Sports

Women’s sports are relatively new. Sports were first segregated by sex as part of the 2nd wave feminist push to allow women to participate fully in all areas of life. Sports are segregated by sex because male and female bodies are categorically different in ways that are highly relevant in an athletic context. 

For example, men typically have larger bodies than women.  They also have stronger, denser bones and more muscle mass.  Male lungs give them greater expiratory flow and vital capacity.  Men have faster reaction times.  The fundamental differences between male and female pelvises affect the ways by which men and women walk and run.  

These differences do not mean that men are inherently better athletes than women.  But these differences do put men and women on different playing fields.  Hormone replacement does not erase these differences nor does it turn a male into a female.  It is not enough to separate sports by weight, height, or identity. For both fairness and the safety of our athletes, Virginia athletics at all levels must be segregated by sex