The International Olympic Committee has just issued a Q&A that explains its new policy of allowing only “biological females” to participate in the “female category” at IOC events. Its explanation amply supports the West Virginia and Idaho laws now at issue in the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox and refutes some of the claims being made against those laws.
Here are some noteworthy excerpts:
Why was it concluded that, to protect the female category, it is necessary to base eligibility on biological sex?
- Based on a review of and developments in the scientific evidence, the IOC working group concluded that biological males have anatomical and physiological performance advantage over biological females in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and/or endurance.
- Males benefit from the anabolic and performance enhancing effects of 15 to 20 times more testosterone than females.
- Testosterone is the primary driver of the performance gap between elite male and female athletes.
- There is no evidence that testosterone suppression and gender-affirming hormone therapy eliminates overall male advantage in trained athletes.
Is there a performance gap before puberty? What if an athlete transitions at or before puberty?
- Yes, there is an established performance gap before boys begin puberty.
- The gap in childhood is not nearly as big as the gap that exists after boys begin puberty, but it is athletically important, i.e. it is almost always more than the margin of victory….
- There is no evidence that early transition affects the advantages males develop before the onset of male puberty.
In response to one inquiry I received on Twitter, I will note that there is nothing suspect in the Court’s looking to the IOC in assessing whether a state law has a rational basis (or otherwise survives whatever level of scrutiny it is subject to). Such use is entirely distinct from the question of looking to foreign or international legal materials to determine the meaning of American constitutional or statutory provisions.