Quote:
Originally Posted by dinopoker
Yes it's the trans people with the unfair advantage, not the kids who went to private tennis academies in Florida since they were pre-teens.
This isn't much of an argument for an enduring rule. As time passes, and transgender children become much more accepted by their parents, the image and reality of the transgender teen as disadvantaged is going to change. Also, at least in the U.S., most women's sports are not dominated by people who had the benefit of expensive private academies. (I will grant that tennis and gymnastics are exceptions.)
I don't think that the rank and file transgender athlete will be a particular problem for women's high school sports, especially team sports. After all, the sheer number of transgender people is relatively low, and it isn't as if all transgender people are interested in sports or have aptitude for sports.
The issue, if there is one, would be at the highest levels of women's athletics -- Olympics, WNBA, etc. Athletic outliers can occur in any population, however small, and I could see a situation in which that outlier makes a mockery of a women's sport. For example, there is no biological reason why a transgender athlete could not be a highly coordinated, 6'11 center. And a highly coordinated, 6'11 center would make a mockery of the WNBA.
If a transgender athlete achieved a level that almost certainly would not have been possible for a non-transgender athlete, I think that would be a negative development for women's sports in general, and transgender athletes in particular.
I also could see a universe in which authoritarian regimes aggressively steer transgender teens into particular sports because of a perceived advantage. This is impossible to imagine in the U.S., but not at all hard to imagine in China.I also think this would be bad for women's sports in general, and transgender athletes in particular.
I'm not sure what to do about these issues, and I am reluctant to let the outlier scenario dictate the rule. But I do think it is an issue that will arise eventually.
None of this matters, of course, if going through puberty as a male confers no athletic advantage whatsoever. But I am dubious about that proposition, especially for sports like basketball and volleyball, where height can make a big difference.
Last edited by Rococo; 04-07-2021 at 09:48 AM.