Cathy Devine Profile picture
Jun 24, 2021 18 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Delighted that my research article 'Female Olympians’ voices: Female sports categories and International Olympic Committee Transgender guidelines' is just published in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport:

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…
I would like to thank nineteen female Olympic athletes for taking the time to generously contribute
to this research since without them this work would not have been possible.
'These Olympians agreed with the IOC’s overarching fairness principle but, in common with some ex-elite transwomen athletes, did not think evidence regarding
male advantage mitigation via testosterone suppression supports IOC 2015 transgender
guidelines.'
'Further, they did not accept fairness for females should be subordinated to inclusion for transwomen, and consequently regarded IOC guidelines as unfit for purpose.'
'Justice entails the recognition of females as equal moral agents, also and at the same time with distinctly
female sexed bodies, in order that the fastest highest and strongest females are celebrated at elite and Olympic levels.'
In the words of two athletes:

‘Our human rights to equal opportunities (are) not being protected’

‘Why don’t women matter?’
@iocmedia
The main findings include (1) these athletes thought both female and transgender athletes should be fairly included in elite sport, (2) unanimous agreement there is not enough scientific evidence to show no competitive advantage for transwomen...
...(3) unanimous agreement that the IOC should revisit the rules and scientific evidence for transgender inclusion in female categories, and (4) the majority of athletes felt that they could not ask questions or discuss this issue without being accused of transphobia.
Full text link here: researchgate.net/publication/35…
Covered in the Times here:

thetimes.co.uk/article/female…
Re the importance of collecting sex disaggregated data in Scotland and the impact of self-identification of gender on single sex sport categories:

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More from @cathydevine56

Apr 10
'The new rules come in to play on April 1 and allow transgender women to feature in amateur competitions if they have had reduced testosterone levels for at least a year.'
FFS.
Bunch of sexist dinosaurs. dailymail.co.uk/sport/football…
'20 transgender women are currently registered to play amateur football in England, and they can continue to do so if their testosterone levels have been below 5nmol per litre for at least 12 months'.
'Transgender women (male-born individuals who identify as women) with suppressed testosterone retain muscle mass, strength, and other physical advantages compared to females; male performance advantage cannot be eliminated with testosterone suppression'.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sm…
Read 7 tweets
Mar 29
'She has not undergone and consequently has not failed any ‘gender verification’ or ‘gender eligibility tests’ '.
Oh dear.
Not reassuring.
The very reason advocates for biological males in female sport object to sex screening.
No test no -ve result. 1/ theguardian.com/football/2025/…
But @SuzyWrack ticks all the untenable bases:
1. Hateful transphobic racist language
2.  'Not fitting westernised standards of femininity'
3. 'The science on testosterone levels in women of different ethnicities, and in female athletes of different ethnicities, is limited' 2/
The public now know following the 2024 Olympic boxing fiasco, that international sport governance relies on 'passport sex' not 'biological sex' (yes I'm looking at @FIFAcom).
So is it any wonder spectators kick off?
The solution is a universal once in a career sex screen. 3/
Read 11 tweets
Mar 7
'Democrats privately admit they need a sharper response to counter Republican attacks on their support for transgender rights, especially when it involves sports.' 1/
axios.com/2025/03/07/sen…
'Some Senate Democrats agreed with Newsom on the sports fairness issue, but they said to be careful that the overall conversation doesn't demonize transgender athletes. They also want to avoid federal overreach.' 2/
'Senate Democrats want to leave the issue of trans athletes playing in women's sports to state and local governments.'
This is not good enough @SenateDems. It perpetuates the 'culture war' at state & local level. If it's not fair in one state it's not fair in all states. 3/
Read 9 tweets
Feb 22
'Sarkar reserves some of her snarkiest comments for left-liberals seduced by identity politics.'
'Mired in fratricidal identitarianism, left-liberals have lost the argument to the hard right'.
Speechless.
The brass neck.
theguardian.com/books/2025/feb…
But does @AyoCaesar include herself in this?
Ofc not.
'Ash Sarkar blames the rightwing press for this shift. Thanks to tabloid agents provocateurs and their political creatures in Westminster, she says, the lower orders have abandoned class war for the culture wars.'
@AyoCaesar Apparently:
'More and more of them spend their weekends not on the barricades but behind computer screens, fuming over small boats and gender ideology.'
Read 9 tweets
Feb 10
New...
'World Athletics today launched a new consultation process on its eligibility conditions for the Female Category and the current DSD Regulations and Transgender Regulations.'
Good.
Present regulations permit XY DSD athletes in female sport with T suppression to <2.5nmols/L
WA Working Group submitted the following five recommendations to Council in December 2024 which were approved and are now set for consultation: Image
'World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “World Athletics is a leader in preserving the female category in sport and one of the first international sports federations to establish clear policies on female eligibility in elite sport.'
Read 16 tweets
Jan 27
I keep seeing claims there are only a few males with trans identities in female sport. This is false.
The US-based Women’s Sport Policy Working Group (WSPWG) recorded 578+ victories of males with trans identities in women’s sport in 9 months in 2024. 1/
womenssportspolicy.org/253-male-victo…
The citizen journalist website @shewon_org documented & verified that by January 2025 over 750 female athletes in more than 500 competitions have lost more than 1000 medals in 40 different sports to males with transgender identities in women’s sport. 2/
shewon.org
Whilst the citizen journalist website @hecheateddotorg recorded over 3500 ‘unfair victories’ and 5900 top three finishes in 11 200 events by males with transgender identities in women’s sport. 3/
hecheated.org/results
Read 22 tweets

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