It’s almost time to delete my account so I am sticking my neck out to potentially getting blasted.
I will preface by stating that gender identity is not an issue for me. Be who you want, use whatever bathroom you want. Just wash your hands/paws/tentacles.
My ignorant question is: for transgender athletes in competitive sports, should records be categorized differently or asterisked? Isn’t it kind of like using performance-enhancing drugs?
I don’t mind about actually competing, however if someone had 5-10 years of hormonal growth advantage during puberty, even if they no longer have that advantage, it seems like a big gray area. Yes, someone could naturally have that chemical makeup. Similarly, some exceptionally elite athletes have genetic variations that give them natural physical advantage.
When I was in school I was decent at swimming, in the top 5% of men. If I competed against women I would be like top 0.01% and making a career out of it. Though, if I started setting records I don’t know how I’d feel about it, given my advantage.
Honestly, writing these thoughts down is giving me some existential dread. What does it mean to be human, and why? Does anything even really matter?
I hope everyone has a nice day and is kind to each other.
I’ll add, as a trans person with the athleticism of a rock, about 75% of the sports debate is coming from transphobes. I’d be more ok with discussing the nuance if most discussions weren’t laden with a dump truck full of transphobia. The proof of this is that they’re fighting to get trans people banned from darts and chess. Also most people who claim that it’s about protecting women spend all their spare time attacking women (both cis and trans)
Not everyone you disagree with is a “transphobe”. In fact, I don’t think there’s a single person in the world who has an “intense and overwhelming fear” of trans people. Most just want them to stay out of the opposite sex’s spaces.
Have you stopped to investigate why this might be? Darts has a very obvious reason - males have, on average, significantly better hand-eye co-ordination than females. That’s pretty much the biggest component of darts.
As for chess, again - have you looked it up? Why do you think there are so many more chess grand masters who are male than female? You know how trans advocates are always saying things like “trans women have the brain makeup and chemistry of a female!”? Well that is essentially saying that males and females have different brains and as such are better and worse at different scenarios that use their brain. Isn’t it possible that what makes people good at chess is “better” in males?
I know you’re not going to read it. But what the hell.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jnr.23953
https://www.webmd.com/brain/features/how-male-female-brains-differ
Many differences in performance have more to do with culture. There are smaller talent pools of women for previously male dominated sports because fewer women are interested/supported/encouraged to get into them.
Just a hunch, you’re cis aren’t you?
Wow good one sherlock! Just like 99.9% of the worlds population, yes, my “gender identity” is the same as my sex. Well it would be if I had a “gender identity”.
Yeah you don’t sound like a transphobe at all. Is there any other discrimination that you’re incapable of experiencing for yourself that you also don’t think exists?
Do you actually think people are scared of trans people?