#Transgender Athletes

[candycornstudios]

Transphobes can’t name a single professional women’s sports team without using Google unironically

Hell, they can’t name a single woman athlete who isn’t Riley Gaines because she’s the most obnoxious about her transphobia

If transphobes ever got their wish and all trans athletes stopped existing, they still wouldn’t give a shit about women’s sports. Their “care for women’s sports” has always been performative at best, and nothing more than a tool for their agenda

[boybasher]

[blahaj-blastin]

So sick of this, oh my god—

Let trans women play! I guarantee you’ll survive!

Ignoring the evidence that there isn’t even much of an advantage if at all and that there are actually a number of disadvantages for trans women, I hate to break it to you; sports have never been fair.

There’s always been a taller guy in basketball, a smaller woman in gymnastics, hell, Michael Phelps has a million advantages on his competition. People have never once cared! These things are celebrated for cis people!

If you cared so much about equality in sports, make sure all the basketball players all the same height. If you cared so much about women’s sports, increase pay and improve treatment of athletes. If you cared about women at all, pay them equally and get your legislation off their bodies.

You don’t care. You just want to be transphobic.

Relevant Resources Below

[caitlinjohns77]

Lia Thomas banned from the Olympics. Thoughts??

[miniar]

Although the study’s authors cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from the small sample size and other limitations, they reported several notable differences between groups, especially between trans and cis women. While trans women had notably larger lungs than cis women and scored higher on some metrics like grip strength, they also displayed less lower body strength, were unable to jump as high, and had a lower maximum rate of oxygen consumption than both cis women and cis men. The study also found higher overall levels of body fat in trans women, which the authors speculated may be due to the effects of HRT. Data also indicated that there was no difference in cis and trans women’s overall bone density, although researchers cautioned that those numbers could be affected by the small sample size and complex metabolic factors.

The authors concluded that while additional long-term studies are needed to fully understand how medical transition affects a person’s athletic abilities, the results should “caution against precautionary bans and sport eligibility exclusions,” referencing bans implemented in recent years by sporting leagues and governmental bodies alike. Other studies on trans athletes have also expressed the need for additional research, while finding little evidence to indicate trans women have a massive advantage over their cis peers, as right-wing pundits frequently claim.

[lift-heavy-be-gay]

Let's talk about transgender athletes

this is gonna be a long rant so I'm just gonna put a cut down below. dni if you're a terf or just wanna cause problems.

So, recently in class we were discussing different drugs used illegally and legally in sports and eventually the topic of transgender athletes came up (because of course). However, my professor handled it really well and as a trans athlete (pre transition), I just wanna talk about my feelings on the matter.

Keep in mind that this is my opinion, but I have been studying this in uni and may have more of an insight on how testosterone and estrogen actually affect the body. Anyway, there are two main points I wanna make.

As an afab athlete myself, I compete in a mostly strength based sport (though some technique and skill is necessary). However, I could not even begin to think about competing with my amab counterparts. It would put me at an unfair disadvantage and them an unfair advantage.

The first being that—depending on the time you began taking hormones/how long you've been taking hormones—you most likely won't be able to compete in high level competitions like the olympics. I know that people are going to be upset at this, but please listen. If you began taking hormones around the age you would begin puberty, then by the time you're an adult still presumably taking said hormones, then your levels would most likely be that of a cis person. However, if you're taking hormones after puberty, then the testosterone difference between amab and afab people is *staggering*. This article states that amab people generate 15x more testosterone than afab people. Even if they begin taking hrt, it takes YEARS to even begin to see a significant difference.

But

(and this leads to my second point)

There are numerous advantages and disadvantages for cis people in sports. Whether it be financial status, family history, access to training, facilities, or injury prevention/rehabilitation. If kid A is from a long line of well-off basketball players and has the resources to compete, then he definitely has an advantage over kid B who is from the middle of nowhere with no support and even worse facilities. Fact of the matter is, cis people are unevenly matched up against each other all the time. There are a hundred and one different ways that they may have an advantage or disadvantage over each other. Why is it different for transgender athletes? Scratch that. Why is it different between genders at all?

