New article on Transgender Connecticut sprinter

Competitions should be categorized very simply by age and by biological sex only, not by gender identity. Age and biology are by far the most significant physical factors in determining athletic performance, and for biological females to be compelled to compete directly against biological males with far superior strength and athletic capability is patently unfair to those females. Gender identity by its very nature is psychological rather than physical, and it simply should not be part of the equation in a purely physical contest such as sport. If one's biological sex is male then they should compete in male races regardless of gender identity. If one's biological sex is female then they should compete in female races regardless of gender identity. For everyone involved this seems the only fair way (fairness is objective by nature), and I'd personally argue is in fact the only "right" way as well ("rightness" however, is subjective by nature and thus debatable) although surely many would disagree and many would agree, with little chance for consensus. If society can't come to a consensus about "rightness" then we can at least come to a consensus about fairness since it's a far simpler principle to agree upon.

Where things get far more muddy is not transgendered athletes but rather athletes born intersex, having biological sex characteristics of both male and female. I'm not quite sure ethically how that one should shake out, although it's an issue grabbled with by a dramatically smaller number of athletes and thus is much less likely to affect local, high school level competitions. Gender identity on the other hand is a far broader issue and needs to be disregarded in athletic competitions for the sake of the fairness of the sport overall.

CT is crazy wrote:

Connecticut allows people to get a new birth certificate if their doctor agrees that they plan to live as the opposite gender. There is no requirement for drugs or surgery. So if he gets a new birth certificate, the NCAA rules won't matter because he will then be shown as being born as a girl.

This policy is concerning. The birth certificate marks the sex someone was biologically born as and should have nothing to do with gender identity. I can kind of understand using gender identity on ID's or things based on physical appearance, but it's a straight up lie to change someone's birth sex based on identity. It also could potentially be harmful in medical situations to not know the actual sex of the person in the case of some meds or procedures that could effect males and females differently.

Pretty sure rojo identifies as an idiot. He says the stupidest crap.

Do you remember high school? wrote:

Do you really, honestly think that a teenager would *fake* being trans, suffer gender dysphoria, suffer abuse (and probably death threats) on the internet and irl, change their life potentially forever, lose friends and family, etc.... all just to win a state title? Do you really believe that? If so, do you remember what it was like to be in high school?

Those of us who aren’t trans will never know what it’s like to come out as trans. This teenager is just trying to be a normal teenager, in an identity she very bravely accepted.

I'm not sure who you're responding to, but: no, I don't think that Yearwood is faking being trans. I just think that she and her parents, loving as they all are--and bravo for that--are being naive. They're being precisely as naive, in fact, as the white male preppie who says that he "did it all on his own," when in fact he benefited from all sorts of inherited advantages.

Yearwood, born male, has benefited from all sorts of inherited advantages, thanks to his/her genetic makeup. Now, after transitioning, it's all about "how hard she worked."

Um, no.

Rules should be ::

Bio Male = Compete Male

Bio Male to Female = Compete Male

Bio Female = Compete Female

Bio Female to Male = Compete Female or Male BUT NO HRT

HRT doesn't make sense either way.

If you're a guy competing with girls, you still have a male body. Sure the hormones are doing their thing but you cant undo your muscle and skeletal structure.

With girls, it's basically just a girl on steroids but she gets a free pass to use them. How is that fair?

Could make it even simpler by just competing for the sex you were born, and no HRT if you want to compete.

All of you cis folk on this thread need to STOP and recognize that if you haven't walked a mile in this girl's shoes, you can't judge her. It's not your place to comment, so just mind your business PLEASE.

When I was in college I, a female, had to compete on the men's team because there was not a women's team. I picked an event where there weren't many athletes so I could compete. I have no sympathy for male-female transgenders who want to compete in the women's race. Running against men did not make me perceived or identify as anything but female.

