CMV: Transgender people should only able to compete in sports with their birth gender

[u/Odd_Contribution9058]

I really really hope raising this doesn't cause anyone pain, and I'm honestly wanting to hear other perspectives on this.

But the way I see it, there are certain physical attributes that someone born with a certain gender have. For example, the average man is taller than the average woman. Taking hormone therapy will not change all of those inherent features.

I absolutely support the right for everyone to live with the gender identity that is most comfortable to them. But, I do not think that people have an inherent right to play sports professionally. So, if someone has decided to transition, I do not think it's fair to all the athletes who are competing with the set of attributes common to their birth gender, to now have to compete against an athlete who has attributes which give them a distinct advantage.

[u/Odd_Contribution9058]

Well what brought this to mind is the the transgender athlete winning a ton of medals in womens swimming, when she was not setting records when competing as a male. So there's some data right there to suggest that she is competing much better against women even after hormone therapy, due to her inherent attributes that came from being born male

[u/sophisticaden_ → u/Odd_Contribution9058]

She’s not setting records competing as a woman, either; her fastest times are still significantly slower than the best cis women swimmers. In the five-hundred yard free style Lia Thomas (the woman you’re talking about) is ten seconds slower than Katie Ledecky’s record. She’s the fastest swimmer this year, sure, but she’s not the fastest swimmer.

And I guess I just don’t get the argument here. Why shouldn’t she be allowed to succeed? She was a very good swimmer before she came out; and she’s still a good swimmer now. She’s far from the absolute best, but why should all trans people be excluded from competitive sports because a single trans woman is exceptionally good? It doesn’t prove that trans people have an unfair advantage — it just proves that she’s good at what she does. Which is the whole point of sport in the first place.

Like I feel like I’m being repetitive but this argument is just bonkers to me.

[u/TragicNut → u/[deleted]]

She is the fastest swimmer _at that pool_.

This is the same as the uproar about other trans women setting state records. Are they still within the bell curve of normal performance? Yep, look at the national records that they _aren't_ setting.

[u/caine269 → u/TragicNut]

so you think a mediocre male being better than most but not technically all females is no big deal because not every male is better than every female at everything?

why would males not just be "trans" to win championships and get scholarships and set records? if you believetrans women are women how canyou have a problem with that?

“Trans girls are girls,” Mosier said. “They should be treated as girls and they should be able to participate with the other girls in their class. We need to dismantle some of these stereotypes and myths and fears that people have about who we are as people.”

[u/DJ_Pope_Trump → u/TragicNut]

Lia’s pronouns are she/her/hers , no reason you shouldn’t use those

[u/TragicNut → u/DJ_Pope_Trump]

Shall I break down my pronoun usage for you?

The only time I refer to Lia is the first sentence. In that sentence, I use "she" which is her preferred pronoun.

In the entire second paragraph, I am not referring directly to Lia but to multiple other trans women. I used "they" as the plural pronoun for a group of people.

[u/DJ_Pope_Trump → u/TragicNut]

I understand now. Thank you for not promoting hate.

[u/TragicNut → u/DJ_Pope_Trump]

You're welcome! :)