Anyone who was born male competes in male-only sports, and the same with girls and women. This is fair to women. “Trans” activists will claim it’s unfair to men who want to be women.
Anyone who identifies as any gender can play in any sport. This is obviously unfair to women. “Trans” activists will claim it’s fair to men who want to be women.
Anyone who identifies as any gender can play in any sport based on blood serum testosterone levels. This is not as obviously unfair to women. It is not obviously unfair to men who want to be women.
For all of human history, we took approach #1. Now we’re trying #3 in adult sports, with the linked article noting that dozens of states allow #2 for teen sports.
The question of whether #3 is fair is an empirical one. If blood serum testosterone levels by themselves create a level playing field, then the argument for #3 can be fairly strong (putting aside cultural issues and locker room issues).
But the evidence is coming in that a man can have low blood serum testosterone levels but still have an unfair advantage over women. Those include, per the linked article, bone size, bone density, an increase in muscle size and strength, an increase in the tensile strength of ligaments and connective tissue; an increase in red blood cells; lung capacity, and heart size.
So #3 seems like an unfair approach. Looks like USA Powerlifting got it right. How long will it take for other sports to follow?
My daughter, Alanna, now a sophomore, is a rising star in our home state of Connecticut. As a freshman, she led her high-school team to its third straight team championship in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference by winning the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter in one of the most dominant individual performances in meet history. She was an integral component in the team’s first-place finish in the State Open and in smashing a pair of records at the New England championships in Maine.
Alanna has devoted countless days, nights and weekends to training. She pushes herself to shave mere fractions of a second from her race times, yet she positions herself at the starting line knowing that, even with all that training and with her best effort, the odds are against her, the numbers are against her and that fairness doesn’t really exist.
Since 2017, our state’s high-school athletic conference has allowed biological boys to compete against girls. It’s enough that they subjectively identify as female. Since then, two biological boys have won 15 women’s track championships, titles held by nine different girls in 2016.
There are three approaches:
Anyone who was born male competes in male-only sports, and the same with girls and women. This is fair to women. “Trans” activists will claim it’s unfair to men who want to be women.
Anyone who identifies as any gender can play in any sport. This is obviously unfair to women. “Trans” activists will claim it’s fair to men who want to be women.
Anyone who identifies as any gender can play in any sport based on blood serum testosterone levels. This is not as obviously unfair to women. It is not obviously unfair to men who want to be women.
For all of human history, we took approach #1. Now we’re trying #3 in adult sports, with the linked article noting that dozens of states allow #2 for teen sports.
The question of whether #3 is fair is an empirical one. If blood serum testosterone levels by themselves create a level playing field, then the argument for #3 can be fairly strong (putting aside cultural issues and locker room issues).
But the evidence is coming in that a man can have low blood serum testosterone levels but still have an unfair advantage over women. Those include, per the linked article, bone size, bone density, an increase in muscle size and strength, an increase in the tensile strength of ligaments and connective tissue; an increase in red blood cells; lung capacity, and heart size.
So #3 seems like an unfair approach. Looks like USA Powerlifting got it right. How long will it take for other sports to follow?
Moms are waking up: https://nypost.com/2019/10/13/justice-for-trans-athletes-is-unfair-to-girls-like-my-daughter/
Watch out when Moms get woke!