There have been and continue to be numerous bills in the US and others globally that would limit or prohibit transgender (} women from competing in women`s athletics. Part of the reason is the `political nature of sex` - issues recently elegantly detailed by Ketil Slagstad. Here we focus on the issues at hand when looking more closely at how to integrate transgender athletes into competition. Of note, we use the term `woman,` rather that `female` in this article when used as an adjective as the word female can be taken as disrespectful given the term comes directly from biology and can be heard or understood as harsh and unnatural given its scientific origin. The article describes - Contention surround transgender Olympic rules, - The current Olympic position, - Do current Olympic transgender rules level the playing field? Cisgender women say, no, - Proponents assert their support of transgender female athletes, - Transgender athletic bans expose an already vulnerable group, - Transgender athlete debate sparks a federal complaint - a case study, - Supporters of transgender females comes from the President of the U.S. Conclusion: Sports benefit the physical and mental health of the population as a whole-and that includes transgender athletes. The issue at hand is complex, but the goal is to have fair competition for all athletes, all of whom have the right to compete. For example, so far most competition has been set up based on gender and age - these new issues have not yet been dealt with. Decisions will have to be made sport specific, in balancing discrimination versus fair competition. There exist reasons to separate biological females from transgender women given physical differences, but also a convincing argument to include them for inclusion and for their health. It is important to note, though that in inhibiting transgender athletes' access to compete in their identified gender of sport, we may take away the opportunity for competition as well as benefits to these competitors who need support. This change is consistent with sports history as competition has almost always adapted to changes in whom the competitors are - as to their sex, gender, and biology. There are those who argue that allowing transgender athletes unfettered access to compete will ruin female athletics. So far, it seems highly unlikely this will be the case. Transgender athletes have been subjected to intense violence and harassment, and opposition to transgender athletes, even if unintentional, can appear to them as persecution. We must treat this subject with delicacy and respect both parties so that fair and nondiscriminatory guidelines can be developed for the involvement of transgender women athletes in sport.
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