New Study Shows Physical Differences in Trans Female Athletes

A new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that transgender women maintain physical advantages in strength and heart and lung capacity years after transitioning.

The Brazilian study enrolled 15 transgender women, 14 female control participants, and 13 male control participants. The transgender female participants were an average of 14 years post-transition; all had undergone male puberty and had been taking estrogen long-term. Four had undergone a gonadectomy (removal of the testes). The female and male control participants were similar to the transgender participants in age and body mass index, which helped to strengthen the meaningfulness of comparison among the groups.

Muscle strength and cardiopulmonary capacity (which refers to the performance of the heart and lungs) were measured using, respectively, hand grip strength testing and treadmill exercises. Transgender women performed better than women in both regards.

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This is the first study to show associated differences in the cardiopulmonary capacity of transgender women. The authors acknowledged that it would be useful to conduct a larger study in the future, one that also follows individuals over time. But it appears the activist narrative that a year or two of hormonal therapy overrides the physical advantages bestowed by male puberty is not true. Surely, we did not require a scientific study to convince most rational people of this, but here we are, dealing with the consequences of unrelenting activism in 2022.

It’s worth mentioning that this study involved nonathletes, so imagine how much more pronounced the differences would be in athletes who compete at the professional level! Testosterone is known to induce a whole host of physical changes associated with being born male, including muscle mass and strength, hemoglobin levels, and body size and proportions.

Sports policies should be amended to reflect these new research findings. As it currently stands, women’s sports, ranging from high school athletics to college competitions and beyond, are predominantly categorized according to gender self-identification. The tide is slowly turning as a variety of international sports governing bodies implement more restrictive policies, including for cycling, swimming , track and field, rugby, and soccer. British Rowing also recently proposed an “open” category for athletes who are transgender.

Those who support the so-called “science” showing that transgender female athletes have no physical advantages over female athletes have been noticeably silent about the publication of this study. Its authors should be commended for their bravery and willingness to reinject sanity into this debate.

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Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.