* a Powerlifting Watch exclusive =============== BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION AND WARNING - Josiah agreed to grant us this thorough and informative interview because he is an embassador of many causes, not the least being powerlifting, and because he is a good person. Of the following items, NONE will be tolerated and will be simply deleted: - provocation - rhetorical questions with malicious intention - attacks - moral statements of intolerance You may and are encouraged to participate in the discussion. Participating in discussions, however, should always require some training in objective writing and respectful attitude. While it sometimes happens in other topics in our sport, HERE it will be enforced. ======================== After Bruce Jenner transitioned to Caitlyn Jenner and Matt Kroc became JanaeMarie, the transgender issue found its way into powerlifting. Some call the transgender issue the civil rights movement of the decade. Some claim it redefined gender and sex, others say it made the feminist movement obsolete, bringing the gender issues back to biological determinants arguments. The powerlifter who thinks this doesnâ€™t matter to him or her is very wrong: it does, and either we are prepared to handle the issue with reason and objectivity, or we will invite yet another irrational controversy into the sport. I believe we all agree we donâ€™t need another one: we already have our hands full. Some time ago, while still acting as the president of an IPL country branch, I was approached by a transgender lifter who needed clarification concerning how to compete. I had no idea, of course. At the time, that organization was affiliated with another international sanctioning body besides the IPL, so I consulted the two presidents. The other one responded with sarcastic reproach, but with no guideline for me, threw the controversy to all country members, who were also confused, until the owner of the federation gave his final word. Steve Denison, on the other hand (IPL president), introduced me to Josiah Ambrose, IPL official for transgender issues. As country representative, all I needed was orientation, and Josiah provided those in detail. Today I invite my good friend Josiah Ambrose to explain the issue to you. PLW â€“ Could you explain to our readers what is a transgender? The answer is not a simple one â€“ it has many meanings to each individual under the Transgender umbrella. But to keep it simple enough for our readers to understand, weâ€™ll use a general definition. Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Some individuals choose to transition with Hormone Replacement Therapy, surgical means, both...or neither. In our community, it is how one identifies â€“ male or female â€“ not whether they choose to fully transition or not. For a better understanding: Transgender Male (assigned female at birth, transitioning to male/FTM), and Transgender Female (assigned male at birth, transitioning to female/MTF). Biological Male (born and assigned as male at birth). Biological Female (born and assigned as female at birth). We wonâ€™t get into all the variances of gender identity â€“ it keeps things simple for the purposes of this interview. PLW â€“ When do you think the transgender situation started being a rule issue for sports in general? What do you think about the IOC deliberations concerning it? I really started noticing it within the last 10 years. As we have become more open in the population, it is now an issue in many sporting venues â€“ the Olympics being one of them. Of course because of performance enhancing drugs, there has always been an issue about the user having a competitive edge. Many of us can remember from a young age about the â€œpossibleâ€ use of steroids with the female Russian Olympic athletes â€“ as they looked more male than female, and were incredible athletes. Whether they actually used steroids or not I think thatâ€™s where all of this started, and testing and visual gender confirmation ensued shortly thereafter. Because of Performance Enhancing Drugs/steroids, it brings confusion to the sports field when Transgender athletes are mentioned. Transgendered individuals use hormones to bring about the physiological changes desired for the gender they are becoming (not sports performance), and some of us just happen to be athletes. I believe there is more of an issue with Transgender females participating in sporting events, than with Transgender males. Most people believe that it is unfair to allow Transgender females to compete with Biological females, because the Transgender female has a competitive edge â€“ based on â€œleftoverâ€ physiological differences from when they were still male. As we read on, weâ€™ll see that issue in not necessarily true. The IOC has taken a rather stringent approach to permitting Transgendered individuals participating in the Olympic Games. Transgendered athletes must have undergone all surgical procedures (sexual reassignment surgery), have been on Hormone Replacement Therapy for a minimum of two years (to minimize any gender-related