'If there are good reasons for holding separate competitions at
all, then transgender women should not compete against other women.'
Authored by Charles Lipson: The Tokyo Olympics prompted the latest furor over transgender participation in women’s sports. It came when New Zealand named a transgender woman to its weightlifting team. This athlete’s participation raises questions far beyond this Olympics or that particular sport. The same questions arise whenever a transgender person competes at any level, from high school to world-class. When the winner takes the victory stand, biological women can’t help but wonder if they were treated fairly. Transgender athletes respond, pointedly, that it would be unfair to exclude them.
“She’s a woman,” they say.
“This is a woman’s event. So she should compete.”