Quote:
Originally Posted by Wormius
Well, I did try to look for some evidence of how long it would legitimately take to become Olympic level at an athletic sport that they just decided to pick up. There’s not much except some dude, Dan, who quit his job and dedicated all of his time to becoming a PGA golfer. He didn’t succeed, but it’s not clear how long before he gave up.
What would your ideal solution be?
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I don't have as definitive of an answer as you.
Like PepsiFree, I would want to just follow the science...I guess specifically the physiology of muscle growth/mass/power/whatever and when it is exactly that CIS males and CIS females diverge. Are, say, pre-pubescent males and females equal in strength, or does a power difference start young. The two sexes obviously diverge during and post-puberty. Men are absurdly strong compared to women.
So if boys are naturally stronger than girls, are puberty-blockers enough to even the playing field for trans girls and CIS girls to compete on fair ground? I really hope so. That would solve so many of the potential issues because at least budding athletes/phenoms could start planning athletic careers young and not have to worry about being disqualified just because they were born with the wrong set of equipment.
If a transition from MtoF begins after puberty, then it obviously becomes more difficult. Does just lowering testosterone even the playing field so it's a fair competition between MtoF trans and CIS females? I don't know. I have one customer who is MtoF trans and she's as big as I am. If she were to join - say - wrestling or boxing or something, I don't see how she wouldn't dominate. Like, even if you could reduce her muscle mass then she would still have a huge reach, larger hands, etc. I can't see it being fair.
Gun to my head and I have to give you a definitive answer right now - I don't like saying it, but I don't think MtoF trans athletes who started transitioning after puberty should be allowed to compete against CIS females.
I am a million per cent open to changing that view should it be possible to show there is no physical advantage for MtoF trans athletes over CIS females. I'm not writing that opinion in stone at all. I'm certain there is a ton of research going into this so hopefully we'll have better clarity in a few years. I also know this a very sensitive issue and nobody wants to be considered a bigot or prejudiced, so the science will be one component of this, but there are also going to be cultural and political issues that won't make definitive answers easy.
Is that fair to the trans athlete? Not at all, but is it fair to the CIS female athletes to have to compete against somebody who went through puberty as a man? Probably not.