In a 2023 study, researchers from UCLA reported that 42% of transgender adults have attempted suicide. The research was released just two years before President Donald Trump would impose an executive order banning the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports. Not only could this potentially contribute to an increase in transgender suicides, especially among the sport-playing age group–likely younger than those in the study–but it could effectively commence a war against transgender people.
In other words, transphobic rhetoric coming from an individual with high levels of influence over the American people has incredible potential to increase hate and violence toward transgender people, putting them in direct danger.
As a female athlete myself, my primary issue with arguments against transgender women participating in women’s sports is that many of the arguments are brought upon by men who have never and will never participate in women’s sports. They argue that there is a threat against cisgender women imposed by transgender women in women’s sports while they continue to make misogynistic comments about professional women’s sports, like the WNBA and the NWSL. The people who say this is a huge issue are people that have literally never seen the “issue” firsthand. In fact, they do not know that most female athletes have never even encountered this as an issue.
I have been an athlete my entire life. Never once have I knowingly encountered a transgender woman in my sport, nor would it matter if I had. If a person beats me in a race, I can guarantee that I will not immediately begin speculating their current or past gender identity. In fact, when an athlete loses a game or race, the first thing they often think about is what they could have done differently or where they could improve. Unless a competitor deliberately attempts to ruin your performance, it is highly unlikely that successful athletes will try to blame their own shortcomings on others, let alone blame their own shortcomings on the gender identity of others. For an elected official to paint transgender women in sports as a widespread issue is completely false. The handful of women who have had “negative” experiences with transgender women in sports absolutely do not speak for all women in sports. It is misogynistic to generalize the beliefs and experiences of a few as being the beliefs and experiences of all.
On top of that, it seems that politicians and public figures who spread this rhetoric often depict transgender women as people who use their gender identity as a means to acquire an advantage in sports. While the idea that transgender women have some huge physical advantage over cis women is not necessarily even true, this rhetoric completely disregards the mental challenges that accompany grappling with gender identity. I cannot imagine the difficulty and pain that must come with this nor can I imagine how difficult it must be to feel comfortable enough to even consider participating in sports knowing how openly unwelcome they are by society. For people, particularly those in power, to state that this incredibly difficult self-discovery journey is a means for transgender women to have an advantage over cis women in sports is inaccurate and disrespectful.
I also believe it is important to point out that it is not transgender men in men’s sports that is an issue. The executive order only pertains to women in sports. Effectively, this executive order acts as a blatant means to control women. If the issue really had to do with advantages that some athletes have over others, then genetics, socioeconomic status and location should all be taken into consideration as well. Further, it should be done in a way that addresses issues regardless of gender identity. There are countless factors that can impact one’s performance and performance potential, yet the issue is restricted only to address issues surrounding gender identity in women’s sports. These discussions have no concern for the advantages some people may have over others if incredibly important issues are not addressed first and foremost. The specificity of the issue suggests that Donald Trump intends to remove female autonomy in any way he can.
Transgender women have faced disproportionate levels of violence and crime against them from the start of time. An increase in transphobic rhetoric is immensely dangerous for the health (mental and physical) and safety of transgender women everywhere. If politicians truly care about women in sports, there are countless other solutions, such as funding and resource improvement efforts, that will impact women in a meaningful way. Banning one group of women from sports will only ever have a negative impact on the autonomy and freedom of women at large. It is disgusting to see them use women’s safety as a disguise for their own prejudices, especially when that comes at the expense of restricting a portion of women.