advantages), and must have legal change of name and gender. For the purposes of the Olympic Games, I believe they have a justified set of requirements. As for other sports, I know a lot of them are basing their requirements in line with the IOC â€“ I feel that with exception to the surgical requirements, the rest should be adopted within powerlifting. PLW â€“Recently, there has been some controversy concerning the participation of trans-female athletes in the fights. The main argument is that the biological changes that take place before and during puberty are not totally reversible by hormone treatment. What is the physiological basis for this and how do you think it would be fair to act, in the case of a trans-female lifter with long experience? This is correct. Hormone treatment will not reverse all of the changes that have taken place as an individual ages â€“ especially during the puberty stage when bone density, strength changes, and muscular development are taking place. The longer one waits to transition/start Hormone Replacement Therapy, the less likely it is for a complete reversal of prior physiological changes to occur. However, changes will happen â€“ and the longer one is on hormone treatment, the greater those changes will be. It is also worthy to note, that there are individuals that transition at a very young age and they will experience the same physiological changes that would be expected by any other biological male or female. In the case of Transgendered women, eventually strength is diminished and bone density is not as great as it was pre-transition or in early stages of transition. Biologically and metabolically, we are all differentâ€¦and that determines the length of time it takes for any noticeable changes (strength, fat distribution, bone and connective tissue) to take place. I believe itâ€™s fair for there to be some concern, especially in the arena for fighting, grappling, or contact sports. BUTâ€¦each individual cannot be judged the same, at some point in the transition process the Transgender female will sit between a top and elite Biological female athlete. When it comes to lifting events, there may or may not be an advantage â€“ specifically after hormone treatment. PLW â€“ One powerlifting country president said that in his country, it is illegal to impose any rules to the participation of a person who identifies him/herself as male of female in sports. That means regardless of hormone treatment, if that person has the new ID documents with a new name and sex, he or she is eligible to register for a competition. How would you handle a case like that? Do you think there is any chance of this happening? I think the chances of this happening are inevitable. If an individual does not disclose that they are Transgender, and they have every appearance of the gender they are representing, how would one know? If all documents refer to the individual as their preferred gender, and there is no way of identifying them to the contrary, then it would be very hard to deny them eligibility to enter competition. In the case of Transgender males, it makes no difference. With or without hormone treatment, they have no competitive advantage against their Biological male counterparts. Transgender women on the other hand, if they have not undergone hormone therapy, they may have a great advantage against their Biological female counterparts. And most times that advantage will disclose itself on the platform. It all boils down to the â€œintegrity valuesâ€ of the individual. As far as the USPA/IPL goes, we are handling it much the same as the IOCâ€¦with some minor differences. We donâ€™t really require an individual to disclose their gender identity, but they must have legal documents that provide proof of name and gender change to that which they identify. Transgender males (female becoming male), there is no requirement for Hormone Replacement Therapy (as it does not provide any competitive edge). Transgender females (male becoming female), must have proof that they have been on Hormone Replacement Therapy/Testosterone blockers for a minimum of 24 months (to reduce their competitive edge). No sexual reassignment surgery is required â€“ as mentioned before, it can be quite costly and not everyone can afford it/or health issues prevent it (NOTE: this requirement â€œmayâ€ change in the future). This is our requirement for eligibility for competitionâ€¦provided disclosure has been made. PLW â€“ There are two situations which I would like to present to you for comment. The first is of the woman who would like to transition to man, feeling that walking around as a woman is an identity burden to her, but she canâ€™t if she still wants to remain competitive. Being an elite athlete as a female, she would become at the most a mediocre male athlete. So she remains competing as a female, having to carry an identity she feels does not belong to her. The second situation is the man who feels he would really like to change his identity and present himself to society as a woman, but he would have to stop competing: being a top male athlete, he