Former athlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has said that she strongly opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school.
Jenner declared her stance on the topic when she was questioned on the matter by a TMZ reporter while she was out in a Malibu car park.
“This is a question of fairness. That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school,” Jenner responded.
She said: “It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”
Jenner, who has announced her intention to run for California governor, ended the interview when the reporter pressed her on her beliefs, questioning whether such a stance “delegitimise[s] their identity”.
The 71-year-old, who won gold in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics, came out as a transgender woman in 2015.
I didn’t expect to get asked this on my Saturday morning coffee run, but I’m clear about where I stand. It’s an issue of fairness and we need to protect girls’ sports in our schools.https://t.co/YODLDQ3csP
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) May 1, 2021
The questioning follows the recent announcement by several US states of their intention to prohibit transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports, in opposition to President Biden’s calls for increased LGBTQ+ acceptance.
Just last week, Florida passed legislation to ensure that only girls who were assigned female at birth (AFAB) could compete in girls’ sports teams. West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi have all seen the introductions of similar legislation.
This debate is currently rife in professional sport. The International Federation of Sports Medicine (IFSM) announced in March that each sport “should decide for itself how to fairly regulate transgender women competing in women’s sport”, as opposed to the blanket bans that have been suggested.
Arguments in favour of this belief tend to suggest that the increased testosterone levels in those who were assigned male at birth (AMAB) gives transgender women and girls an unfair advantage over those who were born female. However, testosterone levels have not yet been proved to be a factor that may enable transgender women to outperform their cisgender competitors.
Caitlyn Jenner has been criticised by transgender activists who accused her of being exclusionary and promoting transphobic rhetoric. Actor Elliot Page, who came out as a transgender man late last year, has also publicly denounced these views. He said: “If you’re not gonna allow trans kids to play sports, children will die. And it really is that simple.”
Nia Thomas
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Featured image courtesy of Adi Goldstein via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to the image.