Transgender Athletes

When it comes to the medical enhancement vs. surgical enhancement, there is a fine line. Essentially they both do the same thing, but one is viewed as legal while the other is not. How is it that it’s allowed to correct your vision to be more then perfect while it’s banned to make it so your muscles perform the best that they can? In my eyes, surgical enhancements are extremely similar to medical enhancements and many people reap the same benefits from surgical enhancements that they would from steroids. What makes athletes fall to the use of medical or surgical enhancements is the want to be better or the overall best. They will go to great lengths to do so. Some people even consider having a sex reassignment surgery to do so.

Transgender athletes are becoming more popular as the years go by. With sex reassignment surgery becoming more widely accepted and practiced, some athletes are willing to become another sex in order to excel in the sport that they love. Renee Richards (born Richard Raskind) underwent sex reassignment surgery in 1975. After doing so, U.S. Tennis Association banned her from competing in the U.S. Open. Many women were complaining that Richards would have an unfair physical advantage. When Richards took this case to court in 1977, the court sided with her. Richards then played for five years, won a singles title, and reached the quarterfinals in the 1978 U.S. Open (Hamilton). Had Richards remained a man, the opportunity to reach the U.S. Open would have never be possible for her.

However, some associations prohibit transgender athletes to take part in their competitions. In order to exclude transgender, associations put the phrase “female at birth” clause in their entry forms (Hamilton). The International Olympic Committee does allow athletes who have undergone sex-change surgery to participate in athletic competitions. Those athletes must have their surgery legally recognized and go “through a minimum two year period of postoperative hormone therapy”(Hamilton).

It’s amazing see the lengths some people will go to to achieve their dream of being the fastest or scoring the winning goal. I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice my gender in order to win a medal but clearly there are those out there who are more then happy to do so. But is it right for someone to change who they were born to be just so they could compete in a different competition. Is having a sex change any different from taking a steroid? Over time, society will decide. For all we know, to make things fair between sexes, we may have to merge both sexes into one open division. Only time can tell the outcome of transgender athletes and the future that lies ahead of them.

thanks to: http://www.gymnica.upol.cz/index.php/gymnica/article/viewFile/74/68