Competition on Leaderboards

[SMay]

Hello, New to the Community and Subscribed services here. I have enjoyed using Strava for several years now. I have a concern as it has come to my attention that someone in my area is competing for women’s leaderboard results and has recently identified as a female.  He/she was on a collegiate MTB male racing team before coming to this area.  The women here are at a disadvantage and this situation has lessened the enjoyment of segmental competition among the women (gender at birth) who ride and compete on the same segments.  Thoughts?

[SMay]

I decided to share the response from the support team with the community, because I think there should be more discussion on this matter. I will not disclose the athlete’s identity. This is a subject that needs to be addressed by all athletes.

Mar 3, 2023, 2:16 AM MST

 
Thank you for your concern regarding segment leaderboard accuracy. 
 
In relation to the topic you are writing to us about, we welcome all athletes on our platform regardless of gender. We trust and allow our athletes to choose all profile settings, including gender, appropriately.
 
Thank you for your understanding.
 
Kind Regards,
Alex M.
Strava Trust & Safety Team

My response was this:

Dear Alex,

If you trust your athletes, then why is there an option to flag a ride report??? It is very apparent that my complaint with this athlete who is not trustworthy in his reporting of HIS gender, is not going to be questioned.  I can see this becoming an issue in the future of your true female athletes.  This issue is not going to be resolved by ignoring the women who are being affected by this.  I, among other true females will most likely not be using your app if this is the case.

Why not make a separate category for the trans community? Your apps are changing all the time and this could be a solution that suits all of us.

Thank you,

[Soren]

We have responded to this particular concern and welcome discussions as long as they adhere to our Community Standards. To learn more about the commitment to respect you make when you join the Strava community, please carefully review our Community Standards. If you use Strava, you’re joining us in a commitment to be inclusive and anti-racist, without exception. We look forward to your respectful participation in our community.

[Soren · Accepted solution]

This post has been escalated to our Support team. If you have a similar inquiry please submit a support ticket and we will investigate further.

[SMay]

I have absolutely no problem with gender identification preferences…It is an individual’s choice. However, when a person who identifies as a girl, and has recently competed on an all male collegiate MTB team, enters the Strava arena as a ‘girl’ and starts winning all of the segments that were previously held by women (gender at birth), I have major issues. This creates an unfair advantage based on the individual’s chromosomes that can not be altered. Trans gender athletes should be required to register on Strava based on gender at birth status.