A Kentucky swimmer who tied Lia Thomas, the Penn transgender swimmer, has lent her voice to the notion that there ought to be a transgender division in swimming. At one level, it makes sense--transgender women lack testosterone and thus are at a disadvantage competing with biological men, and yet retain the height/bone structure/muscular structure of men, and hence it's unfair to let them compete with women. A "trans" division solves that issue.
That said, I think the idea is going to go over like a lead balloon for a number of reasons, all of them centering around the reality that transgender women want to be seen as women, but they generally do not "pass" well as such. Hence a "transgender" division would be the athletic equivalent of a drag show, which would irritate those with gender disphoria, and probably more importantly, would not sell tickets among those who aren't.
There are no easy answers here.
1 comment:
Since the option of having a private bathroom/changing area for trans folk has been thoroughly squashed, I think you are on the nose. The insanity (and it is mental illness) is that one IS a member of the opposite sex...
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