What do you think of trans women in sports? Is it fair to the biological women?
I'm all about trans men and women being accepted and recognized as the gender with witch they identify. My view of it is, i have no idea what it's like to feel like i'm in the wrong body so who am i to judge.
No issues with bathrooms or changerooms etc. But when it comes to sports and competition, i can't help but feel like there's a problem. Is it fair for a trans woman to be competing against biological women? After all, they'll have the strength of a man and there's a reason that we separate men and women in sporting events.
“You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women. There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.” - Martina Navratilova.
Ever since I saw one truly appalling case of a trans female MMA fighter breaking an opponent's cheekbone, I believe all trans women should be barred from participating in sports with biological women.
I have no issues with bathrooms or trans but sports it's a little unfair. Biologically they were once males so they do have more upper body strength.
The problem I see here is that we are trying to get equality for LGBT people but trans males even if they are now female competing in sports against women is going to make people resent them.
So it will give the far right nutters more ammo in the long run and people will began fighting against the trans community when they already receive so much hate.
If we're going to have separation of gender in sports, then there should not be exceptions for trans men and women. Trans men and women may just have to accept there are certain things they will not be able to participate in.
I feel the same way about a person with prosthetic legs participating in running events with normal-legged people (read: Oscar Pistorius).
[quote]Trans men and women may just have to accept there are certain things they will not be able to participate in. [/quote]
It's certainly possible. That doesn't seem fair either though. I don't know what the answer to this is
SW-User
@Pikachu Well, I also don't think there's one blanket way to deal with it. There are some trans men who are muscular and hairy and don't resemble women at all. I think there'd be no problem with them participating in men's sports.
And then there are simply some biological women who may have physical traits that resemble men. Should they be barred from women's sports? Women like that are sometimes falsely accused of being men or taking hormones.
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@Pikachu Yes, and it is not just Transgender athletes but now also those with artificial limbs. Given technological advances, artificial limbs may soon be superior to the real ones.
Fairness, is a relative issue. For instance, where are all the 5'-6" NBA players? Or the 5'6", 130 Lbs Hockey players? How about the 6'-8" Jockeys?
Boxing (and I really hate that "sport"), seems to handle it better, through "weight" classes. Perhaps the same should apply to certain sports, where transgenders can compete? This is uncharted territory.
[quote] For instance, where are all the 5'-6" NBA players?[/quote]
Exactly. There aren't any because they can't compete at that level. And most female athletes (depending on the sport) could not compete with a trans woman. The end result would be few or no biological women being able to compete which seems a bit unfair.
I agree that the weight class thing is a good way to keep some sports more balanced and it might be the only way to keep it balanced in this case too.
@Pikachu [quote]I agree that the weight class thing is a good way to keep some sports more balanced and it might be the only way to keep it balanced in this case too.[/quote]
The problem with this scenario though, is that for the Olympics, for instance, you'd have to add so many events, it becomes impossible to manage. Would you send 6 volleyball teams to the Olympics, sorted by height/weight?
I can see the assumed advantages that transgender woman could have, but I think a good study on how much that advantage actually gives them needs to be done. Looking it up all I see is studies based on theories, and concerns. A non-biased study would be great.
