Trans swimmer rejects the idea that trans women have a ‘biological advantage’ in female events
Charisa Bossinakis
Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto SRL / Alamy Stock Photo. PCN Photography / Alamy Stock Photo
A trans swimmer has rejected the notion that trans women have an advantage over cisgendered females in competitive sports.
Schuyler Bailar, the first openly transgender NCAA athlete who swam on the men’s team at Harvard University, shot down the idea that trans athletes shouldn’t be able to compete due to their ‘biological advantage’.
The topic was discussed during an episode of his podcast, Dear Schuyler, where he interviewed University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas to discuss the biological differences in sports.
"I know, most people will just go straight for the ‘biological advantage’ argument, saying that some alleged biological advantage makes it unfair for trans women to compete with other women,” Bailar said.
“But let’s consider a few points.
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"Biological diversity exists everywhere in sport, in every demographic of people and every demographic of women.
"That’s kinda what sports are based on.
"I mean if every body was exactly the same, there would be no competition.
"Sports depends on the fact that bodies are different and they perform differently. When those differences exist in the men’s category, most people don’t care. In fact, they praise those differences.”
Bailar even cited Michael Phelps for his exceptionally ‘long torso and wide wingspan’, which gave him an advantage in swimming.
He said that while the record-breaking Olympic gold medalist ‘produces half the levels of lactic acid than the average athlete’, these biological advantages are celebrated.
“Do people say that is grounds for disqualification? ‘Oh, Michael Phelps is too tall’ or ‘wingspan is too long’ or ‘his lactic acid is too low, therefore we should disqualify him'.
"No, people don’t do that.
"They let him have his body as it is."
Last month, the Biden administration proposed a bill that would prevent blanket bans on transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identities.
The proposal would affect Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination by schools that receive government funding.
However, the new regulations would still allow some competitive schools and colleges to limit trans participation.
According to the proposal, schools that enforce restrictions must ‘minimize harms’ to students who lose out on athletics opportunities.
The Education Department has also advised schools and colleges to assess students' age, the competition level and the sport's nature.
Additionally, the proposal must undergo a period of public comment before the federal government investigates to determine whether limits should be implemented.