Uk (Commonwealth) _ The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued new rules on Tuesday that exclude transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in international women’s cricket.
Danielle McGahey of Canada became the first transgender cricketer to play in an official international match in September. The ICC added that these new guidelines, which go into effect immediately, would be reviewed in two years. The policy, which was established over a nine-month consultation period, prioritizes “the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness, and inclusion,” according to the governing body.
According to ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice, the modifications to the gender eligibility requirements are based on research and are in line with the basic principles adopted throughout the study. He went on to say that while inclusivity is very important to us as a sport, our first goal is to maintain the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of the players. Each domestic cricket body will manage gender eligibility on its own.
Trans women wishing to compete in top female-only tournaments must now obtain formal permission from the England and Wales Cricket Board. Their evidence is then analyzed individually.
There have been significant decisions in other sports. Fina, the swimming regulatory body, ruled in June 2022 against permitting transgender athletes who have gone through any stage of male puberty to compete in top women’s events. Sharron Davies, a former Great Britain swimmer who opposes transgender involvement in top women’s swimming, told BBC Sports that she supported Fina’s choice.
Olympic diving champion Tom Daley, on the other hand, was “furious” over the decision. At the same time, the UCI, cycling’s governing body, toughened its laws on transgender eligibility by increasing the waiting period before a transitioning rider from male to female may compete.
The Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union then barred transgender women from competing in female-only versions of their games in July 2022. Transgender people’s involvement in competitive sports, a traditionally sex-segregated institution, is a contentious subject, notably the admission of transgender women and girls in women’s sports.
Opponents say that transgender women have an unfair edge over cisgender women in competitive sports owing to sex differences in human physiology, and that transgender hormone therapy do not fully correct these disparities. Transgender athletes’ supporters say that medically given puberty blockers and estrogen lower testosterone levels and reduce transgender women’s muscle mass, decreasing any competitive benefits. Sport, particularly youth sports, supporters claim, is also about belonging, well-being, and socialization of young people. According to the American Medical Association, legislation prohibiting trans women from participating in women’s sports is detrimental to their mental health.
According to the American Medical Association, legislation prohibiting transgender women from participating in women’s sports is detrimental to transgender people’s mental health.
The scandal has sparked discussions about sex verification in sports. Since the mid-twentieth century, sports organizations have responded to the participation of transgender women and women suspected of being transgender, male, or intersex by instituting eligibility requirements for women’s sports based on physical examination, sex chromosomes, and sex hormones.
Proponents of such rules believe they are vital to promote fair competition and the safety of women. Opponents claim that such rules are discriminatory against transgender and intersex women, disproportionately harm women of color, and violate medical ethics.
As of April 2023, there is no unifying worldwide framework allowing transgender persons to participate in competitive sports. Individual sporting organizations at the national and international levels have traditionally determined on the inclusion standards for women’s sports. In the United States, an anti-LGBT campaign that emerged in the early 2020s resulted in certain states implementing legislation prohibiting transgender kids participation in high school athletics or trans women and girls involvement in women’s sports.
Several international governing organizations, including World Athletics, World Aquatics, and World Rugby, have prohibited trans women who have reached male puberty from competing in female categories.
