people any harm. Few have achieved extraordinary results. The most extraordinary case has been precisely this. This should give us more arguments to continue investigating and to be able to continue establishing the differences. But for a single case like this, it cannot be said that the female category is in danger, far from it ”.“I don't think Lia Thomas is doing trans people any harm. Few have achieved extraordinary results. The most extraordinary case has been precisely this. This should give us more arguments to continue investigating and to be able to continue establishing the differences. But for a single case like this, it cannot be said that the female category is in danger, far from it ”.

Soccer player Alba Palacios warns: "Hormone has harsh effects"

Alba Palacios became the first federated transgender footballer in Spain in September 2018. Then he played in Las Rozas and now, at 36 years old, he does so in Torrelodones, leader of Group V of Primera Nacional. “I appeal to common sense. There are sports such as swimming, athletics or cycling in which testosterone plays a more important role than in others. Each case is different ”, clarifies Palacios. Before changing her identity, Alba was called Álvaro and she competed from the age of nine to 21 at the Pozuelo. He left it for 10 seasons, in which he played football seven with his friends. He started getting hormones and came back when he was 31. "I know what it's like to compete with testosterone levels above 500, because men's testosterone levels are between 500 and 800, and women's between 15 and 90,"counts the forward of the Madrid team, of 1.70 meters and 59 kilos.

“Hormone, in addition to taking you to a lower level than I noticed in speed, power,

or starting, it also has some harsh side effects. But now I am at the level of my teammates and rivals. My speed and my strength is what it is, and I am surpassed by many women. If the physicist was so noticeable, he would not be playing in First National, but in First. I see Ludmila Da Silva [Atlético player] or Oshoala [Barcelona] play and they would physically run me over on the pitch. Many women are amazing. The good thing about soccer is that it is not only based on power and speed; Other factors count, knowing how to be in a team, tactical and strategic sense, intelligence… ”.

The World Rugby, the institution that governs the federations of this sport at the international level, has prohibited transsexual women from contesting in its competitions. In his guide he recommends that they do not practice rugby for safety reasons in elite and international sport, "where size, strength and speed are key to risk and performance." World Rugby maintains that biological males whose puberty and development are influenced by androgens or testosterones are 25-50% stronger, 30% more powerful, 40% heavier and 15% faster than biological females. According to the body, treatments to reduce testosterone do not match the physical conditions of transgender women.

Alba Noa, the first transsexual to play in the Women's Honor Division, with Rugby Majadahonda, believes that World Rugby adopted a measure based on studies that are not truthful.

"They veto a group in which there are very different people in weight, height, power ... They must study each case, because we are not so many," he claims.

Critics of World Rugby's decision believe that it questions the principle of diversity of a sport that is distinguished because it is practiced by people with very different physiques: some go over 120 kilos and others do not reach 80.

I am one more, I have never injured anyone ", says rugby player Alba Noa

Alba Noa, 27, explains: “I am just another woman. I have never injured anyone in the years that I have been playing. It has bothered me a lot that they are saying that we can be harmful to the rest of the women ”. The player, of 1.77 meters and 78 kilos, recounts her career: “I will join in Torrelodones. I stood out because I have been doing sports all my life. I made the jump to the Division of Honor in the Majadahonda. In the first three months there, I returned home crying, because there was a level of contact that destroyed me, it generated incredible frustration to see colleagues who gave me those hosts. After a while and working in the gym, I caught up with the rest of my classmates. We do not stand out for better or for worse. We have to face the people to normalize our cases.I do it to slam the door on these people who say that we are special in terms of greater strength, greater speed, greater resistance. But if in minute 50 I am already throwing the stupid thing, it is that it is not real ”.

From Rodrigo to Tiffany, star in volleyball

Tiffany Abreu is 37 years old and plays for Osasco, a club in the highest division of volleyball in Brazil. He was born as Rodrigo into a humble family in Conceiçao do Araguaia. He was the youngest of seven siblings and did not know his father. After standing out as a volleyball player in the highest category in Brazil, he did so in numerous European countries, including Spain, with Ortodent Caravaca and Cajasol Juvaca. He was twice voted MVP in men's leagues. And in 2015 she began her gender transition, to become Tiffany Abreu. He underwent hormonal treatment in Italy that allowed him to control the levels of testosterone in his blood and underwent a sex change operation. Despite the misgivings of many who opposed the possibility that trans women could compete in the female category,It was authorized by the International Federation in 2017 and was about to compete in the Games with the national team.

Also volleyball player Omaira Perdomo, from the Canary Islands, was the first transgender woman to reach the elite of a sport in Spain.

It happened four years ago, when the regulations of his federation still required surgical treatments and hormonal treatments.

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