Essay On Transgender Athletes

When they reach an age where they are considered to be able to assemble reasonable decisions they can start the process of transitioning, which is the process they use to match how they feel to their appearance. It can start by changing their hair, clothing and name to using hormones and surgery. Every person’s way of changing is different, not all transgender people have the same process. Some choose not to change anything in their appearance but still ask to be spoken to as if they were the opposite sex and others change everything about themselves to the point where it isn’t even noticeable that they were once a different sex.

Before we move into the subject of transgender females we need to understand the physiological differences between men and women that affect athletic performance. The main differences I will cover are muscle mass, amount of testosterone, and skeletal structure. “Men tend to have approximately forty percent muscle mass, while women tend to have approximately thirty percent muscle mass”(Wahlig). This gives males an advantage in strength which would benefit them in almost all sports, especially weight lifting,

Research produced from studies into biological effects of gender has been used in real life application. Until 1991 it was ruled that people with XX chromosomes had to compete in female events within the Olympics, and people with XY chromosomes had to compete in male events, but research into gender development changed the rules and now it genetic sex no longer determines entry into the Olympic; proving that research into this field has been most valuable for real life

Sokolove mentioned this idea on page two when he says “The influence of estrogen makes girls’ ligaments lax, and they outperform boys in tests of overall body flexibility – a performance advantage in many sports, but also an injury risk when not accompanied by sufficient muscle to keep joints in stable, safe positions.” This comes back to the injury prevention program; it will help strengthen the athletes’ weaknesses. These athletes with the injury prone bodies will still have a risk of hurting themselves in the future, but the risk percentage will decrease with the help of the prevention

Not all transgendered individuals desire a sex change. However, if a client wanted a sex change, a psychologist must verify if the change will have a positive effect on the patient’s psychological well-being. In an interview I had with a trans-gendered companion, she stated that she would not go for a sex change until the time was right. Her reason was that if she was to have the sex change now, she would endanger her friendships with many people. While this reasoning didn’t come from a psychologist, the resultant sex change must be beneficial to the client or else the operation is useless and will cause more detriment to the individual’s psyche. After medical treatment, hormone therapy is used to get rid of secondary sexual characteristics. In addition to hormone replacement therapy, clients may get surgery for breasts, genitals or other sexual characteristics; clients can also just use hormone therapy alone so that they can alter their bodies to appear more like their self-identified gender.

However, for those who can afford it, sex reassignment surgery and Hormone Replacement Therapy are combination that help many transitioning bodies. Hormone Replacement Therapy is usually the more common option amongst transgendered people because it is less costly, as mentioned earlier, although it is still quite expensive. The cost of hormones alone for transitioning is approximately $1500, not factoring in doctors visits and lab tests. (Transgender Health Benefits). Hormone Replacement Therapy regarding transgender men can be administered in different ways. “Hormone therapy for transmen consists of the androgen testosterone, which is available in several forms: intramuscular, transdermal patch or gel, or subcutaneous implant.” (Center of Excellence for Transgender Health). These different forms of receiving hormones are all administered by a healthcare professional. “Most of the effects of hormones happen in the first two years.” (Ashbee & Goldberg) This means that within the first two years of regularly participating in Hormone Replacement Therapy, the secondary sex characteristics of biological males will become apparent in transitioning trans males. This includes a variety of changes, such as the deepening of the voice, hair growth, cessation of ovulation and menstruation, increased red blood cell count, etc. (Female to Male). While the aforementioned changes are very prominent, lower dosages of the hormones will need to continuously be taken during the person’s

