We're so pleased with this MYTH vs. FACT resource page our volunteers put together on women's sports, we're sharing the whole thing here.
Special thanks to all the researchers responsible for the content we linked—we'll try to tag you all! 🧵
Special thanks to all the researchers responsible for the content we linked—we'll try to tag you all! 🧵
MYTH 1: No one cares about a few trans-identified males competing in female sports.
FACT: Recent polling shows that the vast majority of voters DO care about males competing in the female category.
In a New York Times/IPSOS poll conducted from January 2-10, 2025, 79% of those polled, including 67% of Democrats, opposed inclusion of male athletes who “identify as female” in women’s sports. A Democracy Corps survey conducted from November 14-22, 2024, found that protecting the female category in sport was “strongly supported by all, including with Democratic base groups.”
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/d…
democracycorps.com/battleground-s…
FACT: Recent polling shows that the vast majority of voters DO care about males competing in the female category.
In a New York Times/IPSOS poll conducted from January 2-10, 2025, 79% of those polled, including 67% of Democrats, opposed inclusion of male athletes who “identify as female” in women’s sports. A Democracy Corps survey conducted from November 14-22, 2024, found that protecting the female category in sport was “strongly supported by all, including with Democratic base groups.”
static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/d…
democracycorps.com/battleground-s…
MYTH 2: Only a few trans-identified males play in female sports, so it hardly affects anyone.
FACT: The number of males playing in female sports is already large and continues to grow.
@shewon_org, which archives the achievements of female athletes displaced by males in women’s sporting events, has so far identified at least 767 female athletes who have lost 1,090 medals in 530 competitions across 40 different sports. @hecheateddotorg, which maintains a running record of males who have displaced female athletes, has so far identified female sports events in which 3,662+ victories were by males, 6,363+ top 3 finishes were by males and 11,866 + total events were affected. In addition, every male competing in the female category has a “blast radius” impact.
FACT: The number of males playing in female sports is already large and continues to grow.
@shewon_org, which archives the achievements of female athletes displaced by males in women’s sporting events, has so far identified at least 767 female athletes who have lost 1,090 medals in 530 competitions across 40 different sports. @hecheateddotorg, which maintains a running record of males who have displaced female athletes, has so far identified female sports events in which 3,662+ victories were by males, 6,363+ top 3 finishes were by males and 11,866 + total events were affected. In addition, every male competing in the female category has a “blast radius” impact.
CASE STUDY: Chelsea Mitchell
Chelsea Mitchell, now a college track and field athlete, testified in Connecticut about her experiences competing against male athletes in the female category. While a junior in high school, she lost four Connecticut state championship titles to male athletes and was denied recognition she had worked hard to earn.
Watch her testimony at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/10TXqHp…
CASE STUDY: Julia Dietrich
High school athlete Julia Dietrich spoke before the Freeport School District in Maine about the unfairness of including males in the female category. “We have trained, we have sacrificed, we have played by the rules, yet we are being forced to watch as the rights and opportunities of female athletes are stripped away.”
Watch her statement at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/1x4IaIR…
Chelsea Mitchell, now a college track and field athlete, testified in Connecticut about her experiences competing against male athletes in the female category. While a junior in high school, she lost four Connecticut state championship titles to male athletes and was denied recognition she had worked hard to earn.
Watch her testimony at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/10TXqHp…
CASE STUDY: Julia Dietrich
High school athlete Julia Dietrich spoke before the Freeport School District in Maine about the unfairness of including males in the female category. “We have trained, we have sacrificed, we have played by the rules, yet we are being forced to watch as the rights and opportunities of female athletes are stripped away.”
Watch her statement at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/1x4IaIR…
MYTH 3: There is no male advantage in sport.
FACT: The male advantage over females in sport is overwhelming.
Gender identities don’t play sports, bodies do. Numerous studies demonstrate that male advantage over females in sport is overwhelming. As researchers reiterated in a 2025 review of the literature: “There are profound sex differences in human performance in athletic events determined by strength, speed, power, endurance, and body size such that males outperform females. These sex differences in athletic performance exist before puberty and increase dramatically as puberty progresses.” (Joyner et al., 2025) @boysvswomen analyzed the performance of male high school athletes with that of female Olympians. It found, for example, that not one “of the women's finals performances met the qualifying time to enter the boys' competition” in a comparison of 2016 high school boy NBNO finalists and Olympic women finalists in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 meter sprint events.