What I'm trying to say is that, I've met plenty afab people who are stronger than amab guys. I really don't think gender matters that much in a lot of sports. I believe we should start separating athletes based on weight rather than gender. (Of course, that's just my opinion.)

It's just that whenever I hear the topic about transgender athletes in sports, it's always about trans women. It's about how it's "not fair" and they are "doing it on purpose to get an easy win" and a bunch of other excuses to try and justify not letting them play. Surprisingly, I don't often (if at all) hear the same argument about trans men. On the surface, a lot of these debates about trans athletes is good ole' transphobia. But if you look deeper, it's really just misogyny. Most people don't even care about the sport, they just want another avenue to oppress a group of people.

Basically, the situation is not as black and white as most would like to believe, and there's a lot of nuance involved when trying to understand this topic. It's unfortunate that many trans athletes have to even deal with this extra bs in order to compete.

anyway, end of rant. thanks for reading if you made it this far. there's definitely more I could say on this, but these are the main points I wanted to make.

tldr: while there are inherent biological differences between amab and afab people, that doesn't excuse excluding trans athletes from being able to compete

[hjellacott]

[queeryouthassemble]

[ID: A rose-colored square. An abstract rectangular graphic in a a paler shade of pink is centered at the top, surrounding dark pink bubble letters which read, "Join us in Maryland to Let Trans Athletes Play" in all capital letters. The bottom half of the square features four queer youth in different colored sports jerseys. Their skin tones, accessories, and hairstyles vary, but they are all smiling. One youth holds a progress flag, while the other has an armful of sports balls. End ID.]

[ID: A rose-colored square. An abstract square graphic in a a paler shade of pink is featured in the center. There is black text overlayed, which reads, "Queer Youth Assemble is blending together sports and protest at Let Trans Athletes Play! Join us for activities and games while learning about anti-trans sports legislation and trans athletes! Everyone is invited!" Below, dark pink bubble letters read, "July 8, 2023 at 10AM. David C Driskelle Park. Hyattsville, MD" in all capital letters. Underneath is plain black text which adds, "Please email us if you have any questions!" with the email "xanderg@queeryouthassemble.org" in bold. In the bottom left corner, there is a graphic of a grinning queer youth in a wheelchair. They have dark tan skin, medium-length textured curls, and a blue sports jersey with the number ten. They are holding a ball in their hands. End ID.]

[losangelesnewsfeed]

Riley Gaines, a well-known critic of transgender athletes, has allegedly been attacked during a speaking event at San Francisco State University (SFSU). According to Gaines, she was physically assaulted by several individuals who disagreed with her views on transgender athletes competing in sports. This incident has sparked heated debates and discussions about free speech, trans rights, and…

[gwydionmisha]

Water is wet studies are essential to helping people get their rights.

[ohchr-news]

via: Business Insider - "It's deeply ironic that Republicans who have rejected the science around everything from climate change to COVID-19 vaccines are attempting to use medical 'evidence' to gin up a new culture war. But when it comes to sports, the GOP is relying on science that simply doesn't exist. There are no studies that indicate that trans women's levels of testosterone — which vary widely — afford them an advantage over their cis competitors. What's more, many cis women have testosterone levels higher than what many consider to be the 'female' average, meaning that wide hormonal variations are already an intrinsic element of women's sports."

The idea that testosterone, or "T," is the main determinant of strength in a person stems from a time when scientists believed that estrogen was produced by only women and testosterone was produced by only men. Scientists have since found that people of all sexes have varying amounts of testosterone and estrogen. And frequently their amounts fall outside the bounds of what is considered "male" or "female."

[trendynewsnow]

San Jose State Women's Volleyball Team Faces Challenges Amid Transgender Participation Debate

San Jose State University Women’s Volleyball Team Faces Challenges Amid Transgender Debate The San Jose State University (SJSU) women’s volleyball team is on a quest to qualify for the N.C.A.A. tournament for the first time in 23 years. However, this ambitious goal is clouded by the team’s struggle to secure matches against willing opponents. Recently, the University of Nevada, Reno, became the…