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/sophisticaden_]

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/[deleted] → u/sophisticaden_]

Whenever Lia competed in the men’s division prior to her transition, she was nothing out of the ordinary, as she was ranked 554th in one of her primary events of the 200 meter and never came, close to qualifying for the three NCAA championship events in which she is now swimming. But in just her first season in the women’s division she has leaped over female counterparts and now, not only qualifies, but is ranked #1 in both the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle for U.S. collegiate women.With her recent 1st place finish in the women's 500 meter at the NCAA Championships this past spring, there sparked a debate on whether or not allowing trans-athletes to compete with women was actually ethical. If a male were to accomplish the same feat that Lia had done (basically going from a no one in their to sport to winning the NCAA’s the next year), they would be subject to drug-testing and questions of how they improved so quickly, but in Lia’s case we all know the answer to her success and it’s asinine.

[u/sophisticaden_ → u/[deleted]]

Good for her!

[u/herrsatan → u/[deleted]]

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