The below graphic, included in the review conducted by Dr. Joyner and his colleagues, summarizes key findings about male advantage.
FACT: The male advantage over females in sport is overwhelming.
Gender identities don’t play sports, bodies do. Numerous studies demonstrate that male advantage over females in sport is overwhelming. As researchers reiterated in a 2025 review of the literature: “There are profound sex differences in human performance in athletic events determined by strength, speed, power, endurance, and body size such that males outperform females. These sex differences in athletic performance exist before puberty and increase dramatically as puberty progresses.” (Joyner et al., 2025) @boysvswomen analyzed the performance of male high school athletes with that of female Olympians. It found, for example, that not one “of the women's finals performances met the qualifying time to enter the boys' competition” in a comparison of 2016 high school boy NBNO finalists and Olympic women finalists in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 meter sprint events.
The below graphic, included in the review conducted by Dr. Joyner and his colleagues, summarizes key findings about male advantage.
CASE STUDY: Serena Williams
Serena Williams told David Letterman: “Actually it’s funny, because Andy Murray, he’s been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’ For me, men’s tennis and women’s tennis are completely, almost, two separate sports. If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes. No, it’s true. It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster and they serve harder, they hit harder, it’s just a different game. I love to play women’s tennis. I only want to play girls, because I don’t want to be embarrassed. I would not do the tour, I would not do Billie Jean [King] any justice. So Andy, stop it. I’m not going to let you kill me.”
You can watch the interview at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/1N7nPpZ…
Serena Williams told David Letterman: “Actually it’s funny, because Andy Murray, he’s been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’ For me, men’s tennis and women’s tennis are completely, almost, two separate sports. If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes. No, it’s true. It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster and they serve harder, they hit harder, it’s just a different game. I love to play women’s tennis. I only want to play girls, because I don’t want to be embarrassed. I would not do the tour, I would not do Billie Jean [King] any justice. So Andy, stop it. I’m not going to let you kill me.”
You can watch the interview at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/1N7nPpZ…
MYTH 4: Injuries are part of playing sport, whether categories are separated by sex or not.
FACT: When males compete in female sports the level of risk is unacceptable and has resulted in serious harm.
CASE STUDY: @paytonmcnabb_
In 2022, during a high school volleyball game, a trans-identified male on the opposing team spiked the ball so hard that it knocked female player Payton McNabb unconscious. A medical examination determined that the “ball’s impact caused neurological impairments including a concussion, vision problems, and partial paralysis to the right side of her body. The year following her traumatic brain injury, McNabb said, was full of ‘blank spaces’ that she’ll never remember.” (cite) On the two-year anniversary of sustaining the injury, McNabb shared a video of that moment.
You can watch the video at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/1asn7-o…
FACT: When males compete in female sports the level of risk is unacceptable and has resulted in serious harm.
CASE STUDY: @paytonmcnabb_
In 2022, during a high school volleyball game, a trans-identified male on the opposing team spiked the ball so hard that it knocked female player Payton McNabb unconscious. A medical examination determined that the “ball’s impact caused neurological impairments including a concussion, vision problems, and partial paralysis to the right side of her body. The year following her traumatic brain injury, McNabb said, was full of ‘blank spaces’ that she’ll never remember.” (cite) On the two-year anniversary of sustaining the injury, McNabb shared a video of that moment.
You can watch the video at the link: drive.google.com/file/d/1asn7-o…
MYTH 5: Males sharing changing rooms, toilets and sleeping spaces with females don’t cause any harm.
FACT: Female athletes have the right to privacy, dignity and safety.
Females have the right to expect that no males will be present when they are undressing, showering, handling difficult menstruation periods or sharing sleeping quarters. Allowing males into these spaces also creates an open invitation for predators. A UK study of unisex changing rooms found that “[a]t least two-thirds of all sex incidents in public pools and leisure centres, whether inside or in the grounds, happen in unisex changing areas.”
