Olympics organizers are reportedly working on creating a ban against trans women competing in all women’s events.
According to The Pink News, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is looking to follow the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committee’s decision in banning trans women for competing in women’s sports.
Back in July, the U.S. Olympic committee”quietly changed its eligibility rules” through a “short, vaguely worded paragraph” that outlined a new policy, claiming that the Olympic committee was committed to “protecting” athlete’s opportunities, and that they would work with the governing bodies of each sport “to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment, consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.”
It’s being said that Olympic chiefs are looking at sex development variation—whether it be differences in sex chromosomes, intersex genitals, or hormonal differences—as being another reason to prohibit athletes from participating in the games. This comes after the director of the IOC’s health, medicine, and science department, Dr. Jane Thornton gave a presentation to IOC members.
Apparently, during this presentation, Thornton covered the supposed “physical advantages” that trans women may have in women’s sports, and how sex testing could work in the future of the games. This is an argument that is always being thrown around, despite there being no proof of this alleged advantage over cis women. Rather, trans women actually may face several disadvantages against their cis counterparts in competition.
It is possible for a ban against trans women athletes could be introduced before the 2028 Los Angeles games; however, the topic hasn’t been presented to a “full IOC session” where the decision could actually be made.
This decision could lead to even more controversy than the Olympics have already faced these past few years. Like the boxer Imane Khelif last year being “transvestigated,” despite her and her family proving that she is cisgender. As well as Olympic runner Caster Semenya, who was assigned (and still identifies) as female at birth, but due to her high levels of testosterone, she was barred from competing.
