Following many years of forcing transgender athletes to undergo procedures that many of them may not need or want to qualify for competition, the International Olympic Committee has adopted new policies that will end the stigma of competing while transgender and hopefully dispel certain myths.
Most importantly -- or what I consider to be most relevant to discussion here -- the Olympic Committee will no longer require transgender athletes to adjust their hormone levels to qualify because their respective levels do not grant them any advantages.
In a six-page document, the IOC outlined 10 principles, which it described as "grounded on the respect for internationally recognised human rights," that sports competitions should follow. It also said it will no longer require athletes to undergo hormone level modifications to compete. [...]
Tuesday's framework replaces guidelines the IOC released in 2015, which put a limit on athletes' testosterone levels that required some of them to undergo treatments the IOC now describes as "medically unnecessary." Before 2015, the IOC required athletes to undergo genital surgery.
Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country have passed laws banning transgender women and girls from participating in sports program while arguing that they have an unfair advantage against cisgender girls.
I have explained many times over why that is not true, from the fact that cisgender girls have physical differences between each other, too, and the fact that taking hormones reduces your physical muscle mass, but now the Olympic Committee is saying the most elite transgender athletes have no advantage.
I don't expect any Republican lawmakers are going to rip up their grand plans for making girls like me into an election year target, but I do expect the IOC's decision will be making an appearance in court briefs and legal battles against transgender sports bans.
What's good enough for the Olympics should be good enough for your local high school soccer team.