I was surprised to read that John McEnroe commented on Serena Williams saying that she was the greatest women’s tennis player, but would only rank around 700 if she competed in the men’s tennis circuit. Leaving politics aside, I still feel like this isn’t a reasonable statement. Before taking this course, I would’ve said that it was absurd. Women are just as capable as men. After learning about the physiological differences between men and women, I can understand where John McEnroe’s statement is coming from. As a woman, I realize that physiology plays a huge role in our athletic abilities compared to men. Before puberty, the body composition and size are the same. After puberty, testosterone and estrogen come into play. With testosterone there is an increase in bone formation and protein synthesis in the upper body. With estrogen there is an increase in bone growth rate and fat deposits particularly in the hips and thighs. This course taught me that when it comes to strength in the upper body, women are 40-60% weaker, and in the lower body, women are 25-30% weaker. However, I still feel as if Serena wouldn’t rake 700 in the men’s tennis circuit. Based on her training and athletic abilities, I feel like she could rank in the top 100. It all depends on the

There are no significant gender differences that were found in the strengths to muscle cross-sectional area also known as CSA ratio on knee extension or elbow flexion (Miller et al). That allows women to build body mass and muscles just as men and there are no difference in flexibility so men are able to compete just like women for example like the olympics. There are a lot of sports now that women and men are able to play like football, soccer, softball, swim, and etc. However, competitions are split male and male and female versus female. This is made to make sure the woman that aren’t as athletic are in harm but on occasions some schools and activities they are allowed to play against each other for fun and training. A recent study that had a coach from Germany and Canada train both genders and see their cohesion- performance similarities. The analysis revealed that both male and female have the same strive, stamina and performance (Eys et al).

In ancient Greece, body building was almost exclusively for males. Men are the greater physical specimen so in the Greek’s minds, they should be the ones sculpting their bodies and taking pride in their appearance. Women were pushed to the background and were seen to have other responsibilities than athletics. In today’s world women are considered equals. Anything a male can do a woman can also do if she pleases and this includes bodybuilding. Giraldi touches on this when describing how women in the gym will cause men to elevate what they are doing (Giraldi 61).Women are seen in gyms worldwide now and participate in all Olympic sports that males do. This is definitely a change that has occurred over time and is for the

Hormone Replacement Therapy is a recent medical development for those trying to transition. Hormones are given to children

factors of females athletes are females get treated the same as men, they get paid the

The gender verification has become a major controversy for women’s sports. The International of Olympic Committee (IOC) has made gender verification essential to female sports fearing that male would be a fraudulent to participate in a female sport. However, the purpose of the verification method is to create a fair competitive sports game for female athletes. Gender verifications can be considered a good method to sustain the integrity of sport, but the procedure of examining the athletes have to be done differently. The IOC requirements are to determine and verify the aspects of genetic and characteristic of the female athletes. Gender verification has not only become problematic but it has harmed the reputation of those who are not male origin that are accused of being male.

For any trans teen thinking about going on MTF’s (male to female) or FTM’s (female to male) there comes the health risks that they typically question themselves. Let’s start off by how hormones work. Hormones are chemical messengers produced by one part of the body to tell cells in another part of the body how to function, when to grow, when to divide, and when to die. They regulate many functions, including growth, sex drive, hunger, thirst, digestion, metabolism, fat burning and storage, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and reproduction. Now, What are sex hormones? They regulate the development of sex characteristics, including the sex organs that develop before we are born (genitals, ovaries/testicles, etc.) and also the secondary sex characteristics that typically develop at puberty (facial/body hair, bone growth, breast growth, voice changes, etc.). The three categories of sex hormones that naturally occur in the body are; androgens: testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)/ dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrogens: estradiol, estriol, estrone, progestogens: progesterone.

If you have ever seen a person going through the sex change process it is quite confusing to the onlooker. You may see a strong frame body of a male, however if you look closer and listen you may see this person wearing make-up, wearing women’s clothing and speaking in a higher tone. I would dare say that a person looking like that would go very far in any application process. Issues that would arise in colleges would be challenges in academic achievement since girls learn different than boys as well as personal relationships in the classroom and faculty. However, there are people who have problems adjusting to seeing a transgender person up close and personal