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Veronica Ivy

Veronica Ivy, born Rachel McKinnon in 1982, is a Canadian philosopher and cyclist who underwent male-to-female gender transition and subsequently competed in women's track cycling events. As an associate professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston, Ivy specializes in ethics, philosophy of sport, and transgender advocacy, authoring works defending the inclusion of transgender athletes in sex-segregated competitions based on self-identification and hormone therapy protocols. In 2018, Ivy became the first person born male to win the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championship in the women's 35-44 sprint category, followed by a second title in 2019 and a world record in the 200-meter flying lap time trial. These victories, achieved after male puberty and despite testosterone suppression, ignited widespread debate on the fairness of allowing individuals with male-derived physiological advantages—such as greater muscle mass, bone density, and cardiovascular capacity—into female categories, with critics arguing that such policies undermine the protective rationale for sex-based segregation in sports to ensure equitable competition for biological females. Ivy has positioned herself as a leading proponent of transgender participation rights, asserting that sport is a human right and that empirical evidence does not support claims of inherent post-transition advantages, positions contested by studies on male-female performance gaps persisting after hormone treatment.

Personal Background

Early Life and Education

Veronica Ivy was born in 1982 in , , and grew up in the region. She displayed an early aptitude for athletics, including an incident at age three where she broke the family home's front window while practicing . Ivy began her postsecondary education in at the , earning a degree in 2005. She continued with a Master of Arts in from in 2006, followed by a PhD in from the in 2012, with a dissertation focused on the norms of assertion.

Academic Career

Philosophical Research and Publications

Ivy's primary philosophical research focuses on the norms governing the of assertion within and , challenging the dominant "knowledge norm" that requires speakers to know the propositions they assert. In her 2015 monograph The Norms of Assertion: Truth, Lies, and Warrant, published by , she argues for a "supportive reasons norm," under which assertions are warranted if the speaker possesses sufficient evidence or reasons to back the claim, even absent full knowledge, thereby accommodating practices like hedging or speculative assertions. This work builds on debates in analytic , critiquing exacting standards that might overly restrict communicative practices. She has extended this inquiry into the of , examining conditions under which testimonial beliefs are justified. In " an Optimist about Aesthetic " (Episteme, vol. 13, no. 1, 2016, pp. 95-107), Ivy defends a non-reductionist account allowing rational acquisition of aesthetic beliefs via others' reports, provided the testimony meets reliability thresholds akin to those in non-aesthetic domains. Relatedly, her article "The of " (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol. 96, no. 2, 2018, pp. 314-348) analyzes how propagandistic assertions manipulate doxastic environments, distorting warrant and leading to epistemically defective beliefs despite superficial evidential support. Ivy's publications also address , particularly testimonial and hermeneutical variants where prejudices undermine speakers' credibility. Her survey "" (Philosophy Compass, vol. 11, no. 8, 2016, pp. 437-446) outlines failures to credit due to identity-based biases, extending Miranda Fricker's framework to cases beyond , such as or . In "Allies Behaving Badly: as " (chapter in Routledge Handbook of , edited by José Medina et al., 2017, pp. 167-175), she characterizes as a form of epistemic that erodes victims' self-trust through manipulative denial of their experiences, often in interpersonal or activist contexts. These contributions, while peer-reviewed, frequently intersect with applications to marginalized identities, including experiences, where Ivy posits and attributional ambiguity exacerbate injustice. Other notable works include "Irksome Assertions" (Philosophical Perspectives, vol. 33, no. 1, 2019, pp. 187-211), critiquing overly permissive norms that tolerate insincere or low-stakes assertions, and "Survey Article: On the Nature of the Political Concept of Privilege" (Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 25, no. 4, 2017, pp. 558-578), dissecting privilege as a structural, non-culpable advantage in . Her output, totaling dozens of journal articles and chapters, reflects an interdisciplinary bent toward applied , though core contributions remain in assertion theory.

