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The brouhaha surrounding transgender women (male-to-female) competing in women’s sports has only grown louder in recent years for obvious reasons.

Whether it’s Fallon Fox trouncing Tamikka Brents in MMA, Mary Gregory crushing her competition in women’s powerlifting, or Rachel McKinnon sailing away from other cyclists to set a new sprint world record, transgender women seem unbeatable. 

And with the (now delayed) 2020 Tokyo Olympics on the horizon, many female competitors are asking the obvious question: is this fair? 

Transgender women, like Fox, Gregory, and McKinnon insist their past life as a man gives them no real advantage over their female counterparts. Some, like Fox, even claim they’re at a disadvantage

Who’s right? 

I invited Dr. Greg Brown onto the podcast to help explain what science has to say on the matter. 

He’s a professor of Exercise Science at the University of Nebraska Kearney who recently wrote an “expert declaration” on this very subject that examines all of the relevant research currently available.

In this interview, Dr. Brown breaks it all down, explaining the physical advantages men enjoy over women, how they affect sports performance, and how many of these advantages remain after a male-to-female transition.

Press play and tune in!

Timestamps: 

5:02 – Who is Gregory Brown and what is his background?

6:14 – Why did you write this controversial expert declaration?

7:17 – What are these inherent advantages that men have compared to women?

12:46 – How do physiological differences affect performance?

15:00 – How does transitioning before puberty affect the body?

19:27 – What are your thoughts on how this could affect women’s sports?

22:50 – If there are physical advantages in transgenders, where should we go from here? Should we ban them from women’s sports?

29:01 – How does your average transgender athlete compare to an elite women athlete?

44:19 – Where can people find you and your work? 

Mentioned on The Show:

Dr Gregory Brown’s Declaration

Thermonuclear takedown of the case for letting transgender “women” compete against biological women

Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching

What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!