CASE STUDY: Washington-Liberty High School locker room, Arlington County, Virginia
The Arlington County, Virginia policy states that “access to facilities that correspond to a student’s gender identity will be available to all students.” This also applies to members of the public who use these spaces. Under this policy, “[a] male sex offender who announced last year in court documents that he now identifies as transgender is accused of using the girl’s locker room at Washington Liberty-High School and exposing his genitals.” (cite) “After leaving Washington-Liberty, [he] allegedly exposed himself in three other women’s locker rooms before he was arrested.”
FACT: Female athletes have the right to privacy, dignity and safety.
Females have the right to expect that no males will be present when they are undressing, showering, handling difficult menstruation periods or sharing sleeping quarters. Allowing males into these spaces also creates an open invitation for predators. A UK study of unisex changing rooms found that “[a]t least two-thirds of all sex incidents in public pools and leisure centres, whether inside or in the grounds, happen in unisex changing areas.”
CASE STUDY: Washington-Liberty High School locker room, Arlington County, Virginia
The Arlington County, Virginia policy states that “access to facilities that correspond to a student’s gender identity will be available to all students.” This also applies to members of the public who use these spaces. Under this policy, “[a] male sex offender who announced last year in court documents that he now identifies as transgender is accused of using the girl’s locker room at Washington Liberty-High School and exposing his genitals.” (cite) “After leaving Washington-Liberty, [he] allegedly exposed himself in three other women’s locker rooms before he was arrested.”
MYTH 6: Boys only outperform girls in sports after they go through puberty.
FACT: Sex differences in sport matter even in prepubescent children.
Reviews and large-scale studies on youth sports performance have consistently found that boys have athletic advantages over girls even before puberty, including track events (@BrowngaGreg et al., 2024 and Atkinson et al., 2024), swimming (Brown, 2024), limb strength (Nuzzo, 2024), grip strength (Nuzzo, 2024) and shot put, javelin throw and long jump (Brown, 2024). “Even pre-puberty, males have substantial testosterone-based advantages, which begin before birth.” (WSPWG, Section 8A)
FACT: Sex differences in sport matter even in prepubescent children.
Reviews and large-scale studies on youth sports performance have consistently found that boys have athletic advantages over girls even before puberty, including track events (@BrowngaGreg et al., 2024 and Atkinson et al., 2024), swimming (Brown, 2024), limb strength (Nuzzo, 2024), grip strength (Nuzzo, 2024) and shot put, javelin throw and long jump (Brown, 2024). “Even pre-puberty, males have substantial testosterone-based advantages, which begin before birth.” (WSPWG, Section 8A)
MYTH 7: Testosterone suppression levels the playing field between males and females.
FACT: Testosterone suppression does not come close to erasing the male advantage in sport.
Even if a male lowers his testosterone and takes cross-sex hormones, he retains considerable physical advantages over females. “Longitudinal studies examining the effects of testosterone suppression on muscle mass and strength in [trans-identified males] consistently show very modest changes, where the loss of lean body mass, muscle area and strength typically amounts to approximately 5% after 12 months of treatment. … Thus, the muscular advantage enjoyed by [trans-identified males] is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed.” (@FondOfBeetles and Lundberg, 2021) As Dr. Joyner et al. determined: “The sex differences are markedly greater in magnitude (10%–40%) than the advantages that policy-making bodies seek to eliminate when they regulate equipment or drugs that could enhance performance.” (Joyner et al., 2025)
FACT: Testosterone suppression does not come close to erasing the male advantage in sport.
Even if a male lowers his testosterone and takes cross-sex hormones, he retains considerable physical advantages over females. “Longitudinal studies examining the effects of testosterone suppression on muscle mass and strength in [trans-identified males] consistently show very modest changes, where the loss of lean body mass, muscle area and strength typically amounts to approximately 5% after 12 months of treatment. … Thus, the muscular advantage enjoyed by [trans-identified males] is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed.” (@FondOfBeetles and Lundberg, 2021) As Dr. Joyner et al. determined: “The sex differences are markedly greater in magnitude (10%–40%) than the advantages that policy-making bodies seek to eliminate when they regulate equipment or drugs that could enhance performance.” (Joyner et al., 2025)
CASE STUDY: NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, 500 Freestyle, 2022
The mother of a young woman who swam on UPenn’s swim team with Lia (Will) Thomas tells her story of what that was like. Thomas, a trans-identified male, swam on the UPenn men’s team for three years. After undergoing testosterone suppression, he joined the women’s team. At the time, the mom spoke anonymously at the request of her daughter. Anonymous no longer, @KimJonesICONS co-founded @icons_women, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports.
