Melania Trump, former First Lady of the United States, has waded in on the trans debate, saying she disagrees with trans athletes in sport.
The 54-year-old made the controversial comments in her new book, saying there’s a possibility they’ll have ‘physical advantages’ over biological women and that it could impact ‘fairness’ in sports.
“Today, some groups attempt to impose their ideologies on everyone, deepening the divisions in our society,” she writes.
“One example is the ongoing debate over trans inclusion in sports, specifically when male-born athletes who identify as female compete against women.
“Male bodies generally have physical advantages – muscle strength, height, bone density, and lung capacity – that can affect fairness in competition, even at the high school level.”
Melania continues: “Some argue that the number of trans-athletes is low, but even one can upset the balance in a female league or tournament due to these physical advantages.”
Earlier this year, former culture secretary Lucy Frazer, called for trans athletes to be banned from competing in female-only events as she urged sporting officials to draw up fresh guidelines to clarify the rules governing gender identity.
Lucy Frazer said that sports’ governing bodies needed to set out an “unambiguous position” on the issue, amid rows over trans athletes participating in female-only events such as cycling, swimming and darts.
Lucy subsequently lost her seat in the 2024 General Election.