This'll have virtually no effect on trans women, who already weren't competing in the Olympics (in the more than 20 years in which trans women could participate in the Olympics, a grand total of... 1 actually made a team. She came in dead last in her event).
However....
apnews.com/article/ioc-...Transgender women athletes ban...
Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics female events by IOC
Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy It aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on women's sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The International Olympic Committee says “eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females.” Eligibility will be determined by "a one‑time SRY gene screening.” It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level.
This is absolutely going to affect a whole bunch of cis women.
Just pulling up Summer Olympics data (too lazy to include Winter Olympics stuff, but this will give you a good idea what kind of numbers we're talking about here), there have been a total of 29,458 female athletes since trans women were allowed to qualify in 2004.
1 was trans. 0.0034% of total.
3 of these competitors medaled in +87 kg weightlifting at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. One of them came in dead last.
In any case, I think all the stories that are going to frame this as being about trans athletes are, at best, a bit misleading. Trans women already weren't competing at the Olympics, with one exception in 20 years.
Here's the real 🚨🚨🚨:
In 2024, there was a huge freak out about trans women at the Olympics. But there weren't any trans women at the Olympics.
I find it weird that the policy that's coming out of this is being framed with headlines specifically about trans athletes. (tbh, if the IOC wants to ban trans women, fine)
I do feel bad for the cis women athletes who who end up getting lifetime disqualifications as the result of this policy, and I think that's where media coverage on this should focus. Framing it as a ban on trans athletes doesn't tell the full (or most important parts of the) story.
Parker Molloy
