British Cycling, the national governing body for cycling in Great Britain, has instituted a ban on “trans women” (biological men) competing against natural-born women, abolishing the Men’s category in favor of an ‘Open’ category so that they and people who claim to be “non-binary” can compete there instead.
“Transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category,” the sporting body explained in the announcement for its new policy, adding that natural women will also be able to compete in this category “if they so wish.”
The “Female” category, on the other hand, will be exclusively “for those whose sex was assigned female at birth,” i.e. natural women, and “transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy,” i.e biological females who believe themselves to be men but have not begun taking testosterone.
The policy will pose challenges for transgenderism advocates who have argued that biological males have no advantage over biological women in sports, given competition between the sexes will be the norm in the ‘Open’ category.
It also poses challenges to the likes of Rachel McKinnon, a “trans woman” who previously accused female cyclists of “poor sportsmanship” after beating them for world championships.
McKinnon and his allies have long argued “trans women” should not be stopped from competing because “sport is a human right” – but the new British Cycling policy does not deprive him of his right to compete, only of his right to compete in a females-only category.
