On the 8th local time, the Washington Post reported that the American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NAIA), which oversees intercollegiate sports competitions in the United States, decided to ban transgender female players from participating in women's competitions. According to reports, the NAIA presidium decided at the annual association meeting held that day that from August 1, the beginning of the new semester, only students whose biological sex is female and who have not started hormone treatment to change their gender to male can compete in inter-university women's competitions. Participate in competition.
naia has members of 241 American universities, most of which are private and small. But the Washington Post reported that transgender rights groups are worried that the larger and more influential National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) may follow NAIA's decision.
Anna Bess, who is active in organizations that support gays and lesbians in sports, pointed out: "NAIA's decision can make people realize that the NCAA has the freedom to take the same measures. This understanding is very wrong."
At present, the NCAA requires transgender people Athletes' participation follows the guidelines issued by the international federations governing each sport. Last month, 16 former and current college athletes who are biologically female filed a lawsuit asking the NCAA to ban transgender women from competing in women's competitions and to reallocate awards won so far by transgender female players.
In the United States, the participation of transgender women in women's competitions is one of the fronts in the "culture war" between conservative and progressive camps. Anti-transgender conservative groups and politicians have argued that transgender women should be banned from competing in the same games in the name of protecting biological femininity.
Former President Donald Trump has also stated many times in canvassing activities that if he is re-elected, "I will not let men participate in women's competitions." The Associated Press said it doesn't have statistics on how many transgender athletes there are in high schools and colleges, and while it's presumed to be a minority, it's a very sensitive topic. At the same time, it was reported that at least 24 of the 50 states in the United States prohibit transgender women from participating in specific women's competitions.
