Fox has also experienced this obsession, particularly as an athlete.
Pseudo-scientific arguments have been used, including by potential opponents, to argue that Fox has an unfair advantage. UFC fighter Ronda Rousey has been repeatedly quoted arguing that Fox has greater bone density and developed a bone structure that gives her an advantage. It’s hard not to see these arguments as a strategic move. “They just want me out of the way, which is tragic,” says Fox.
Medical experts have refuted these arguments multiple times. Dr Eric Vilain, director of the Institute for Society and Genetics at UCLA, who helped the Association of Boxing Commissions write its transgender policy and also examined Fox’s medical records, told Time that “male to female transsexuals have significantly less muscle strength and bone density, and higher fat mass, than males”. Indeed, transition could mean a hormonal disadvantage for Fox because of her low testosterone levels.
Dr Marci Bowers, an OB-GYN specialist and a leader in the field of transition-related surgeries, told me that Fox is, physically speaking, not in a superior position to all other women. “There are taller women than her, there are bigger women than her, there are stronger women than her,” Bowers says. She notes that the International Olympic Committee found chromosomal differences among cisgender athletes – and the IOC has ruled that transgender athletes can compete in the Olympics.
“Sexual dimorphism refers to the amount of physical difference between the sexes,” Bowers explains. “The fact is, human beings actually differ very little in their sexual dimorphism, much less so than other species. In society we use things like how we wear our hair and clothes to differentiate. The difference is not very great. We all have estrogen and we all have testosterone . So when you get an incredibly conditioned athlete who is at the top of their game and is successful, I understand the angst. But it would trouble me more if it was a natal female taking anabolic steroids.”
Fox has pointed out that there are bone density differences across race – black women have, on average, the same bone density as white men, while Asian women have the lowest bone density across racial or ethnic groups. “People have used those arguments to feed bigotry in the past: they would say, for example, that black people have larger heel bones, bone structure, maybe they can stand in the sun longer than caucasians ... That’s an unfair advantage! What they’re doing is using people’s ignorance of biology and their hatred of a particular group, mushing that all together in one big ball, and it has the effect of convincing the most gullible.”
fairplayforwomen.com
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