USA Boxing letting biological males compete against females
The national governing body for Olympic-style boxing in the United States will allow trans-identified males to compete against female athletes, according to its updated rule book.
USA Boxing, which governs "all Olympic and international boxing in the United States of America," announced in a statement Friday that it published an updated "National Rule Book" set to go into effect at the start of the new year. A document outlining the 2024 rule book revisions indicated that a "Transgender definition and link to Transgender Policy" were added.
Under USA Boxing policy, all boxers under the age of 18 must compete in categories that correspond with their biological sex. The organization allows adult trans-identified male athletes to compete in the female category if they meet certain criteria.
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The "Transgender Policy," introduced initially on Aug. 25, 2022, lists the conditions where "a boxer who transitions from male to female is eligible to compete in the female category." Trans-identified males seeking to compete as women must have "declared that [his] gender identity is female and has completed gender reassignment surgery" and "for a minimum of four years after surgery has had quarterly hormone testing and presents USA Boxing documentation of hormone levels."
Noting that males normally have testosterone levels of at least 10 nanomoles per liter while females typically have less than 3.1 nanomoles per liter, USA Boxing stated that trans-identified male athletes seeking to compete as women must maintain testosterone levels of less than 5 nanomoles per liter for at least four years before they seek to compete in the female category. Trans-identified male athletes must continue to maintain testosterone levels of 5 nanomoles per liter and undergo testing regularly.
"In the event of non-compliance, the athlete's eligibility for female competition will be suspended for 12 months," the policy states. "Re-testing of testosterone levels will then be required."
The idea of trans-identified females competing against males in sports has received less attention over the years, but USA Boxing's policy addresses that as well. Nearly identical guidelines require trans-identified female athletes to maintain testosterone levels of at least 10 nanomoles per liter for at least four years before they seek to compete in the men's category.
The organization says this is consistent with the November 2021 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations as well as the IOC's 2015 Consensus Meeting decision in Chand vs. Athletics Federation of India and International Amateur Athletic Federation.
"The purpose of this policy is to provide safety and fairness for all boxers," USA Boxing insisted.
Riley Gaines, a former female swimmer who has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of policies allowing trans-identified male athletes to compete in women's sports, vehemently disagreed with the organization's analysis.
In a post on X, Gaines condemned the USA Boxing policy as a "slippery, slippery slope." She predicted that "men will be GLORIFIED for beating up on women," adding, "not only glorified, they will be deemed 'brave' for such actions."
Opposition to allowing trans-identified males to compete in women's sports stems from concerns that the biological differences between males and females give men, on average, a physiological advantage over women in sports.
Last January, the World Boxing Council said it was looking to launch a new category for trans fighters to ensure "safety and inclusion." In August 2022, the WBC issued guidelines stating that boxing matches should only occur "between two equally matched competitors."
"In boxing, a man fighting a woman must never be accepted regardless of gender change," WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told The Telegraph at the time. "Woman-to-man or man-to-woman transgender change will never be allowed to fight a different gender by birth."
USA Powerlifting, which implemented a policy requiring athletes to compete in accordance with their biological sex, has pointed to "increased body and muscle mass, bone density, bone structure, and connective tissue" as factors that give males an upper hand against females in sports.
A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2020, finds that trans-identified males maintain their physical advantages in athletics even after two years of hormone use. Real-world examples of trans-identified males winning women's sports contests have also spurred dozens of states and sporting organizations to enact policies they say protect female athletics.
In the past two years, 24 states have enacted laws or regulations that require athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex as opposed to their stated gender identity: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
