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You’re a hypocrite if you don’t want trans-females in women’s sports … and prefer men’s sports over women’s?

A recent study claims the “Save Women’s Sports” movement may be based more on “ideological motivations” instead of authentic interest in protecting biological females’ athletic opportunities.

“Saving Women’s Sports? The Ideological Underpinnings of U.S. Public Opinions About Trans* Athlete Rights and Sex Testing, Before Widespread Politicization” (published in Sociology of Sport), allegedly found that “opposition to transgender athletes’ rights are associated with beliefs about women’s physical appearance, negative attitudes toward female athletes, and homophobic views.”

According to PsyPost, researchers Chris Knoester of Ohio State and Oregon State’s Kirsten Hextrum said they were interested in the issue given the “growing public debate over transgender rights in sports, particularly as the issue has become increasingly politicized.”

Knoester (pictured), a sociology professor who directs the Sports and Society Initiative, said he and Hextrum “were further motivated […] in the wake of the disproportionate targeting [and abuse] of trans people in sports.”

Hextrum, author of the book “Special Admission: How College Sports Recruitment Favors White Suburban Athletes,” said that based on previous public opinion research, she and Knoester found “relationships between anti-trans views and orthodox gender beliefs in sport,” which they contend could “lead to policies that restrict and contain” women’s sports opportunities.

MORE: Professor: ‘no scientific answer as to what is fair’ re: trans-female athletes

From the article:

“In our analysis, we also accounted for effects related to beliefs about inherent male athletic supremacy, self-identified conservatism, political party affiliations, and other ideological, social structure, and social group affiliation—all relevant factors identified in previous research,” [Knoester said].

The researchers found that respondents who viewed female athletes as less deserving of attention, support, and media coverage were more likely to oppose transgender inclusion in sports. For example, individuals who disagreed with statements like “Women’s sports deserve the same amount of media coverage as men’s sports” were significantly less likely to support transgender athletes’ rights. …

“Overall, our research suggests that purporting to save women’s sports is more of a (gender) ideological project and political strategy than a concerned and concerted effort to support, promote, and enable further watching of girls and women playing sports.”

Knoester noted two weaknesses of the study: First, data was not randomly collected (participants “self-reported”) and participants also were “not given an opportunity to explain the nuances of their beliefs and offer in-depth responses.”

Second, data was gathered “at a single point in time” (2018-19) which doesn’t reflect how attitudes may have changed since.

The study used an asterisk with the term “trans” as it “refers to people with a diversity of gender identities (e.g., transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse) that are often considered nonnormative because they do not coincide with gender identity expectations based on binary biological sex categorizations.”

MORE: U. Chicago survey: Two-thirds of U.S. adults oppose transgender females in women’s sports

IMAGES: Shutterstock.com; Ohio State U.

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