Teaching Positions and Tenure

Ivy joined the Department of Philosophy at the as an in August 2014. In this role, she taught courses including an Introduction to Trans Studies class starting in fall 2017, which emphasized marginalized perspectives in issues. In March 2019, Ivy was awarded tenure by the , securing protections typically granted after a probationary period of , , and evaluation. She was promoted to in August 2019, reflecting institutional recognition of her contributions in , , and related fields. Ivy resigned from her position at the in 2020, citing an acrimonious environment, and relocated to . No subsequent formal teaching positions in academia have been publicly documented as of 2025.

Athletic Career

Entry into Competitive Cycling

Ivy, then competing as Rachel McKinnon, began participating in competitive events in 2016, at around age 34, focusing on track sprint disciplines in the masters women's category. Her entry followed a period of recreational biking, with accounts of her experiencing a in an early due to another rider's error, yet persisting in the . Lacking a background in elite youth athletics, Ivy's rapid progression highlighted her dedication to training in a late-start scenario typical for many masters competitors. By 2018, Ivy had advanced sufficiently to compete at the international level, breaking the women's masters 200-meter flying start world for the 35-39 age group with a time of 11.649 seconds on October 12 in . The following day, October 13, she secured victory in the UCI Masters World Championships sprint event for the women's 35-44 category, marking her as the first openly to win a UCI world title. This debut major success underscored her quick adaptation to competitive demands, though it drew scrutiny amid broader debates on category eligibility.

World Championship Wins

Veronica Ivy secured her first world championship title in October 2018 at the UCI Masters World Championships in , , winning the women's sprint event in the 35-44 age category. This victory marked her as the first openly woman to win a UCI world title. Ivy defended her sprint title in the same 35-44 women's category the following year at the 2019 UCI Masters World Championships in , , held in October. In the lead-up to the final, she established a new masters women's in the 200-meter flying start during qualifying, clocking 11.649 seconds and surpassing the previous mark by 0.24 seconds.

Advocacy and Public Engagement

Transgender Rights Activism

Veronica Ivy has advocated for the inclusion of women in , framing sport participation as a fundamental human right and asserting that women qualify as women for competitive purposes. In opinion pieces and public statements, she has argued that debates over inclusion simplify to whether women are recognized as women, dismissing exclusionary stances as unfounded. Ivy has positioned herself as an expert on the , law, and science of athletics, emphasizing compliance with regulations that require competition in one's legally recognized . Her activism includes critiquing policies perceived as restrictive toward transgender athletes, such as the International Swimming Federation's (FINA) 2022 decision to limit transgender women's participation in elite women's events, which she described as unscientific. Ivy has advised national and international sports organizations on transgender and intersex inclusion and promoted the slogan #SportIsAHumanRight in media discussions. She has appeared on platforms like CNN in 2021 to address controversies surrounding transgender athletes' participation and The Daily Show in July 2022 to debate fairness and inclusion in women's sports. Ivy's efforts extend to academic and public , where she explores as a form of public reasoning on and equity issues, particularly in . She has also spoken against barriers to girls' and women's participation in female sports teams, calling such exclusions fundamentally unfair in a 2021 interview. Through these channels, Ivy advocates for policies that prioritize in athletic categorization over biological sex differences.

Media Appearances and Policy Critiques

Veronica Ivy appeared on with on July 1, 2022, advocating for the inclusion of women in categories, asserting that participation constitutes a human right and that exclusionary policies violate ethical principles. In the interview, Ivy contended that claims of inherent biological advantages for women post-puberty lack empirical support in elite competition outcomes. Ivy featured in an opinion piece in on December 5, 2019, defending her 2019 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championship victory against criticisms of unfairness, emphasizing that transgender women who undergo align with fairness standards established by sports governing bodies. She appeared on on October 18, 2019, reiterating her defense of competing in women's events, framing opposition as rooted in unsubstantiated prejudice rather than data on performance disparities. In a July 27, 2021, contribution to , Ivy critiqued fears of women dominating women's sports as baseless, citing the absence of widespread success by transgender athletes in Olympic-level events since policy allowances began in 2004. She argued that policy exclusions overlook individualized assessments of hormone suppression effects on athletic capabilities. Ivy has critiqued specific exclusionary policies, including U.S. state-level bills barring girls from female school sports teams, which she described as "unconscionable" during a interview on April 28, 2021, contending they infringe on to equitable participation. On July 16, 2023, Ivy publicly condemned the Union Cycliste Internationale's (UCI) policy update restricting women who transitioned after male from elite women's events, labeling it "disgusting" and arguing it disregards on testosterone suppression mitigating advantages. In a 2018 column, Ivy asserted that allowing women in women's competitions upholds fairness, drawing on ethical frameworks prioritizing inclusion over speculative dominance risks.

