Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Madison N's avatar

Wonderful article. Thank you for writing this. I'm not quite sure if there's anything I could add to this. You cover the points really well. The hollow arguments that are used to promote "fairness" in relationship to a "level playing field" fail in both their logic and their application. When I've had conversations with people about trans women and sports (because let's be honest, it's never a conversation about trans men in sports), I always talk about the fact that the numbers simply aren't there to indicate that there is any sort of issue to begin with. There has been no domination of sports by any trans person. And the championships that have been won can be counted on one hand. The only trans athlete that I can think of that may have had a physical advantage was the trans boy who was forced to wrestle in the girls division down in Texas at the high school level. And he didn't want to wrestle in the girl's division, he was trying to wrestle with the boys, but was forced to wrestle with the girls due to Texas law banning trans athletes competing in the proper divisions.

The argument that the numbers don't exist to justify the hysteria have a little more traction than the discussing the science behind this. It seems to bring the focus back to a different idea of fairness, that of being able to participate in one's own life, and moves the discussion away from the hyperbole and the dystopian fantasies that the right wing want to perpetuate.

I will, however, sometimes use myself as an example of the effect of hormones on physical performance. I have data going back 11 years now with my cycling that clearly shows a loss of performance. The science behind hormones is woefully misunderstood by the vast majority of the population. But for some reason when I can produce a chart that's specific to my own performance, that seems to stick more than a study that I might be able to provide that has way more data and way more visual aids.

Expand full comment
4 more comments...

No posts