The IOC Is Banning Trans Women From the Olympics Starting in 2028
Creating a dangerous precedent in women’s sports.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry has announced a landmark decision effectively banning trans women from competing at the Olympics starting with Los Angeles 2028. Introducing a universal, once-in-a-lifetime gender eligibility test ahead of the next Games, the IOC is looking to restrict women’s events to biological women only. Though it was not a pervasive issue at previous Games, pressure from activists over the last few years has likely influenced the decision.
The testing implements cheek swabs and blood sampling to detect the SRY gene that is part of the Y chromosome and causes male characteristics and development to occur. Prior to this ruling, each international body underwent its own testing and requirements, with some nations opting not to test athletes. There have been discrepancies with these types of tests before, with athletes being able to compete in one competition and not the other. The question that arises at the announcement of this new ruling is, how accurate is the test?
At Tokyo 2020, Laurel Hubbard became the first and only trans woman to compete at the Olympics as part of New Zealand’s women’s weightlifting team. Though there weren’t any trans women competing at Paris 2024, that summer’s Games triggered global outrage surrounding one athlete: Imane Khelif.
The Algerian boxer defeated Angela Carini in the women’s welterweight category, sparking false rumors that she was trans. She went on to win the gold medal, but her Olympic success was marred by hateful commentary and controversy. Khelif, like many other women out there, naturally has higher levels of testosterone despite being born female. Because of this, the likelihood of her failing a gender eligibility test is much higher until she is able to reduce her testosterone levels.
Other athletes like soccer stars Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga have been subjected to large hate trains, with people insinuating they are not women and shouldn’t be competing in women’s sports. There is a large grey area when it comes to issues of gender eligibility and who or what defines a woman. These accusations and speculations are usually centered around women of color who fall outside of Eurocentric beauty standards under the guise of protecting women’s sports. Will those athletes be protected when it’s time to take these tests?
2028 signals a new era in the Olympics’ history. It’s not certain how much it will affect the Games going forward, but with certain athletes potentially facing a lifetime of exclusion, only time will tell.
In other news, Arlo Parks and the Red Roses made a spoken word film ahead of the Women’s Six Nations.