I guess this site should be shut down because much of the conversation centers around professional runners and most of us haven’t been one so we aren’t allowed to comment.

this doesn't concern you wrote:

All of you cis folk on this thread need to STOP and recognize that if you haven't walked a mile in this girl's shoes, you can't judge her. It's not your place to comment, so just mind your business PLEASE.

Oh, really? Well, I'm trans and I say everyone can judge this for themselves and join in the debate.

Or maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm a cisperson falsely pulling the trans privilege card to outrank you. Maybe I'm a sentient AI. Doesn't matter. Although that last one would matter, but for much better reasons.

Anyway, at the very least these sprinters shouldn't be able to compete against women until they've been on HRT one year. I believe that's still the current IAAF rule. To anyone who's not deluded by retarded gender politics or totally ignorant of sports, men with normal hormone levels are obviously much better than women with normal hormone levels at sports that rely on strength and speed.

KudzuRunner wrote:

The single best article/interview on the subject, IMHOP, is Ross Tucker's Q&A with Joanna Harper, a transgender athlete. It clarifies all the issues in a useful way. Please read it. Then you'll realize just how ignorant of the underlying issues the author of the Bleacher Report article really is.

https://sportsscientists.com/2016/05/hyperandrogenism-women-vs-women-vs-men-sport-qa-joanna-harper/

Thanks Kudzu, I’m glad you liked the article with Ross. I recently published a scientific paper with Yannis and others and would be happy to send it to anyone who emails me.

It should be acknowledged that recreational sports are different from elite sports. I mean who reallly cares who signs up for the company softball team, and whether they play for the men’s or women’s team.

High school sports are really tricky. Most “athletes” are out there to participate, but a sizable minority are very serious. I think we should allow the participatory high school athletes to compete wherever, but restrict the serious athletes. Even that can be tricky. Terry Miller, the other CT sprinter who is faster than Yearwood, ran XC this fall and could barely break 25 minutes. Indoor season has started in the Northeast and Miller is once again breaking girl’s records in the sprints.

I really hope that any college that is seriously thinking of signing either of these trans girls understands that they will be at least one second slower over 100 meters on HRT.

Jmharps57 at gmail.com.

When I posted on the last page, I was just responding to comments on the messageboard, I hadn't actually read the article. Now I've read it and it might be my nominee for worst journalism example of 2018.

The author Mirin Fader has a great resume. She's quite accomplished for a 2013 college grad - yet she somehow wrote the following, "There is no proof that cisgender men are inherently more capable than cisgender women."

What?

How could anyone with a brain say that?

Like how does she explain the fact that the world record in every single men's sport is better than women's by A LOT.

Normally you take the women's WR multiply it by .9 and you get something close to the WR in men's swimming or track.

Here's my question for the author. Does she hate cisgender women? It sure sounds like it. Because if men aren't inherently more capable than cisgender women at athletics, then what's the reason for their world records being superior other than the fact women aren't trying hard enough? Or would she argue women aren't encouraged to go nto sports.

In some areas, the difference is greater. One of the things talked about in Sports Gene is how women's bodies aren't good for throwin. The world record for a woman throwing a baseball overhand is just 69 mph. I bet I could go to every HS team in the US and find a cisgender boy who can throw faster than the WR.

I'm seriously blown away by her statement. I may reach out to her via her email as her bio is impressive but I am a) blown away by the stupidigy of her statement and b) can't believe an editor would let it be published as what she wrote is false.

There is a ton of proof that men are better

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-baseball-pitch-(female)

Editor's Note: We had Ms. Fader's bio page linked here as it's impressive but h ave removed it as we don't want people harassing her.

Transgenderism is a mental disorder.

http://www.newsweek.com/transgender-women-transgender-men-sex-change-sex-reassignment-surgery-676777

"A 2011 study found that after sex reassignment surgery, more than 300 Swedish transsexuals faced a higher risk for mortality, suicide ideation, and psychiatric issues compared to the rest of the population."

http://thefederalist.com/2018/08/31/explosive-ivy-league-study-repressed-for-finding-transgender-kids-may-be-a-social-contagion

"62 percent, had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder or neurodevelopmental disability before their gender dysphoria began."

https://www.dailysignal.com/2017/06/20/new-paper-says-puberty-blockers-arent-answer-gender-confusion

"...according to the best studies - the ones that even transgender activists themselves cite - [80 to 95 percent of children with gender dysphoria will come to identify with and embrace their bodily sex."

