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Concerns have been raised against the current two‐sex binary category in sports competitions. The thesis states that if males and females were separated based on muscle size, it would negate the strength advantage between the sexes. We tested the possible sex differences in various strength outcomes when pair‐matched for muscle thickness.

A total of 16 different data sets (n = 963) were assessed to pair‐match females with males who had a muscle thickness value within 2%. We further compared the competition performances of the smallest male weight class within the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) to different weight classes in females.

Overall, 76%–88% of the strength assessments were greater in males than females with pair‐matched muscle thickness, regardless of contraction types (i.e., isotonic, isometric, isokinetic). Additionally, males in the lightest weight …