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The debate surrounding the inclusion of transgender people in women’s sports has once again sparked conversations.
Nathanielle Morin, a trans athlete who was born biologically male and also acts as a Canadian advisor to the Federal Minister of Women, is adamant about advocating for trans athletes.
They released a statement earlier this week amidst President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that forbids trans athletes from competing in any women’s or girl’s sports, as reported by Fox News. It additionally states that any publicly funded institution in the US that allows their participation will lose its federal funding.
Trans runner Nathanielle Morin stands firm that transgender people should be included in women’s sports
Image credits: nathaniellemorin
“I am aware that my participation in so many competitions will be talked about because of my medical history. The situation in the United States and the comments of certain politicians do not help either,” Morin wrote.
“With all due respect to the level I compete at (amateur recreational), the state of scientific research in the field (for the amateur recreational level) and the fact that I have undergone a medical transition, I consider that I have the legitimacy to participate in the right category, unless the law prohibits me from doing so.
“Let us remember that in Canada, no law prohibits it. As for other countries, I will comply with the local laws in force when it applies.”
Morin continued on to say that additional medical research would be considered as they weigh whether or not to keep competing in women’s sports.
Image credits: Nathanielle_Qc
Please see my statement regarding my participation, as a trans woman, in sport. pic.twitter.com/9ACG6HCntI
— Nathanielle Morin (@Nathanielle_Qc) February 15, 2025
The competition that sparked much of this discussion occurred on February 4, during the 5-kilometer BougeBouge run, where Morin came in first place with a time of 25:32. They earned the title of ‘fastest female’ across all age categories.
The runner-up, who would’ve won had Morin not competed, was a girl in the 10-12 age category with a time of 26:08.
If the advisor competed in the men’s category, they would have finished in 10th place, according to the abovementioned outlet.
On the day of the race, Morin shared some thoughts on X regarding a Toronto Star opinion piece surrounding trans inclusion.
Morin competed in the BougeBouge run, finishing first in the women’s category
Image credits: Raphael Renter | @raphi_rawr
“Some of the world saw our struggles, and all our beauty and pain and laughter and wit… and anger and hurt and endless cascades of love — and they decided to hate us more,” they shared. “Trans folks only want to fully integrate, and be happy, in our society.”
On February 18, they added to the initial thread, asking for a safer space to be provided.
“Trans folks only want to fully integrate as their authentic self and be happy, in our society. That’s all. Please, be kind.”
But a message asking for warmth received anything but that.
“‘Please be kind.’ NO,” stated one person. “You have no interest in being kind to women and girls. You won’t consider any kind of a compromise that excludes you from our spaces, groups and categories. You have zero care for our safety, privacy, dignity, and right to have our OWN commodities just for us.
“You are my enemy, and I am not kind to my enemies.”
Another wrote, “If it’s true you participate in races with young girls (12??) then that’s not integration that’s cheating! Simple! If true, be ashamed of yourself! If not true then all the best to you!”
“While I have compassion for your struggles, your personal struggles do NOT give you the right to steal from others,” a third said.
Many women commented that it is “unfair” for trans athletes to compete in a different category
Image credits: nathaniellemorin
One user posed the question, “Is it kind to have biological males in change room with young girls? Should we just be kind and allow this to happen? Because if someone identifies as a female, that logic means, we can’t keep anyone who says those words out of women’s and girls change rooms.”
The debate of whether trans athletes should be included in female sports has been ongoing for years. A healthy conversation detailed on Divided We Fall included two professionals who remained on opposing sides.
Teresa Smallwood, a postdoctoral fellow & associate director in Public Theology and Racial Justice, said that it is unfair to regard transgender women and cisgender women as two separate entities.
“I am arguing for a human approach to this debate rather than a scientific one. The world needs more acceptance and less divisiveness. Transgender women and girls deserve the freedom to be themselves. They should be able to compete in sports,” she said while providing scientific evidence that “human biology does not neatly divide into two categories.”
Image credits: nathaniellemorin
But Mariah Burton Nelson, a former professional athlete and working group member at Women’s Sports Policy, sees the issue from another perspective.
“I, too, want transgender women to enjoy dignity, grace, and respect. I want them to have equal access to healthcare, housing, employment, and sports. We seem to only disagree about how to define equal access in sports,” she stated.
Later on, she wrote, “I respect that transwomen want to play on the women’s team in every sense. But we must remember that despite what they call themselves and despite what they believe about their gender, their bodies are male.
“So, the question becomes: Should men be allowed to compete against women? In my opinion, the answer is no.”
Image credits: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona
A similar line of thinking happened for Bonnie Wang, a former competitive swimmer, as she told Bored Panda.
She explained how the biological differences between men and women are crucial when it comes to the outcome and competition of a sport, and “as a trans person, your biology is not going to be the same as a cis person, so it no longer makes the sport fair.”
But to her, “separation doesn’t mean something is not inclusive — women compete separately from men but are still included in the sport because they get to compete at all. So, using that logic, trans people can compete in their own category and it would still be inclusive.”
The comparisons between Morin and a 12-year-old who was runner-up flooded the comments
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