Trans World Sport

I enjoyed watching this 

jamo1 wrote: Pretty sure there is a ufc fighter that competes in the women's division that's trans. Unsurprisingly she won a belt and was unbeaten for ages.

You are probably thinking of Fallon Fox, never fought in the UFC and any commission worth their salt wouldn't sanction a fight. Her one loss is to a notorious PED cheat

Blanket bans are really blunt instruments and I think sporting bodies will regret them. Considering the numbers involved, case-by-case would be much fairer and not all that arduous a way of deciding whether trans people should be allowed compete at the highest level. 

The fact there are comments here about "deciding to run the 100m women's" and the like shows yous have little to zero understanding of trans people's experiences. 

I'm not saying let all trans people compete at whatever level they want regardless, I'm saying there is a tiny percentage of people this impacts and a blanket ban is too blunt an instrument in the grand scheme. It bans people like Caster Semenya who was vilified as someone born as a woman for having naturally higher testosterone. Do you think how she was treated was fair? 

If there was a critical mass of trans people that could compete in their own category at the highest level then great, but the reality is that's not the case. There are 2 trans women rugby players in Ireland impacted by the IRFU's recent announcement. What are they supposed to do if they want to play rugby? Start their own league? Are their 30 trans women playing rugby in Ireland today to even field two teams? 

Fwiw, there are studies that show long distance runners having slower times after their transition and running as trans women. So not everything is as simple as "man = stronger DNA = unfair advantage". There are nuances to all of this. I heard a trans academic on the Second Captains podcast recently on this. I didn't agree with all of her comments but it was interesting to hear her POV. I thought she was pretty fair in what advantages and disadvantages trans people can have in these events. I've also read a lot of Ross Tucker over the years who I think has become more entrenched in his views but still articulates the science fairly and clearly in a way that you can take it away and think about it yourself rather than dictating too much. 

And again, I'd ask if people could try not be flippant with their comments. I realise it's a complicated subject so tensions can run high but I know a few trans people (none of whom are sporty at all) and it's really not as simple or easy as some of these comments are making it out to be. 

Your comments are fair and my own comment is obviously an extreme example.

I've no issues with Trans people and I've worked with 2 of them before - both at the extreme ends of the spectrum, with one bring 6 foot 2 and a former Rugby league player!

I just don't think that shoe horning them in with normal mainstream sports is the way forward either, it's quite a complex scenario. 

Establishing their own sporting is the way forward IMO, as I think the transgender community will grow and grow...

We probably agree more than not, it's definitely complicated and I'm not even sure how I feel about it really. My instinct about blanket bans is just "bad idea" but I realise that I don't really have a better solution either. Contact sports especially are a thorny issue that's hard to see a way around. 

Interestingly I sort of wonder if this is more of an issue at grassroots level rather than elite. The numbers that would ever make an impact at elite level are truly tiny whereas at grassroots you're more likely to have less regulated competition.