The incendiary issue of transgender participation in sports returned to the fore this week after a high school girls’ team won a state championship with help from a trans girl.
Olympic medalists were among critics who joined the backlash to Chloe Barnes’ role in Brookline High School’s victory in Massachusetts. Barnes is a junior who competed under rules that allow students to ‘participate in a manner consistent with their gender identity’.
It’s the latest flashpoint in the debate at state legislatures across America and in Congress, where Republicans propose banning trans women and girls from women’s team sports. The issue was thrust into the mainstream when trans swimmer Lia Thomas became an NCAA champion in March 2022.
Supporters of inclusion claim fairness can be maintained when trans women assigned male at birth compete against women, while opponents that argue women’s sports must be protected face accusations of transphobia.
But cut through the often toxic political mudslinging that dominates the debate and, according to researchers and elite athletes, the science speaks for itself: Trans women have a physical advantage over biological females – and no treatment exists which can unravel that.