Quote from: Nikko on January 02, 2014, 05:31:25 PM
Bottom line is, transwomen on average have a strength advantage over cis women.
A lot of people assume this to be true, but I don't know of a single source that supports this. Do you?
Here is an article from WomenSport International that discusses this issue and attaches the policies on inclusion of transwomen in women's competitions from the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee, both of which have allowed transwomen to compete as women :
http://www.sportsbiz.bz/womensportinternational/archives/2011/documents/The_Transgender_Athlete_2011Recommendations.pdfThe IOC policy, in particular, is pretty widely adopted by other sporting organizations.
Perhaps this is the critical statement from WSI:
"It has been difficult for organizations to base policies on evidence of a competitive advantage for the male to female transgendered athlete. No research studies are available to describe how long the male advantage in muscle mass persists or how other male characteristics such as heavier bones, larger lung volume, or higher hematocrit change over time. Complicating the issue is the lack of research describing the pace at which changes occur, although it does appear that most occur within the first year."
They acknowledge that although information is scarce, that the supposed advantages of transwomen fade within year one of transition and also acknowledge the lack of evidence of competitive advantage for transwomen.
The only sources I know of on this issue suggest that transwomen may actually be at a disadvantage to ciswomen due to having lower testosterone than ciswomen.
If there's any reliable evidence out there that goes the other way, I'd be very interested in knowing about it. I know about the debate, but I don't follow it as closely as I do other issues.
