Home Explore Topics Transgender People Can sports be fair?

Can sports be fair?

Can science be helpful in sorting out the debates over fairness regarding the participation of transgender and intersex individuals in competitive sports? The short answer is no.

Endocrinologist Bradley Anawalt sorts through the tangle of issues relating to science and social justice at stake in disputes over transgender and intersex athletes. Regardless of advances in science, he concludes there will always be "questions about the fairness of including and excluding individuals" due to competing values for fairness, which go to the heart of athletic competition.

Dr. Anawalt cautions against viewing science as a cure-all that can definitively resolve questions of fairness. But he also sees viable options for refining scientific understanding vis-a-vis different sports and maximizing fairness to the greatest extent possible.

Featured Content

Get a solid grounding in the issues swirling around sports today in this clear eyed and accessible interview with Dr. Anawalt.

Expert: Science won't resolve debates around trans athletes

References:

Donohue, Brian. (2023, May 3). Expert: Science won't resolve debates about trans athletes. UW Medicine | Newsroom. https://newsroom.uw.edu/blog/expert-science-wont-resolve-debates-about-trans-athletes

Dee

Who is Dee?

Gender Identity Gender identity icon Our core sense of who we are as a man, a woman, a mixture of both, or neither.

Gender Expression Gender expression icon How we show up in the world through choices like clothing, hair style, mannerisms or tone of voice.

Attraction attraction icon How we feel toward others sexually, romantically and/or emotionally.

Biological Sex Biological sex icon Physical attributes such as reproductive organs and genitalia, chromosomes, genes and hormone levels.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to gather insights and real learnings

* indicates required
Privacy Policy *