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  Post removed Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:16 PM Dec 2021

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Post removed (Original Post) Post removed Dec 2021 OP
Oh look, the hand grenade got repurposed and... LiberatedUSA Dec 2021 #1
Would it have been an astounding performance if Michael Phelps did it? milestogo Dec 2021 #2
Life isn't easy. We have to adapt to differences. jimfields33 Dec 2021 #3
. WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2021 #4
XX vs XY doesnt work as well as you might think. SYFROYH Dec 2021 #5
+1. it ain't as simple as all that. stopdiggin Dec 2021 #9
Xx or xy would be fair questionseverything Dec 2021 #6
Women competing against women is fair. WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2021 #7
Have you ever competed against a woman in a sport? Casady1 Dec 2021 #11
Why does that matter? WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2021 #13
They are trying to bait you. LiberatedUSA Dec 2021 #14
If you were Casady1 Dec 2021 #27
So the woman born a woman gets to be second class? questionseverything Dec 2021 #54
Because if you had Casady1 Dec 2021 #16
Yes, one player can certainly dominate another, no matter what gender either one is. WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2021 #29
Name a single sport Casady1 Dec 2021 #37
Why? We're talking about women competing against women, and men competing against men. WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2021 #39
Olympic level women could kick all of our asses iemanja Dec 2021 #34
at the professional level Casady1 Dec 2021 #42
It's an interesting exercise kwolf68 Dec 2021 #8
Have you ever competed against a woman in a sport? Casady1 Dec 2021 #10
Genetics aren't the only thing that determine secondary sex characteristics. meadowlander Dec 2021 #17
You obviously never competed Casady1 Dec 2021 #28
I did actually. I was even a referee for awhile. meadowlander Dec 2021 #44
Oh Brother Casady1 Dec 2021 #46
The point is meadowlander Dec 2021 #57
Sports are not fair. PurgedVoter Dec 2021 #12
How many short people play basketball? Casady1 Dec 2021 #20
If you get out and play on a local court you may meet some. PurgedVoter Dec 2021 #40
I have Casady1 Dec 2021 #43
We're talking about top caliber athletes iemanja Dec 2021 #55
I don't know the answer to the question I posed. Lucid Dreamer Dec 2021 #15
As a transgender woman vercetti2021 Dec 2021 #18
There is no chance that Coed sports Casady1 Dec 2021 #21
Never know vercetti2021 Dec 2021 #22
Put them in the MMA cage with... LiberatedUSA Dec 2021 #24
Not even Casady1 Dec 2021 #30
in most sports, unfortunately iemanja Dec 2021 #25
not most all Casady1 Dec 2021 #38
Thanx. Lucid Dreamer Dec 2021 #31
No, it would not Ohio Joe Dec 2021 #19
C'mon Casady1 Dec 2021 #23
what about a "class 1 and class 2" system? Takket Dec 2021 #26
Sounds reasonable to me. LiberatedUSA Dec 2021 #35
And then... Zeitghost Dec 2021 #41
So you're against... LiberatedUSA Dec 2021 #45
I think they are pointing out an unscrupulous man could intentionally Takket Dec 2021 #48
How do you determine those average times? iemanja Dec 2021 #47
The problem is Class 2 then isn't going to be women. Dr. Strange Dec 2021 #50
Men will dominate both classes questionseverything Dec 2021 #52
Ludicrous Casady1 Dec 2021 #32
I've been wondering what would happen with this for a while iemanja Dec 2021 #33
Sex vs gender Zeitghost Dec 2021 #36
It's not that simple, because how do you determine sex? WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2021 #49
Two divisions Zeitghost Dec 2021 #58
No. Iggo Dec 2021 #51
Maybe we should worry about sports competition less... Bucky Dec 2021 #53
Seriously? iemanja Dec 2021 #56
After decades of progress in the fight for equality in women's sports Zeitghost Dec 2021 #59

milestogo

(23,135 posts)
2. Would it have been an astounding performance if Michael Phelps did it?
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:20 PM
Dec 2021

Or was it only astounding for a female swimmer?

 

jimfields33

(19,382 posts)
3. Life isn't easy. We have to adapt to differences.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:22 PM
Dec 2021

The women will maybe not get all the wins, but the team will which is what’s important. Men’s sports probably won’t be affected quite as much.

WhiskeyGrinder

(27,074 posts)
4. .
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:23 PM
Dec 2021


XX/XY is not a solution. So far it seems that the NCAA policy, which has been around for 11 years, is working fine.

