Impact of Gender-affirming Care on Sports

With the rise in transgender acceptance and inclusion across societies and countries in the last decade, more transgender individuals have felt comfortable coming out of the closet, contributing to greater representation in a myriad of fields, including sports. That said, this augmented visibility in athletics raises a critical question: does gender-affirming care prove advantageous to trans-athletes in sports, unbalancing the field against their cisgender athlete counterparts? For years, scientists have probed this through numerous studies and experiments in order to implement testosterone regulations and other rules for trans-athletes.

In the fitness world, a strong hand grip is considered to be a sign of overall muscle strength. A 2024 study applied this principle to compare and analyze the differences in muscle strength of transgender women and cisgender women competing in the same sport. While the results showed that the hand grip strength of transwomen was higher than that of cisgender women, along with a higher fat-free mass index and higher absolute oxygen uptake, their relative absolute oxygen uptake, ratio of expiratory volume to vital lung capacity, and absolute countermovement jump were lower. Nevertheless, the grip strength remained the key indicator.

The aforementioned study examined transwomen who had gone through at least one year of hormone therapy; other research shows that the longer the hormone, the more the performance difference between trans and cisgender women is eliminated. This was evidenced by studying US military personnel and can be applied to trans-athletes as well since hormone therapy reduces their aerobic capacity and muscle mass over time. Another often-overlooked factor that affects trans-athletes' performance is the discrimination they face in sports competitions, which takes a toll on their mental health.

Ultimately, there is no straightforward answer to the question, 'Does gender-affirming care prove advantageous to trans-athletes in sports, unbalancing the field against their cisgender athlete counterparts?'. Whether it creates unfairness entirely is dependent upon the sport and the individual.