Level Playing Fields: Why transwomen, those born male, should not be allowed to participate in women’s sport

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 7th February 2024)

In the United States, today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Its purpose is to break the sex stereotypes built around the sports industry, to assert that women belong in every aspect of sport.

Regular readers will know of my support and enthusiasm for Lewes Football Club. I was so inspired by the club’s equality agenda that, along with over 2,500 others in more than 40 countries, I became a co-owner.  Lewes FC was the first and remains the only professional or semi-professional football club in the world to have equality between their men and women’s teams: equal playing budgets, access to facilities, marketing budgets, and so on. This is what has been called #EqualityFC.

This approach just seems fair. Advancement of women’s sport is happening in England thanks to football’s Lionesses, rugby’s Red Roses, and the women’s cricket team, to mention but a few.  In individual sports there have been some exceptional women athletes such as Denise Lewis, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Brighton’s Sally Gunnell.

The former swimmer, Sharron Davies, in her excellent book Unfair Play (written with Craig Lord) catalogues the systematic doping of swimmers from the former East Germany. Because of their drug-fuelled enhanced performance Sharon was denied a gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. She lists others who were denied medals and thus the life-opportunities and financial rewards that would have followed Olympic success.

There is widespread acceptance that the East Germans cheated their way to swimming success. Some of their gold medalists have offered to return their medals so that clean athletes could receive them and get the belated recognition that they deserve. Yet the Olympic authorities have failed to act. Sharron says it is too late for some British swimmers like Ann Osgerby, June Croft and Jackie Wilmott who have all sadly passed on.

It is fairness which makes me opposed to the inclusion of trans women (those born male) in women’s sport. Women have fought long and hard to get their sport recognised, in media coverage and in rewards. But if trans women had been allowed to compete against Lewis, Ennis-Hill and Gunnell, they almost certainly would not have secured their Olympic gold medals.

Men and women’s sport is different because men and women have different physiologies. The former Olympic swimmer, Nancy Hogshead-Makar has compared the physiologies and performances of the US swimmers, Missy Franklin and Ryan Lockte. Both are multiple Olympic and world champions. Both have had first-class training, coaching and support. Both are 6’2” with 6’4” ‘wingspans’. Both hold world records in 200 meter backstroke. Ryan’s best time is 1:52:96 while Missy’s world record is 2:04:06. Missy’s best would have placed her 50th in the US men’s Olympic trials. This is similar in track and field, and in other sports.

When trans women who have been through male puberty are allowed to compete in women’s sport, in an echo of East German swimmers, they have an unfair advantage that is likely to rob women of their success, recognition and financial reward. And in contact sports it can be dangerous. For example, a male of equal weight and height to a female can punch 160% harder.

If a 6’6” trans woman was allowed to play rugby, even against the top women rugby players like Marlie Packer and Abby Dow, the risk of injury would be great. How long would it be before the wonderful Red Roses were dominated by players who have benefited from male puberty?

The developmental biologist, Dr Emma Hilton, and Dr Tommy Lindberg, an exercise physiologist, concluded in a joint peer-reviewed research paper: “The biological advantage, most notably in terms of muscle mass and strength, conferred by male puberty and thus enjoyed by most transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed by current sporting guidelines for transgender athletes.”

Hilton and Lindberg reported that even after a year’s hormone-reduction therapy, the expected 5% drop in muscle mass in trans women resulted in a negligible loss of muscle strength and they remain much stronger than any of the women they wish to compete against.

For these and other reasons, I cannot support trans women competing in women’s support. There is an alternative, a third category in which trans women can compete against each other. However, it is notable that where this has been trialled, the event has been cancelled due to a lack of entrants. It is also notable that trans men (those born female) have never sought to compete in men’s sport where they would have a huge physiological disadvantage.

This is not about prejudice. It’s simply about fairness.