SYFROYH

(34,214 posts)
5. XX vs XY doesnt work as well as you might think.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:31 PM
Dec 2021

There are different combinations of X and Y and there are the hyper and hypo sentiviry to hormones issues which defy sex chromosomes.

stopdiggin

(15,539 posts)
9. +1. it ain't as simple as all that.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:46 PM
Dec 2021

And - if one accepts that there are a multiplicity of variables (which seems to be the correct answer) - then how does one go about sorting them out? Or - as the OP suggests, does everybody just get thrown in the same pool?

WhiskeyGrinder

(27,074 posts)
7. Women competing against women is fair.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:34 PM
Dec 2021

Trans women are women.

There's a lot more going on with XX/XY than just two options. More than one person has been surprised by their chromosomes when a test is necessary.

 

LiberatedUSA

(1,666 posts)
14. They are trying to bait you.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:11 PM
Dec 2021

When why would a man compete against a woman? You see where they are going from a mile away.

Personally, I find this news very normal. A woman beat a woman. So it was a transwoman, so what? The Transwoman gets the 1st class trophy, the woman born a woman gets to be 2nd class. What’s wrong with that? If you are 2nd class, you were almost a 1st class person! Almost.

Nothing abnormal here. Don’t let that person troll you.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
27. If you were
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:23 PM
Dec 2021

the woman competing you would think it is unfair. The trans women has to continue competing against men.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
16. Because if you had
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:15 PM
Dec 2021

you would never say a trans women is a women in a physical v competition. I played for 5 years 3 games a day 5 days a week with the Rookie of the year in the first Women's professional league. She was 5'8 140 lbs of muscle and a great shooter. I played around 2,000 games with her. She was a much better shooter than me and I set hundreds of picks for her. I was 5'10 and 165lbs. I was quicker and if I wanted to I could back her down and dominate her physically.

I was a decent player and I could dominate her. She was the Rookie of the year and her name is Sandra Smallwood and she is in the Belmont college HOF.

That will tell you the difference in men and women. The trans people have to sit out sports or still compete with men. It is ludicrous to say that they can compete.

kwolf68

(8,452 posts)
8. It's an interesting exercise
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:37 PM
Dec 2021


Not sure what to think, but women do have different genetics than men. That's why the most dedicated crazy ass women body builders will NEVER EVER be as big as the men builders.

I don't see it happening.

That said, winning rules. If some women shows up on the scene and can throw a baseball 100 mph with 3 electric off speed pitches then maybe things will change.

I mean Jackie got his spot on the Dodgers because they knew he was GOOD and could help them win. Same with black players in the NFL. Ever wonder why the AFL became so good? They put blacks all over the field and kicked ass. If women do the same then all the more power.

meadowlander

(5,141 posts)
17. Genetics aren't the only thing that determine secondary sex characteristics.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:16 PM
Dec 2021

Taking hormones, especially before puberty, and gender reassignment surgery fundamentally rewires your system.

Also you can be born with XX or XY genetics but can have a mutation that makes you immune to the hormones that would make you develop the secondary sex characteristics of the sex your genetics say you have. Or your sex glands may not develop for some other reason.

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/androgen-insensitivity-syndrome/

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/swyer-syndrome/

Honestly, I think all sports are a bit silly and boring so not really bothered who gets to play on which sports ball team based on which bits they have but I do think that people should have the right to define their own gender and to have that be recognised and respected.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
28. You obviously never competed
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:26 PM
Dec 2021

It is great fun while you are playing. You using your physical and mental against your foe. I loved playing basketball. A wonderful sport to play.

meadowlander

(5,141 posts)
44. I did actually. I was even a referee for awhile.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:36 PM
Dec 2021

Then I grew up and being able to run faster or kick harder than someone else stopped being that important to me.

What we need in this world is a lot less competitiveness and focus on meaningless achievements like high scores in water polo or shaving .00001 seconds of the fastest time an arbitrary distance has ever been run, and a lot more cooperation and work on things that actually make a tangible difference to other peoples' lives and to the planet.

13 million hungry kids in the US and runaway climate change, but sure, spending $56 billion on watching grownups run up an down a field or court sounds like it should be a societal priority.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
46. Oh Brother
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:41 PM
Dec 2021

because you became bored with it and grew past it has become silly. That is a pretty ridiculous take on the question. It is pretty condescending

meadowlander

(5,141 posts)
57. The point is
Wed Dec 8, 2021, 12:15 AM
Dec 2021

.5% of the population is transgender. Conservatively, .00015% of the population plays college or professional sports or competes at an elite level in national or international competitions.