The mother of a young woman who swam on UPenn’s swim team with Lia (Will) Thomas tells her story of what that was like. Thomas, a trans-identified male, swam on the UPenn men’s team for three years. After undergoing testosterone suppression, he joined the women’s team. At the time, the mom spoke anonymously at the request of her daughter. Anonymous no longer, @KimJonesICONS co-founded @icons_women, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports.
MYTH 8: People with 5-ARD DSDs (disorders of sexual development) are women with high testosterone, so they should be able to compete in the female category.
FACT: People with 5-ARD DSDs are males with normal testosterone, and they should not be allowed to compete in the female category.
In 98-99% of births, the baby’s sex is easily determined by viewing genitalia. In 0.02% of births, there may be a DSD (disorder of sexual development) that requires further investigation to determine the baby’s sex. In all cases, the baby will be male or female. (See @SexMattersOrg, FAQs on sex and gender.) “Most DSDs affect fertility and health, not sporting performance. The main exception is when a DSD leads to a male person being incorrectly registered female at birth. Athletes with 5-ARD are hugely over-represented in women’s sports.” (Sex Matters) “It is inaccurate to refer to such people as female, or as ‘women with high testosterone’. They are male, with testosterone in the normal male range. Their bodies are fully responsive to the male levels of testosterone they produce. Including them in women’s sports is unfair, since it allows male sporting advantage into the female category.” (Sex Matters)
FACT: People with 5-ARD DSDs are males with normal testosterone, and they should not be allowed to compete in the female category.
In 98-99% of births, the baby’s sex is easily determined by viewing genitalia. In 0.02% of births, there may be a DSD (disorder of sexual development) that requires further investigation to determine the baby’s sex. In all cases, the baby will be male or female. (See @SexMattersOrg, FAQs on sex and gender.) “Most DSDs affect fertility and health, not sporting performance. The main exception is when a DSD leads to a male person being incorrectly registered female at birth. Athletes with 5-ARD are hugely over-represented in women’s sports.” (Sex Matters) “It is inaccurate to refer to such people as female, or as ‘women with high testosterone’. They are male, with testosterone in the normal male range. Their bodies are fully responsive to the male levels of testosterone they produce. Including them in women’s sports is unfair, since it allows male sporting advantage into the female category.” (Sex Matters)
CASE STUDY: Olympic Boxing, 2024
Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting took the gold and silver medals in women’s Olympic boxing in Paris 2024. According to the best available evidence, they have 5-ARD DSDs, and therefore have full male biological advantage. According to a 2020 study, “[E]ven with roughly uniform levels of fitness, the males’ average power during a punching motion was 162% greater than females’, with the least-powerful man still stronger than the most powerful woman.”
Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting took the gold and silver medals in women’s Olympic boxing in Paris 2024. According to the best available evidence, they have 5-ARD DSDs, and therefore have full male biological advantage. According to a 2020 study, “[E]ven with roughly uniform levels of fitness, the males’ average power during a punching motion was 162% greater than females’, with the least-powerful man still stronger than the most powerful woman.”
CASE STUDY: 2016 Rio Olympics, women’s 800 meter race
Left to right in the image below: bronze medallist Margaret Nyairera Wambui, Lynsey Sharp, Maryna Arzamasova, Melissa Bishop, Silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba and gold medallist Caster Semenya during the race. On the available evidence, Wambui, Niyonsaba and Semenya all have the 5-ARD DSD.
Listen to Lynsey Sharp’s interview after the race: “I have tried to avoid the issue all year. You can see how emotional it all was. We know how each other feels. It is out of our control and we rely on people at the top sorting it out. The public can see how difficult it is with the change of rule but all we can do is give it our best.”
youtube.com/watch?v=4JeLO8…
Left to right in the image below: bronze medallist Margaret Nyairera Wambui, Lynsey Sharp, Maryna Arzamasova, Melissa Bishop, Silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba and gold medallist Caster Semenya during the race. On the available evidence, Wambui, Niyonsaba and Semenya all have the 5-ARD DSD.