Mary Clarke: The Forgotten Suffragette

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 22nd March 2023)

Women’s History Month is celebrated in March each year. Over recent times there have been moves to recognise the achievements Brighton and Hove women, from the earliest suffragettes, early women physicians like Louisa Martindale (after whom the new wing at the Royal Sussex County Hospital has been named), women involved in sport such as Clare Connor, Sally Gunnell, and the magnificent women at Lewes FC.

Maquette of Mary Clarke by Denise Dutton (photo credit: Andrew Hasson)

There is one woman in particular who should be recognised and lauded by the City. She is Mary Clarke, the Brighton organiser of the Women’s Political and Social Union. She was a quiet, modest woman who never sought the limelight, but who was fearless in the face of male aggression.

She was assaulted and arrested on Black Friday in 1910 when police officers physically and sexually assaulted suffragettes outside Parliament. She was imprisoned in Holloway, went on hunger strike and was force-fed. She was released from prison two days before Christmas 1910 and died at the home of her brother on Christmas Day from a brain haemorrhage, probably caused by her treatment at the hands of the authorities.

There is a local campaign to have the life of Mary Clarke recognised by a statue, ideally in the grounds of the Royal Pavilion Estate where she and her fellow suffragettes held their meetings. Brighton and Hove has two statues of named women. Both of them are Queen Victoria. Now must be the time for a statue for Mary.

The Chair of the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal, Jean Calder, explains why recognising the ‘forgotten suffragette’ is so important: “Mary was the first suffragette to die for women’s right to vote, yet there is no public memorial for her anywhere in the country. 

“Despite her sacrifice – and the fact she was Emmeline Pankhurst’s sister and close companion – she is not even one of the fifty-nine suffrage campaigners commemorated on the plinth of the 2018 statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. The names of her sister and her three Pankhurst nieces, Christabel, Sylvia and Adela, are there. There are even three named men. But Mary’s name is absent.

“Though Mary was known for her gentleness and was not physically strong, she was extraordinarily brave. At a time when domestic violence was condoned and divorce a matter of shame, she had escaped an abusive marriage during which she experienced  destitution and homelessness. Thereafter she dedicated her life to the struggle for women’s suffrage.”

Fast-forward to 2023 and another group of pioneering women have made a comeback. In the late 1970s and early 1980s it was rare to find all-women music groups. This was the era of punk, New Wave, and Two Tone music. In Brighton a group of lesbians called, at different times, the Devil’s Dykes, Bright Girls and, latterly, Siren, rehearsed at the old Resource Centre, performed at The Richmond, The Marlborough, and at venues in London and Amsterdam.

Their presence proved to be a threat to many men, and they were frequently the target of male violence, sometimes after gigs while packing their equipment into their van. Some men, it seems, had a problem with all-women groups and, particularly, an all-lesbian one.

After many years, Siren have reformed and now perform regularly. The story of Siren, as pioneering women, musicians and lesbians, has been told in a documentary that can be seen on Latest TV. Siren have just released a new album, Under the Bridge, which is being formally launched on Friday 31st March at The Brunswick in Hove. 

Their music is unashamedly political: pro-women, pro-lesbian, anti-pornography, pro-environment, anti-war, and anti-capitalism.

One track on the album is The Ballad of Mary Clarke, commemorating the life of Mary. 12.5% of the proceeds from the sale of the album is being donated to the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal.

At this point I should declare multiple interests: I am a trustee of the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal, and am married to the Chair of the Appeal. My sister, Jude, is the keyboard player in Siren and her wife, Debs, is the drummer. As for the magnificent women at Lewes FC, I am a proud co-owner of the Club (along with 2,300 others in 40 countries).

As for the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal, we are making slow but steady progress. We have raised about a third of what we need. We have commissioned the sculptor, Denise Dutton, to produce a maquette which can be seen until the end of the month in the foyer of the Jubilee Library.

The eventual site for the statue is still a matter for discussion but one day Mary will be honoured and will no longer be the forgotten suffragette. For more information please see our website: https://maryclarkestatue.com

Jean Calder will be giving a talk about Mary Clarke tomorrow (Thursday) at 1.00pm in The Dome.