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Transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas claimed that the arguments against transgender women competing against biological women are “sensationalized” and false in a newly released interview.
“Some people have this, sort of, sensationalized and stereotyped view of trans women, and that is just not accurate,” Thomas, a 23-year-old biological male who identifies and competes as female, said in the Tuesday interview.
Thomas is at the center of a national debate surrounding the fairness of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
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‘DON’T NEED ANYBODY’S PERMISSION TO BE MYSELF’: TRANS SWIMMER LIA THOMAS EYES OLYMPICS
Schuyler Bailar, a transgender activist and the first openly transgender NCAA swimmer, said people are “throwing a fit because Lia is good.”
Thomas, who swam for the men’s team for three years in NCAA Division I competition, won first place in the women’s 500-yard NCAA championship in March.
“I think in real life, absolutely, 100% equality, 100% inclusion, in every way, but sports is divided by categories, and the biggest category is the sex category,” tennis legend Martina Navratilova said of Thomas’s dominance.
“Biology rules in sports. So, yes you can be included in competing, but you need to do it against biological males. It’s just not a fair fight.”
Criticism like Navratilova’s tends to be unfounded and the result of sensationalized and stereotyped arguments against transgender women, Thomas said.
“I haven’t broken any national records,” Thomas explained. “Loss of muscle mass, um, I had a lot of fat redistribution. I shrunk, actually, probably about an inch in height. My feet got smaller, and, so, it really does change your entire body.”
However, Thomas might be overlooking the legacy effect of testosterone, something that years of hormone replacement therapy are not likely to counterbalance, according to Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic.
“There is going to be some loss to skeletal muscle mass, there is going to be some increase in body fat — those would be the two most obvious things,” he said. “But things like hand size, lung size, feet size — that’s not going to change much. And of course, because as you know, swimming, it’s such an intense sport and people train so hard, that she is going to continue to have a significant exercise stimulus to those skeletal muscles.”
When asked the number of years it takes for hormone replacement therapy to allow transgender women to compete fairly against biological women, Joyner said, “I think the evidence, so far, would suggest that periods of a year, two years, three years, four years, is probably insufficient.”
Size, strength, and ability vary in all female athletes, according to Thomas.
“I’m not a medical expert, but there’s a lot of variation among cis female athletes,” the swimmer said. “There are cis women who are very tall and very muscular and have more testosterone than another cis woman, and should that then also disqualify them?”
Regardless of the criticism, Thomas will stay in the pool, the 23-year-old said.
“I intend to keep swimming,” Thomas said. “It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through.”
Out of the water, Thomas plans to keep fighting for transgender rights.
“I choose to be public to help other trans people and to be able to show trans people that you don’t have to pick between being your authentic self and doing what you love. That you can do both,” Thomas said.
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“Going to law school, fighting for trans rights and trans equality is something that I have become much more passionate about and want to pursue.”