believes he would never lose the sexual advantage over any woman (personal stance, not rules). Between leaving the sport he loves and being the woman he feels he is, he is divided. Some people argue that a special organization would better accommodate both cases. Others argue for a new division (male, female, trans-male, trans-female). The two situations are not hypothetical: they exist. What do you think? In either case, I think the individuals need to consider how important transitioning is to their overall health and mental wellbeing. Secondly, they need to consider how important the desire to compete is to them. Some will be very torn between the two. As for the elite female transitioning to maleâ€¦yes, they may wind up being just a mediocre male athlete. Again, we have to look at what they consider to be more important â€“ the need to transition, or the desire for competition. One does not generally start their powerlifting career at the top â€“ you train to become better. After transition, it is no different. It will take time for the hormonal and physiological changes to take place, but that doesnâ€™t mean you are destined to remain a mediocre lifter. Letâ€™s take me for example. As a female lifter, I had reached International Elite Status, but my totals were no where near what I would have to lift as a male. Iâ€™m addicted to powerlifting, but I just couldnâ€™t continue to live as a female any longer. I transitioned, and last year started competing as a male. It was an awful year for me â€“ I was no longer a top lifter, and I barely qualified for the IPL Worlds competition. Major changes have happened since then, and my training tactics/protocols have drastically changed too (for my new physiological structure). I was able to bring my totals well into the Masters Status (for my age and weight class), and will be competing this year at IPL Worlds with much better totals. It all boils down to patience (letting the changes happen), training (upping your intensity), and the love of the sport. So we see here, that the once elite female lifter may have to settle for a short time with being at the mediocre level, but they do have the capability of becoming a competitive male lifter. As for the elite male athlete wanting to transition to female, again, itâ€™s a matter of which is more importantâ€¦sport, or health and well being. He may have a personal belief that he will never lose his physical advantage but after at least two years on Estrogen and Testosterone blockers, he may notice enough changes to change his mind. If the IOC feels that two years on hormones is enough time to dilute athletic advantage, then it should stand to reason that he wouldnâ€™t have to give up on either one. I would encourage him to talk to other Transgender female athletes to get a good feel for what changes may happen. I also recommend speaking with an endocrinologist, they are the experts in the field of hormones and can give him some valuable insight on what to expect. Gender therapists can also offer some great insight to helping him make a decision. Either way, I respect his feelings and integrity. I have heard a lot of discussion about creating a separate division for Transgender lifters. There are two reasons why that may sound better on paper than actually putting it into practice. First, it singles out and exposes Transgender athletes. Many Transgendered individuals donâ€™t want to be outed, separated, or forced into a category. In reality, the whole point is to fit in with those whose gender we identify with. It can be seen as another form of exclusion or prejudice. Second, just putting on a local lifting event is a lot of work. Now add in an extra division â€“ thatâ€™s extra man hours, possibly an extra platform (at large events), confusion for weigh ins, time separating entry forms, longer awards presentations, new record keeping and documentation, a new category for records (which may only be recognized by select Federations), the list goes onâ€¦ And if youâ€™re having a large event (such as Nationalâ€™s or Worldâ€™s), everything previously mentioned is now doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled. As far as I know, there arenâ€™t a lot of Transgender lifters competing (as of yet) â€“ after all these preparations, you may not have a single Transgender lifter show up at a meet. Bottom line, we want to compete in the gender we identify as â€“ not be separated once again. If itâ€™s good enough for the Olympics, it ought to be good enough for powerlifting. ADDITIONAL INFO: I am very honored to have had this chance to touch on the topic of Transgender Powerlifters. I know I may have missed some important issues and I clearly donâ€™t speak for everyone, but I wanted to be as objective and informative as I possibly couldâ€¦without turning it into a personal point of view. My intentions are to be a voice for the communities (both the Transgender and Powerlifting), without disgracing either one. I am very thankful to Steve Denison, the USPA and IPL for being so accepting of who I am and allowing me to compete without discrimination.