So why so much media attention (mostly on Fox BTW) to an issue that impacts, at best, .0000007% of people? Because the people pulling the media's strings would much rather we all sit around arguing with each other about this and not the fact that our planet is going to being uninhabitable in 100 years or that income inequality and corruption are destroying this country.

Let trans people play on whatever team they want to play on. Problem solved. It's not like all sports aren't already completely arbitrary and meaningless anyway. Why do we care that a man who eats a keto protein power diet and sleeps upside down and wears engineered shoes has a "legitimate" record but a man who huffs oxygen or takes steroids should have his record thrown out? Who gets to compete or not compete is already an arbitrary shit show of "this supplement good, this supplement bad" "you can wear this, you can't wear that" "this move is legal, that slightly different move is illegal".

As much as you obviously want to drag this discussion into personal attacks, it isn't about me or my experience. It's about our inability as a society to stay focused on and devote resources to the things that actually make a difference at the macro level. And objectively sports isn't one of them.

PurgedVoter

(2,715 posts)
12. Sports are not fair.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 10:57 PM
Dec 2021

Truth is there are short people that are brilliant at basketball and in great shape. They have no chance in the big leagues. If you have the wrong injury, it just doesn't matter how much you loved the sport or trained. Not to take away from the amazing achievements of a few individuals. It took work, training and effort. But most of us, even if we spent our youth trying, could never have been the best.

This matters and it does seem unfair. Personally I think further division is needed. We have two divisions male and female, and we have weight divisions in a few sports. If you want to play outside your division, that is fine. We can have competitions that include all that want to compete in the open division.

But when a child is three years older that the other children in the grade, having that child win at any sport is unfair. They may be in the same grade, but there are reasons we divide things up.

In any case, sports is always going to be like gerrymandering. Someone is going to be at the right age, weight and gender to have the most advantage in a competition.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
20. How many short people play basketball?
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:18 PM
Dec 2021

Kemba walker is one of the few and he is still 6'0. There are very few short people playing Bball.

PurgedVoter

(2,715 posts)
40. If you get out and play on a local court you may meet some.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:33 PM
Dec 2021

A lot of them have amazing love for the game and amazing skill.
At one time I played on a court that had a net two feet higher than normal. On that court the tall had the advantage of blocking, but they lost dominance of the net. The short had the edge on dribbling low and running. The difference that net made was night and day. Short players that were good on regular courts became stars on that court.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
43. I have
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:36 PM
Dec 2021

you would never say a trans women is a women in a physical v competition. I played for 5 years 3 games a day 5 days a week with the Rookie of the year in the first Women's professional league. She was 5'8 140 lbs of muscle and a great shooter. I played around 2,000 games with her. She was a much better shooter than me and I set hundreds of picks for her. I was 5'10 and 165lbs. I was quicker and if I wanted to I could back her down and dominate her physically.

I was a decent player and I could dominate her. She was the Rookie of the year and her name is Sandra Smallwood and she is in the Belmont college HOF.

That will tell you the difference in men and women. The trans people have to sit out sports or still compete with men. It is ludicrous to say that they can compete.

iemanja

(57,771 posts)
55. We're talking about top caliber athletes
Wed Dec 8, 2021, 12:03 AM
Dec 2021

who compete for a living, not pick up games around the block.

Lucid Dreamer

(589 posts)
15. I don't know the answer to the question I posed.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:12 PM
Dec 2021

It would be interesting to compare the competitive performance of Lia Thomas while competing in Men's swimming to Lia's times swimming the same distances in Women's swimming.

How are women best served?
How is Lia best served?
How are sports best served?

 

vercetti2021

(10,481 posts)
18. As a transgender woman
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:16 PM
Dec 2021

I'd rather we had our own sports or competed in coed sports. That way it will not effectively hurt our image further. But also take into consideration that most if not all trans women lose muscle mass and effectively get weaker in skeletal structure. I feel it more each day. I feel my muscles are not as strong as they once were. I've also shrunk in foot size from 13 to 12.

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
21. There is no chance that Coed sports
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:20 PM
Dec 2021

would attract very much of an audience. Women cannot compete against men in basketball. They would get killed.

Lucid Dreamer

(589 posts)
31. Thanx.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:27 PM
Dec 2021

It will be interesting to see if Lia's performance will wane over time.
Maybe a waiting period would work.
Maybe it won't make much difference in the long run.

To me it doesn't make much difference. I love to compete in many sports. But I'm not good at any right now. Too old. I just like to play.

