A Response to the Commodity on Transgender Athletes

A+Response+to+the+Article+on+Transgender+Athletes

The headlines of today are often ripe with controversy. Every story in the news sparks word and debate. Recently, that debate has been about the right of transwomen to compete in women's sporting events. The story of Lia Thomas, a trans woman who recently won an effect at the NCAA Sectionalization i pond finals, has caused quite a scandal. This controversy hits close to home for me. I am a friend and family fellow member of many trans women. These women are potent and hard-working, and they want an opportunity to compete in sports, as anyone else would. Unfortunately, many people take taken this debate equally an opportunity to spread transphobia and brand the world more difficult for trans women.

The start of this discussion is the question of the validity of trans as an identity.  Many groups, similar the Heritage Found, claim those who identify every bit trans are just "confused." They say that "a person either is or is not a man, regardless of what anyone—including that person—happens to believe." These beliefs are prevalent in our gild, especially among trans exclusionists. In reality, science has long been on the side of trans people. Co-ordinate to the Cleveland Clinic, "The male person and female encephalon have structural differences … When we look at the transgender brain, we run across that the encephalon resembles the gender that the person identifies every bit." This study and other research into the validity of trans people have consistently affirmed their identity.

Trans women, who are simply every bit much women equally their cis counterparts, deserve to compete in sports. For so long, our society has excluded many people from sports. For example, nosotros often see intersex people banned from competitions. Intersex people do not fit into the sexual practice binary of male person/female, whether because of chromosomal, hormonal, or physical differences. They are consistently cut off from competitive sports, even if they identify and were raised every bit a binary sexual practice. Intersex and trans women often become banned from competitions due to loftier testosterone levels, which also sometimes occurs in cis women. The only reason a woman should be banned because of high testosterone is if her body did not naturally produce the testosterone – that is to say, information technology came from steroids.

An argument ofttimes made confronting trans women's right to compete in sports is that they accept an unfair biological advantage. People claim that because trans women, similar Lia Thomas, went through puberty every bit boys, they must inherently practice ameliorate in sports. Thomas' ain controversial win seems to ignominy this theory. She won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of iv:33.24. That time sounds incredibly impressive, which information technology is; however, Thomas did not suspension any records. In fact, her fourth dimension was 9 seconds slower than the record for this event. Famous American swimmer Katie Ledecky, a cis woman, holds the tape. Thomas also competed in multiple other events at the NCAA Division one finals just did non win. Thomas is an incredible swimmer, but her abilities practise not exceed those of cis women. Skills vary between trans and cis women, as they vary betwixt whatever groups of people. Co-ordinate to Dr. Joshua D. Safer, a respected doctor of transgender medicine and surgery, "A person's genetic make-up and internal and external reproductive anatomy are not useful indicators of athletic performance." A written report washed past Joanna Harper, a trans scientist and athlete, showed that "[transgender women] have no advantage over non-transgender women." This study, and many like it, evidence that trans women do not have an inherent advantage in sports. Just even if they did, do biological advantages exclude somebody from a competition?

Opponents of trans rights widely believe that a biological reward ways that someone should non be allowed to compete. This assumption does not concord up when one looks at current top-level athletes. To stay in the realm of swimming, look at Michael Phelps. His body produces half the amount of lactic acid equally an average athlete; he has double-jointed ankles that make his kicks stronger; he has a disproportionately big wingspan. All of these are biological differences between him and other athletes. If advocates confronting trans people in sports stayed true to their position on advantages, then they would not allow Phelps to compete. Merely, this does not happen; why? Because Phelps, a cis homo, has more privilege in our society than trans women exercise.

An important matter to look at is the people who are advocating against trans inclusion. Many are women who experience they are treated unfairly in their ain sports. An ABC News article interviewed a cisgender track athlete named Chelsea Mitchell. She said, "I believe that [losing to trans women] was unfair for me and my other competitors." This is a very logical thought for hard-working cis athletes to accept. The pressure level to practice well at competitions and the disappointment of losing tin can fuel injure feelings in many people. Mitchell later vanquish one of the trans athletes she had previously lost to and at present goes to the college of William & Mary on a track scholarship. The two trans women who had once beaten Mitchell were not offered whatsoever track scholarships. Mitchell is now a role of a lawsuit against the participation of trans women in women's sports. This is just ane solitary situation where a cis athlete has taken activeness, despite not losing any major opportunities to a trans athlete. Nonetheless, we can see these inconsistencies in many anti-trans reasoning. Many scientific arguments take faulty logic, and many people who brand claims exercise not have testify. In reality, trans women practice not boss competitions the way these people would have you lot believe.

Now that we have established the validity and importance of trans rights, we must examine how our language can injure trans people. In the Herd article, "Should Transgender Athletes be Allowed to Compete in Sports?" writer Evan Mills discusses trans women's place in sports. By repeatedly describing Lia Thomas as "a biological man" Mills unknowingly harmed the trans community. Words similar "biological man" tin reinforce harmful ideas that trans women are not existent women. Writers, peculiarly those who share their work with the public, must be aware of the consequences their words tin can accept. As a student at Kennebunk Loftier School, I have witnessed the discrimination that can accept place here. We as a community must piece of work harder to include and back up our lgbtq+ peers.

Works Cited:

https://world wide web.heritage.org/gender/commentary/transgender-ideology-riddled-contradictions-here-are-the-large-ones

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/research-on-the-transgender-brain-what-you-should-know/#:~:text=Male person%2C%20female%20and%20transgender%20brains,Altinay%20says .

https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/participation-of-intersex-athletes-in-womens-sports.pdf

https://swimmeetresults.tech/NCAA-Division-I-Women-2022/?utm_campaign=inline-superpage

https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports/lia-thomas-wins-ncaa-penn-swimming-20220321.html

https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/four-myths-about-trans-athletes-debunked/

https://world wide web.science.org/content/article/scientist-racing-detect-how-gender-transitions-modify-athletic-operation-including

https://www.laloyolan.com/social_justice/michael-phelps-cannot-speak-for-transgender-athletes/article_179979da-6e47-5c29-be38-f64f443972c9.html#:~:text=In%20a%20quirk%20that%20borders,to%20excel%20in%20his%20sport.%E2%eighty%9D

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trans-women-targeted-sports-bans-advantage/story?id=76909090

https://theherdkhs.net/2022/03/should-transgender-athletes-by-allowed-to-compete-in-sports/