We all know who Caitlyn Jenner is, the runner who won a gold medal in the decathlon in the 1976 Olympics when she was a man by the name of Bruce Jenner. Of course Caitlyn most likely wouldn’t be able to run the decathlon now, but imagine if a young Bruce who was tall and muscular competing as Caitlyn and snagging all of the gold medals in the women’s events. That’s what a lot of people think when they see a transgender athlete performing. However, there’s a lot of medical science behind one’s transition between genders. I’m here to inform readers about the science behind the transition process, reasons why people are for transgender athletes and why others aren’t, and what I personally think about this situation.

When I thought about how people changed from being a man to a woman, or a woman to a man, I thought doctors would just take off or apply genitalia and such, but now I know that there is a lot more to that. In the article “Race Times for Transgender Athletes”, it’s stated that in 2004, the International Olympic Committee enacted the Stockholm Consensus. This allows for transgender women to compete in women’s sports once their gender reassignment surgery has been completed, the athlete was legally recognized as female, and they had undergone two years of hormone replacement therapy. That last part is probably the most important part as the hormone therapy causes the person to experience a decreases in muscle mass, bone density, and other physical appearances when their hormone level has gone to the level similar to a regular woman’s. “Together these changes lead to a loss of speed, strength, and endurance -all key components of athleticism.” as stated by the study’s author, Joanna Harper of the Oregon Providence Portland Medical Center.

This is a reason why some people are for transgender athletes competing in the sport of their new gender, or at least for transgender women playing in women’s sports. Another reason is that people want others who are transgender to have the same amount of rights as them. Whether it be in a school athletic event or a professional event, the ones that are in charge usually want for the person to compete with people of their gender. Depending on where the event is, they may have certain qualifications for transgender athletes, with some listed from the website “transathlete”, such as requiring a birth certificate or a one year wait period, just to make sure everything is fair. However, there could be sometimes where they may not allow for a transgender athlete to compete with the people of their new gender, such as where a transgender wrestler won a Texas state championship.

In this event, a transgender male (female to male) won in the 110-weight class of the Texas girls state championship because the state refused to allow him to compete against boys. Some of the female athletes just forfeited the match as they did not want to wrestle Mack Beggs (the transgender athlete) as they thought he would have an unfair advantage. When people think about athletes that are transgender, a lot of them will most likely think that it may be an unfair advantage, like in the events dealing with people such as Fallon Fox, a transgender MMA fighter who once fought against Ronda Rousey. It is understandable as to why many people would think about those situations as unfair, because we may not get all the records on the transgender athlete, so we may never be sure if they’re perfect for this competition.

Personally, I think that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete with players of their new gender. Some people would say “If people of different sexes and races are allowed to play, then transgender people should”, but obviously, this is a different situation. If there were to be more events such as the one with Mack Beggs, I think the state should allow for the player to compete against who they want, but of course not all states are fully open minded to allowing transgender athletes competing and such. We will most likely never think of everyone as the same, but we can always strive for that goal.

Having a woman who looks like a man go out there and compete just seems really strange. That’s what a lot of people think of when they hear about transgender athletes, but if they heard about some of the science behind it, they may think of the situation differently. This how the scientific process for transitioning from one gender to the other goes, why others are for or against it, and my personal opinion. I may not be a big sports fan myself. However, when it comes to these activities, I want everyone to have a fair game. It may be quite a while before we can reach that point, but I hope things turn out for the better.