I'm also not much of a sports "fan" so this is more of a thought problem.
I'm interested in the "fairness" aspect.

Ohio Joe

(21,898 posts)
19. No, it would not
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:17 PM
Dec 2021

If we focused more on academics rather than sports instead of the other way around, this would not even be a question.

Takket

(23,742 posts)
26. what about a "class 1 and class 2" system?
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:23 PM
Dec 2021

Class 1 could be people with averages times the coincide with the times males put up. Class 2 could be people with averages time that coincide with what women put up. So obviously each class is going to have basically all men or women, but sex/gender would technically have nothing to do with it, only your actual times, and if a woman is putting up times as fast or nearly as fast as the people in class 1, she gets bumped up to compete in class 1?

just as an example, i looked up the 2020 olympic freestyle swimming events.

the slowest man was 48.1 seconds

the fastest woman was 51.96

So maybe you set the class 1 vs class 2 dividing line at 50 seconds??? Although I already see the problem though that I'm sure there are a slew of men that swim right around 50 second freestyles, and they would basically take up all the class 2 slots and you wouldn't see any women at all.............

eh, i don't know........... i mean you could make the trans woman compete with the men if she's just too good to compete against the women, but would she feel singled out by that? WOuld she rather be with her female peers? Or maybe she'd like facing the men? I'm sure different people would have different feelings, which is why i was hoping to uncouple sex/gender from it all with my class 1 and 2 thing. It's hard..........

 

LiberatedUSA

(1,666 posts)
35. Sounds reasonable to me.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:31 PM
Dec 2021

You’ve got your 1st class and 2nd class people. Gender need not apply.

 

Zeitghost

(4,557 posts)
41. And then...
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:34 PM
Dec 2021

You will get the slowest man sandbagging a bit to go 49.9 and the competition will be over which slower man can time his race the best giving us a mens JV squad.

Takket

(23,742 posts)
48. I think they are pointing out an unscrupulous man could intentionally
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:43 PM
Dec 2021

Slow down knowing he could not win class 1 but could dominate class 2. It’s a good point.

iemanja

(57,771 posts)
47. How do you determine those average times?
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:42 PM
Dec 2021

Your proposal assumes they are based on cis women vs. cis men, but that's not the landscape we are talking about. As more transwomen compete, the average female scores will go up.

I agree it's a hard question. You don't want to discriminate against transpeople, but cis women could end up getting screwed.

Dr. Strange

(26,058 posts)
50. The problem is Class 2 then isn't going to be women.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:47 PM
Dec 2021

It's just going to be a group of men and women who aren't as fast/strong as the more elite Class 1 athletes. And people generally aren't going to care about the Class 2 competitions.

When it's divided between male and female, you get more interest. People might be willing to see who the fastest woman is. But they aren't really going to care who the fastest person who can't run the mile under 4:30 is.

questionseverything

(11,861 posts)
52. Men will dominate both classes
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:49 PM
Dec 2021

Women fought long and hard to play competitive sports….that shouldn’t be taken away

 

Casady1

(2,133 posts)
32. Ludicrous
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:28 PM
Dec 2021

that is 4 seconds difference which is huge. If you trans you still have to compete with the men.

iemanja

(57,771 posts)
33. I've been wondering what would happen with this for a while
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:28 PM
Dec 2021

Especially if some men start to transition to women specifically in order to win. Given the cutthroat competitiveness of Olympic caliber athletes, it is a possibility.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's not going away anytime soon.

 

Zeitghost

(4,557 posts)
36. Sex vs gender
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:31 PM
Dec 2021

Sports should be split by sex to give females a level playing field against other females because the differences between the sexes are physiological and not cultural.

Cultural things, like what bathrooms we use or what pronouns we use should be distinguished by gender, to respect everyones gender identity.

It really is that simple.

 

Zeitghost

(4,557 posts)
58. Two divisions
Wed Dec 8, 2021, 12:19 AM
Dec 2021

An open division in which anyone, regardless of sex or gender can compete. And you have a limited division open to anyone with two X chromosomes.

Bucky

(55,334 posts)
53. Maybe we should worry about sports competition less...
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 11:49 PM
Dec 2021

... and focus on sports cooperation instead. If we coould come up with games where we can all be winners, it would provide an economic boom to the trophy making industry. And that's more jobs for Americans, dammit!

 

Zeitghost

(4,557 posts)
59. After decades of progress in the fight for equality in women's sports
Wed Dec 8, 2021, 12:28 AM
Dec 2021

Will things finally be truly equal when every record, men's and women's, is held by a person with XY chromosomes?

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