Listen to Lynsey Sharp’s interview after the race: “I have tried to avoid the issue all year. You can see how emotional it all was. We know how each other feels. It is out of our control and we rely on people at the top sorting it out. The public can see how difficult it is with the change of rule but all we can do is give it our best.”
youtube.com/watch?v=4JeLO8…
MYTH 9: To figure out who is male and who is female requires invasive procedures like genital inspections.
FACT: All that’s required to determine sex is a quick, once-in-a-lifetime cheek swab.
In those rare cases where sex cannot be determined visually, technology currently available allows for a simple, inexpensive, once-in-a-lifetime cheek swab to determine sex chromosomes. (Tucker et al., 2024) As Emma Hilton, coauthor of the Tucker article, explained, “[m]odern genetic testing is quick (cheek swab) and cheap (pennies), and governed by thorough ethical frameworks. Entry to the female category cannot be a matter of gender identity or ‘passport sex’.”
CASE STUDY: House Democrats seem confused about this
In the House floor debate about HR28, Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, many Democrats exhibited their failure to grasp this simple fact.
FACT: All that’s required to determine sex is a quick, once-in-a-lifetime cheek swab.
In those rare cases where sex cannot be determined visually, technology currently available allows for a simple, inexpensive, once-in-a-lifetime cheek swab to determine sex chromosomes. (Tucker et al., 2024) As Emma Hilton, coauthor of the Tucker article, explained, “[m]odern genetic testing is quick (cheek swab) and cheap (pennies), and governed by thorough ethical frameworks. Entry to the female category cannot be a matter of gender identity or ‘passport sex’.”
CASE STUDY: House Democrats seem confused about this
In the House floor debate about HR28, Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, many Democrats exhibited their failure to grasp this simple fact.
MYTH 10: Banning trans-identified males and males with 5-ARD DSDs from the female category means they can’t play sports at all.
FACT: They can play sports!
Trans-identified males are always welcome to play and compete with other males. In addition, the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, which includes tennis champion @Martina, Olympians @devarona64 and @Hogshead3Au, J.D., Title IX pioneer @DonnaLopiano, Ph.D., Running USA Hall of Champions Inductee Tracy Sundlun and pioneering sportswriter and Stanford and pro basketball player @TallMariah, M.P.H., has proposed this option:
“For trans-identified males who are uncomfortable playing with and against boys or men, such accommodations could take the form of separate scoring for individual sports, separate leagues for team sports, new transgender categories, or other solutions – so long as there is no direct competition with females and no overall reduction of female athletes’ right to their rightful percentage of all participation, scholarship, and prize-money opportunities.” (WSPWG #11)
In addition, for non-competitive sports such as physical education, intramurals or recreational sports sponsored by municipalities, schools and colleges, separation by sex isn’t necessary and shouldn’t interfere with coed sports when the only goal is to have a good time. (WSPWG #15)
FACT: They can play sports!
Trans-identified males are always welcome to play and compete with other males. In addition, the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, which includes tennis champion @Martina, Olympians @devarona64 and @Hogshead3Au, J.D., Title IX pioneer @DonnaLopiano, Ph.D., Running USA Hall of Champions Inductee Tracy Sundlun and pioneering sportswriter and Stanford and pro basketball player @TallMariah, M.P.H., has proposed this option:
“For trans-identified males who are uncomfortable playing with and against boys or men, such accommodations could take the form of separate scoring for individual sports, separate leagues for team sports, new transgender categories, or other solutions – so long as there is no direct competition with females and no overall reduction of female athletes’ right to their rightful percentage of all participation, scholarship, and prize-money opportunities.” (WSPWG #11)
In addition, for non-competitive sports such as physical education, intramurals or recreational sports sponsored by municipalities, schools and colleges, separation by sex isn’t necessary and shouldn’t interfere with coed sports when the only goal is to have a good time. (WSPWG #15)
@shewon_org @paytonmcnabb_ For all this information in one place, with links working properly, you can visit our new MYTH vs. FACT resource page:
roarwomennyc.com/2025/03/02/myt…
roarwomennyc.com/2025/03/02/myt…
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