In a move that will prove, once again, to be hideously unfair to women athletes, USA Boxing, the organization that governs amateur/Olympic boxing in the United States, will allow "transgender women" to compete in women's boxing "under certain conditions."
USA Boxing added a ‘Transgender Policy,” written in August 2022, into its 2024 rulebook, declaring that male boxers who transition to female are eligible to compete in the female category under certain conditions. To qualify for the female division, a man must declare his gender identity as female, have undergone gender reassignment surgery, have done hormone testing for a minimum of four years after such procedures, and have met testosterone limits set by USA Boxing.
“The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below 5 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category,” the 2022 rule said. Male boxers must demonstrate a total testosterone level in serum that is below 5 nmol/L for at least 48 months before first competition.
The qualification requirements are, not to put too fine a point on it, crap. While sexual dimorphism in humans, like all mammals, increases with sexual maturity, the differences are there from birth; males in almost all mammal species, humans included, are born more robust, with more muscle mass, stronger bones, greater lung capacity, and so on. One need (if you'll allow me a moment to brag) look at my grandsons Bubba and Moose to see this; they are preschoolers, and they live up to their nicknames.
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We can take (small) comfort in knowing that at least girls under age 18 won't have to get into a ring to have the stuffing beat out of them by a "transgender woman."
Minor boxers under the age of 18 must compete in the category aligned with their biological sex, but adult boxers can switch to the category of their preferred gender if they meet the requirements.
“The purpose of this policy is to provide fairness and safety for all boxers,” the organization told the Daily Mail in announcing the rule addition Friday.
There is nothing fair or safe about this to the women who will be put in a ring with these people. Injury is inevitable. Women have already suffered injury at the hands of transgender players, and forget boxing; it has happened in volleyball.
USA Boxing's policy change will result in women being beaten badly in the ring, will almost certainly result in injury--likely severe injury--and also is bound to result in legal action.
See Related: Mike DeWine Explains Veto of Bill That Protected Women's Sports and Minors, His Critics Aren't Buying It
In recent months, 23 state legislatures have passed 84 laws intended to protect women's sports in 2023 alone. Most of these laws, however, only affect school sports; semi-professional and professional sports are not affected, nor are non-school-related amateur events that are often used to winnow out Olympic aspirants. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has released a "not legally binding" guidance document placing responsibility on the individual sports federations to determine criteria for "transgender women" to participate in women's events. This is an inexcusable piece of buck-passing on the IOC.
This decision by USA Boxing is bad. It's wrong. It's unfair. It will almost certainly result in injury to actual women, and will ultimately drive women out of women's sports.
