LGBTQ rights

[Split T]

I have conflicting opinions on this one. I do agree that someone who transitioned as an adult and grew up male should not be able to compete athletically against females. If they transitioned as a child before puberty it might change things, but I haven’t looked into it enough to know.

I do think the degree to which this is an issue is overblown. The number of transgender females hoping to compete as females athletically is very small.

[In2ition]

It may be a small number, but the number of female athletes that it affects can be exponentially greater for each one.

I believe transitioning a child is child abuse, as many could change their mind, but it's irreversible by then. On top of that, the suicide rates actually go up, not down, as was the original reason for doing it.

[Mori Chu]

I support trans rights, but I know there are some tricky cases like the sports question. It isn't nearly as big a problem as some right-wing media makes it out to be; very few actual trans women try to compete in organized women's sports. But some who do cause concerns, like the trans woman swimmer who has a massive physique and is breaking records.

IMO a good compromise would be to condition sports not only on biological sex but on things like testosterone / hormone levels, weight, height, etc. Boxing has weight classes to avoid lopsided fights where a 130 lb guy gets walloped by a 240 lb behemoth. Do the same thing for women's sports and maybe we can get people competing against opponents of similar skill level. And it removes any hypothetical benefit for a bulky man to falsely "identify" as female to get into women's sports. (I don't see any evidence that that is happening much at all, but, it removes any appearance of loopholes or concern.)

[Nodack]

I’m imagine the number of trans people competing in sports is a small number in the big picture but still, it’s totally unfair to the women they compete against. I say let them compete against men. There isn’t enough trans athletes around to have trans competitions.

[Mori Chu]

A "trans only" sports division would be silly because you could never get enough trans people to field a team, much less a whole league.

[In2ition]

Probably true, but it is trendy.

[Cap]

Trans people don’t choose to be trans. If a girl is born in a boy’s body, it’s not her fault. And I don’t see how letting her play sports with other girls is any more unfair than letting Brittney Griner play with them.

[Nodack]

Well, I do. Playing sports with other girls is cool. Competing against girls in competitive competition isn’t fair. Britney is tall for a girl. She’s still a girl. Shaq was big for a guy. Can you imagine Shaq as a trans girl playing in the WNBA in his prime?