Controversies

Debates on Fairness in Women's Sports

Ivy's victories in the women's 35-44 age group sprint at the 2018 and 2019 UCI Masters World Championships marked her as the first openly woman to win such titles, igniting debates over the inclusion of women in female categories. Her 2018 win, in particular, drew boos from the crowd during the podium ceremony, reflecting public skepticism about competitive equity. Critics contended that biological males who undergo before transitioning retain enduring physiological advantages, including superior muscle mass, , and cardiovascular capacity, which only partially mitigates. Empirical studies support this view; for instance, a 2020 review in found that testosterone suppression reduces but does not eliminate male performance edges, with transgender women maintaining approximately 10-20% greater strength and power compared to women. In strength-based events like sprints, these disparities translate to measurable edges in peak power output, even after 2-3 years of therapy. Ivy countered that no robust evidence demonstrates unfair advantages for transgender women complying with regulations, framing exclusionary policies as discriminatory and unsupported by data on elite performance. She has testified and written that variations among cisgender women exceed any purported trans advantages, advocating for inclusion based on lived gender identity rather than immutable biology. Subsequent policy shifts by bodies like the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2023 restricted post-pubertal transgender women from elite women's events, requiring proof of no male puberty advantages—a move Ivy decried as "disgusting" and scientifically unfounded. These changes, informed by accumulating evidence of persistent advantages, underscore the tension between inclusion and competitive fairness in sex-segregated sports.

Biological Advantages and Empirical Evidence

Transgender women who have undergone male retain significant biological advantages in athletic performance, including in power-based sports like , due to irreversible physiological developments such as greater skeletal robusticity, larger heart and lung capacity, and higher baseline muscle mass and strength. These advantages stem from testosterone-driven changes during , which (HRT) partially mitigates but does not fully reverse, even after extended suppression. Peer-reviewed analyses indicate that male physiological advantages typically confer 10–50% performance edges over females in metrics relevant to , such as peak power output and sprint speed, with gaps narrowing only modestly under HRT. Empirical studies on strength retention post-testosterone suppression demonstrate persistent disparities. A 2020 study of women after 12 months of found quadriceps strength reduced by approximately 9% from male baselines but remained 17–25% higher than in females, with losses limited to 5%. Another investigation reported that women retained upper-body strength advantages (e.g., push-ups) over women for 1–2 years post- initiation, with no full equalization observed. Longitudinal data further show levels, critical for aerobic capacity in endurance elements of , decline after 3–4 months of but stabilize above female norms, preserving oxygen transport efficiency. These findings align with broader reviews concluding that current evidence does not support performance parity, as muscular advantages endure beyond typical eligibility periods (1–2 years of suppression). In Veronica Ivy's case, these advantages manifested in elite-level outcomes despite HRT compliance. Ivy, competing in the women's 35–44 masters category after transitioning post-male , won the 2018 and 2019 UCI Masters World Championships in sprint events, outperforming female competitors. In October 2019, Ivy set a new women's 200-meter flying sprint record for ages 34–39, a feat reliant on explosive power where male advantages persist empirically. Such results are consistent with retained male-pattern performance metrics, as sprint demands power outputs where transgender women show incomplete detraining relative to females. While some studies using non-elite subjects suggest greater equalization after 2 years, critiques highlight methodological limitations like small samples and failure to account for pubertal history, underscoring that advantages in power sports like are not reliably eliminated.

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