In her memoir Melania: A Memoir, former First Lady Melania Trump expressed her views on transgender athletes, asserting that they should be excluded from women’s sports. She argued that their inclusion is a source of division in American society, stating, “Today, some groups attempt to impose their ideologies on everyone, deepening the divisions in our society.” Trump specifically referenced the debate surrounding “male-born athletes, who identify as female,” competing against cisgender women, claiming that “male bodies generally have physical advantages: muscle strength, height, bone density, and lung capacity, that can affect fairness in competition, even at the high school level.”
However, Trump’s assertions lack nuance and are not entirely accurate. Research, including a 2021 study published in the National Library of Medicine, indicates that the use of testosterone-blocking hormones significantly reduces the physical differences between cisgender and transgender women. While trans women may retain some advantages in strength for up to three years after beginning hormone therapy, this gap diminishes with continued hormone treatment. Furthermore, if a transgender girl transitions before puberty, any advantages typically associated with testosterone become negligible, as noted by the Women’s Sports Foundation: “The effects of taking female hormones negate any strength and muscular advantage that testosterone may have provided.”
Trump’s statements have sparked further debate on the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports, highlighting the ongoing tensions surrounding gender identity and competitive fairness.
A more recent study funded by the International Olympic Committee challenges the belief that transgender women have an inherent advantage over cisgender women in sports. The findings indicate that while trans women exhibit greater hand-grip strength than cis women, they also show lesser jumping ability than both cis women and cis men, along with lower lung function and cardiovascular fitness compared to cis women. This evidence undermines the claims made by some anti-trans advocates regarding the competitive edge of trans women athletes.
Despite the limited number of transgender athletes competing in U.S. college sports—just 34 according to the ACLU of Ohio—Melania Trump contended that even this small presence poses a threat to cisgender women’s opportunities in sports. She stated, “Some argue that the number of trans athletes is low, but even one can upset the balance in a female league or tournament due to these physical advantages.” Trump emphasized that high school athletes dedicate years to training with the hope of being recruited by universities, implying that the inclusion of trans women could derail these aspirations.
Interestingly, Trump does not mention transgender boys in her commentary, who are often inaccurately perceived as incapable of competing with their cisgender male peers. This oversight highlights a broader societal issue, where the assumption that male athletes will automatically outcompete female athletes is not only detrimental to trans individuals but also perpetuates a sexist view of women athletes. The Human Rights Campaign has pointed out that such assumptions are harmful and reductive, undermining the capabilities and achievements of female athletes regardless of their gender identity.
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