Gender Essentialism is the debunked belief that there are only two immutable and unchangeable genders, and that people can only be their gender assigned at birth. It denies the lived realities of intersex, trans and gender-nonconforming people, as well as disregards the effects of hormone replacement therapy.
In sports, gender essentialism is an inherently sexist idea that promotes the idea that AFAB people will forever be inferior to AMAB individuals, both physically and mentally.
Gender Essentialism punishes people who defy gender roles and propagates harmful stereotypes that women and men can only be defined by their biology, and has even given rise to harmful movements like ‘Transvestigations’, in which transphobes and TERFs attempt to ‘expose’ supposedly hidden transgender people, many of whom turn out to be cisgender.
This completely ignores the hard work many athletes have put in to train their bodies to compete on an international stage, as well as disregards the scientific fact that Hormone Replacement Therapy fundamentally alters a person’s body and its capabilities to fit a trans person’s actual gender.
This practice has been labeled to be racist; as many of the people who are subjected to this invalidation of their gender have historically been people of colour competing against white women. Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting are but the latest victims of this false belief, joining Caster Semenya, Serena Williams, Christina Mboma and many others before them.
This ridiculous practice has even spread to Chess and game shows like ‘Jeopardy’, which makes it clear that this is not about physical prowess, but is rather a transparent attempt to erase and ban trans people from participating in events in everyday life.
This gender essentialism campaign is led by global anti-gender actors, and highlights the harmful impact of anti-gender rhetoric and gender testing, not only on transgender individuals but also on intersex women and cisgender women of color.
We need to unite against these rising essentialist anti-gender sentiments, which permeate broader areas of life and social movements. We advocate for a united front to combat this harmful rhetoric and to promote a fair and inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of gender identity or background, are respected and valued.
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