Most children will grow out of their transgender feelings. Transgenderism is not a normal mindset that a human is genetically born with.

rojo wrote:

When I posted on the last page, I was just responding to comments on the messageboard, I hadn't actually read the article. Now I've read it and it might be my nominee for worst journalism example of 2018.

The author Mirin Fader has a great resume. She's quite accomplished for a 2013 college grad - yet she somehow wrote the following, "There is no proof that cisgender men are inherently more capable than cisgender women."

What?

How could anyone with a brain say that?

There are some things so dumb only an intellectual could believe them.

Like I said, deluded by retarded gender politics, totally ignorant of sports, or both.

Hell, cisgender boys are inherently more capable than cisgender women at any track and field event. Compare US high school boys' records with women's world records.

These are commonly cited studies, and all of them misused in the usual way.

"A 2011 study found that after sex reassignment surgery, more than 300 Swedish transsexuals faced a higher risk for mortality, suicide ideation, and psychiatric issues compared to the rest of the population."

The study's authors themselves pointed out that their study should not be used to determine the effectiveness of medical transition (HRT, genital surgery, etc.) This is simply because the patients don't start from the same baseline as the general population. Would you dismiss chemotherapy and radiation because cancer patients who undergo them have a smaller life expectancy than the general population?

Besides, the group that transitioned in 1989-2003 in that study doesn't show a statistically significant difference from the population in suicide attempts after transition, nor in all-cause mortality. The group that transitioned in 1973-88 does, but the past is a foreign country, and the one they lived so much of their lives in was quite backward and bad towards transpeople by modern first-world standards.

"62 percent, had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder or neurodevelopmental disability before their gender dysphoria began."

This was the "rapid onset gender dysphoria" brouhaha. That wasn't even a real study. That was polling posters on radical feminist message boards ("gender-critical" is a radfem shibboleth) about what they thought their trans children's experiences and mental states were.

"...according to the best studies - the ones that even transgender activists themselves cite - [80 to 95 percent of children with gender dysphoria will come to identify with and embrace their bodily sex."

You get that number if, like Ken Zucker and friends, you roll in all sorts of gender nonconformity that doesn't actually meet the clinical definition of gender dysphoria. With just the real thing, that number's much lower. But even if it were true, it's irrelevant here. The sprinters under discussion are well post-puberty, at which time gender dysphoria is quite stable.

How can people be SO SO stupid?

Even the "Doctor" was saying that biological sex is not an advantage, if you believe that, you are an incapable person.

This is very literally a ripped man... no hormone treatment, obviously no trans surgeries... straight up just a man.

Also who noticed he was wearing shorts over his tights??

What girl wears shorts over their tights?

right! the "girl" who's actually a boy trying to conceal their man package !!!

I AM TRIGGERED!!!!!!

[quote]facts and reason wrote:

Transgenderism is a mental disorder.

This comment and the articles associated with it veer off topic.

I am opposed to transgender girls competing against girls, but the correlation of mental health challenges with transgender identity doesn't have anything to do with equity on the playing fields. Criticizing the legitimacy of one's feelings about his or her gender doesn't help understand either side of the debate about weather it is fair to compete with a boy's body in a girls' race.

Let's be careful to differentiate between a life lived as a trans person, which is intensely personal, and the competitive choices that affects those around him or her. On the latter, I agree with those who have pointed to the difference between sex and gender and the clear reality that boys (identified as such or not) have a major and unfair advantage. It is ridiculous to compare this to the many other competitive advantages (practice time, money, nutrition, gear, etc) that give some people a relative leg up. Those factors are important, but nowhere near as dramatic and immutable.