NZ Herald editorial: Vital to get rules right for transgendered athletes

New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard competes at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Photo / Greg Bowker

It has taken real courage for New Zealand transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard to compete at the Commonwealth Games, where she led in the over-90kg category yesterday before a dramatic injury forced her to withdraw. Courage because the Commonwealth is a collection of diverse countries and her likely success was bound to rekindle the debate about whether a woman who has grown up with a male body has a right to compete in a women's event.

The coach of one of her rivals spoke out before the event yesterday, calling it very unfair. "The strength is still there and I think it is very unfair," said Samoa's Jerry Wallwork. "For all females, it is unfair." His may have been a lone voice in public but undoubtedly his view will be widely endorsed in private conversations, for this is not an easy issue to resolve.

But some things should be agreed. The first is that Hubbard did not make a gender transition just to compete against women. Gender identity is entrenched so deeply in human nature that to be born with the body of the opposite sex must be one of the most difficult predicaments a person can face. To adopt the outward expressions of one's true identity and, as far as possible, the physical characteristics, must be one of the most liberating experiences known to man or woman.

To have your true identity recognised and accepted by others must be almost as important. The second thing that should be agreed is that Hubbard and her family and all in a similar position deserve sympathy in this debate. It must be painful to have her right to participate as a woman questioned and it is never pleasant for an athlete to be seen as having an unfair advantage.

It needs to be recognised, thirdly, that the International Olympic Committee has made a ruling on the status of transgender athletes and Hubbard has had 12 months of hormone treatment to reduce her testosterone to the level required for acceptance in female events. Yet Wallwork is not alone in questioning whether hormone changes are enough for fairness to other competitors.

Perhaps the next thing that needs to be agreed is that sport should not be confused with sexuality. Men and women compete separately in sports involving physical strength simply because the male physique is inherently stronger, not because they have different gender identities. A person born with a feminine identity in a male body develops a male physique and it seems doubtful that hormone treatment post puberty can remove all of the physical advantages.

True sportsmen and women do not want an unfair advantage. Hubbard will be as anxious as any of her rivals in women's weightlifting to know the testosterone test is enough to give her sporting respect. She is breaking new ground for transgender athletes and no doubt many will follow.

It is important, therefore, that all doubts are erased on the fairness of their participation in female sport. The credibility of hormone treatment would be enhanced if it enables a person born with a woman's physique to compete successfully against men in sports requiring strength or speed.

In the meantime, Hubbard has played by the rules. Nobody can do better.