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The three British Sports Councils are instrumental in developing the policy landscape for sport and physical education (PE). They aspire to equality between the sexes in 'sport and physical recreation' (SPR), in keeping with their Royal Charters [Sport England. (1996/2009). "Royal Charter of English Sports Council (Sport England)." Retrieved from https://www.sportengland.org/media/10309/consolidated-royal-charter.pdf; Sport Scotland. (1996). "The Royal Charter for the Scottish Sports Council." Retrieved from http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/sportscotland/Documents/Resources/sportscotlandRoyalCharter.pdf; Sport Wales. (1997). The Royal Charter of the Sports Council for Wales. Retrieved from http://sport.wales/media/128780/royal%20charter.doc] and the Equality Act [HM Government. (2010). "Equality Act 2010." London: TSO. Retrieved from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/pdfs/ukpga_20100015_en.pdf]. As public bodies they are committed to eliminating direct and indirect discrimination in provision, and advancing equality. One of their main functions is the distribution of public money, and all collect participation data detailing the different SPR choices of the sexes. These are primary planning tools in the three home countries. This paper investigates whether equality in relation to sex is considered a 'first-order' question of distributive justice for the Councils. Therefore, the funding awarded to the top SPR preferences by sex for each Country is presented. Defining SPR determines eligibility for funding and the boundaries of the SPR infrastructure which influences and interfaces with sport, school sport and PE. Consequently, critical feminist political and economic theory is used to evaluate the Councils' framing of SPR and equality in relation to sex. Male preferences are disproportionately grant-aided leaving those of females significantly under-funded. Although the remit of the Councils is 'sport and physical recreation' this is usually reframed by them as 'sport'. Equality is generally considered a second-order question of justice, and outsourced to national governing bodies of sport. Further dance, one of the most popular female SPR activities for girls, has not, until 2016, been designated as SPR in England and has been ineligible for funding. These policies suggest indirect discrimination against women and girls who disproportionately prefer physical recreation and dance to competitive sport. Therefore, the Sports Councils and/or overarching government departments may not be fulfilling their legal requirements under the Equality Act.

Universalist claims are often made about sport which is, as a consequence, increasingly written into national and international policy as an entitlement of citizenship or even human right. Further, in most countries physical education (PE) is a compulsory component of children's education, and sport is seen as central to this. Consequently, in the interests of justice sport must aspire to be egalitarian, that is, relevant to and meaningful for boys and men, and girls and women. In this context three fundamental questions are asked in relation to sport: (1) Do all citizens want to participate? (2) Who counts as a citizen? and (3) What are justice and equality? Feminist political and citizenship theory particularly the work of Pateman, Lister and Fraser is used to explore these questions and interrogate the "who" of citizenship and the "what" of justice in relation to framing sport policy in Europe and the UK. It is argued that notwithstanding the extensive use of the Council of Europe definition of sport, and despite or even because of the widespread adoption of the language of gender equality and gender mainstreaming, although formal sport citizenship rights might be accorded to all individuals and regarded as gender neutral, this masks a discourse of androcentric sport citizenship. This has captured European and UK sport policy and provision and is hindering further progress towards gender justice in sport and therefore PE. Given the universal and compulsory aspirations of sport particularly within PE, gender justice should be conceptualised not only as cultural recognition, political representation and economic redistribution within the normalised frame of competitive performance sport or "sport for sports sake"; but also as a critical meta-political remapping and reframing of sport as sport and physical recreation or "sport for all".

The inclusion of girls and women in sport at all levels depends on single sex categories for most sports from puberty onwards, because of the biological differences between the sexes. Most sport is, by definition, competitive; involving invasion games, teams, leagues, races, competitions and sometimes rankings, from foundation to excellence. Girls and women are underrepresented, particularly in traditional sport, as recognised by the UK Sports Councils and most governing bodies of sport. This paper uses feminist philosophy: Lister on androcentric citizenship, and Fraser on justice as balance, framing, recognition, representation and redistribution. It investigates the impact on the inclusion of girls and women, of eligibility policies adopting 'self-identification of gender' guidelines for the inclusion of transgender people in sport, at participation rather than elite levels. It explores fairness and equality as incorporated in law in the 2010 Equality Act in Britain, and contributes to 'equality evidence' available to the UK Sports Councils and GBS. These bodies are charged with developing fair and inclusive evidence-based eligibility criteria, in sports participation settings, for both girls and women, and transgender people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fair inclusion of female athletes at elite and Olympic levels is secured in most sports by way of female categories because of the extensively documented biological and performance-related differences between the sexes. International policy for transgender inclusion is framed by the definitive International Olympic Committee transgender guidelines in which the International Olympic Committee confirms the 'overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition' and transwomen can be excluded from female categories if, in the interests of fairness, this is necessary and proportionate. Feminist theorists argue justice requires that women have equal moral standing in the sociocultural–political structures of society including sport. As such their voices should carry equal democratic weight. However, female elite and Olympic athletes are rarely heard in the sociocultural–political discourses of academic literature or policy formulation for transgender inclusion in female categories by the International Olympic Committee and governing bodies of sport. This empirical study investigated the views and presents the 'voices' of 19 female Olympians. The main findings include (1) these athletes thought both female and transgender athletes should be fairly included in elite sport, (2) unanimous agreement there is not enough scientific evidence to show no competitive advantage for transwomen, (3) unanimous agreement that the International Olympic Committee should revisit the rules and scientific evidence for transgender inclusion in female categories, and (4) the majority of athletes felt that they could not ask questions or discuss this issue without being accused of transphobia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently published a framework on fairness, inclusion, and nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations. Although we appreciate the IOC's recognition of the role of sports science and medicine in policy development, we disagree with the assertion that the IOC framework is consistent with existing scientific and medical evidence and question its recommendations for implementation. Testosterone exposure during male development results in physical differences between male and female bodies; this process underpins male athletic advantage in muscle mass, strength and power, and endurance and aerobic capacity. The IOC's "no presumption of advantage" principle disregards this reality. Studies show that transgender women (male-born individuals who identify as women) with suppressed testosterone retain muscle mass, strength, and other physical advantages compared to females; male performance advantage cannot be eliminated with testosterone suppression. The IOC's concept of "meaningful competition" is flawed because fairness of category does not hinge on closely matched performances. The female category ensures fair competition for female athletes by excluding male advantages. Case-by-case testing for transgender women may lead to stigmatization and cannot be robustly managed in practice. We argue that eligibility criteria for female competition must consider male development rather than relying on current testosterone levels. Female athletes should be recognized as the key stakeholders in the consultation and decision-making processes. We urge the IOC to reevaluate the recommendations of their Framework to include a comprehensive understanding of the biological advantages of male development to ensure fairness and safety in female sports., (© 2024 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)