There has been global controversy over Imane Khelif, a ‘biologically male’ athlete who competed in women’s boxing against opponent Angela Carini at the Olympics this week.
But the issue of athletes competing in sports that do not align with their biological sex is not new, and has been a hot button issue for years in the US.
Since 2020, half of American states have implemented various bans to block transgender youth from competing in women’s school sports.
Almost all of these are Republican-led, highlighting the politically fraught nature of the issue.
The above map shows the states that have outlawed transgender youth participation in sports, they are mostly in the Southern and Central US
Khelif, who was born a woman but tested positive for XY chromosomes — typically seen in a man — defeated Carini in just 46 seconds in the match, with her opponent bowing out saying she feared for her safety.
There has since been backlash online, with many figures — including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling — suggesting Khelif shouldn’t have been allowed to compete in the women’s category.
Before the match, high school volleyball player Payton McNabb — who was partially paralyzed after a transgender player hit her with a ball — said it was ‘disgusting’ that Khelif was being allowed to compete.
Since her injury, the North Carolina native has been instrumental in implementing a ban in her state on biological men competing in women’s sports.
She has urged other states to follow, arguing that allowing transwomen in female sports could be dangerous and deprive biological women of the chance to play.
Multiple reviews have suggested biological males retain an advantage over their fellow female athletes, even years after starting their transition and taking hormones to lower testosterone.
It is this evidence that multiple states have used while proposing bans on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The bans mean that transgender kids are blocked from playing on teams that match their gender identity, but not their biological sex.
Transgender youth account for about one percent of 12- to 17-year-olds in schools.
Of the states bringing in bans, 11 say a child’s sex will be defined by that listed on their birth certificate.
Oklahoma requires an affidavit — or written statement that is sworn to be true — on a child’s sex on their birth certificate, while other states give details of a biological man in their bans.
A map made by think-tank Movement Advancement Project, which advocates for trans rights in states, reveals the 25 states that have brought in bans are concentrated in the southeastern and western US — and are nearly all Republican-led.
They include the Dakotas, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Utah, Montana, Florida, Kentucky, Alabama and Louisiana, among others.
The Movement Advancement Project calls the policies ‘blanket bans on transgender people’s participation in sports, and these bans are both unnecessary and harmful.’
It is also in these states that lawmakers have or are attempting to limit options available to people identifying as trans, including restricting hormone therapy, puberty blockers and bathroom access.
States that do allow trans youth to participate in sports that align with their gender identity include California, Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Georgia, Minnesota and Illinois, among others.
Unlike their counterparts, these states mostly have protections in place for people identifying as trans, including bathroom choice, workplace and school protections and access to hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers.
