Athletes Support Transgender Athletes

[Fearandloathing]

The fact remains that men are better at chess than women. Knowing why doesn’t change anything and science currently doesn’t know.

You have unfair advantages if you’re a man competing against women in sports. And it’s rather ironic that all we’re getting out of you in a conversation about the integrity of sports is a lot of I, I, I, me, me, me.

Actually they do.

Its a matter of problem solving. We are wired differently.

 

[Scatty Kitty]

I know the feeling in reverse.

I can't do what I used to do at 22.

At 79 I have to rest half way up the three flights of stairs at my building.

This body has been hard used. Alcoholic drug addict until I was almost 40. Have climbed mountains and dived the deep. Walked a volcano field and a glacier. I ran two marathons...one as a smoker.

Some days I want it just to be over....but for the most part I am living in a heaven in Vancouver with great friends and never without something interesting to do.

I work with a lot of drug addicts in my job. They always have stories to tell. Some of them are pretty wild. But at the end of the day I have to help them out.

I would love to run a marathon one day. I don't think I am in any shape to do it right now but maybe in the future I can get to the point where I'm running it. I won't lie, how do you get into the mindset to run for so long? That's what? 42 something kilometers?

 

[Scatty Kitty]

I know I can come off a bit opinionated.

Sometimes lol, but I'm happy for a chance to talk to people about this kind of stuff.

When you first started would you have? I understand the journey is often more important than the destination.

I don't know. I think when I first realized I was trans I was scared that even if I was assigned a girl at birth, I would still be trans and just want to be a man instead. Which is very weird but understandable. But even then I didn't know how far I wanted to go. Still don't really.

Yeah things changed pretty quick.

They do.

It helps mentally too. You'll get there.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

 

[Scatty Kitty]

Science doesn’t have an answer for you.

So if science doesn't have an answer, wouldn't be super damaging to people if trans people were barred from competing? Just seems like that's advocating for athletes to suffer waiting for science to catch up.

I, I, I. Me, me me. Are we talking about the integrity of sports or your autobiography?

We're talking about my experiences at a sporting event where all of the athletes I was competing with were collectively suffering.

You didn't read the OP did you?

 

[Napoleon]

So if science doesn't have an answer, wouldn't be super damaging to people if trans people were barred from competing? Just seems like that's advocating for athletes to suffer waiting for science to catch up.

As noted before, knowing why does not change the fact that men are better than women at chess. Men are not “suffering” by being prohibited from monopolizing sports.

We're talking about my experiences at a sporting event where all of the athletes I was competing with were collectively suffering.

You didn't read the OP did you?

I thought the point of your OP screed was to elicit a broader conversation about allowing men into women’s sports.

 

[Port & Starboard]

I was thinking about something that happened to me the other day. I am transgender and I also started getting into a new sport. I don't particularly like it but I want to get into shape and feel good about myself. Am I good by any stretch of the word? No. Will I ever compete with the pros? No. Will I ever be good at even a local level? Don't make me cry. But still I like the sport enough to keep doing it. In fact after typing up this OP I'll probably start getting ready to practice.

I went to my first event for this sport a couple of weeks ago. I decided to wear my trans flag while I competed. And it was horrible outside. Absolutely terrible. Like miserably terrible. Like "I'm jealous of the people watching us" terrible. But still I completed it and I met all of my fitness goals, and then some! But at the end of the event I heard something from people who didn't compete. Something from people who didn't bother getting out of their comfort zone. "Hey look, it's one of those trans" followed by laughter.

The thing is, while they're sitting on their butts watching people compete, I was out doing my sport. And all of the other athletes I was with supported me for being trans and being with them. They were just as miserable as I was but there they were supporting me as I was supporting them. They realized I was one of them competing with them and they were happy with me being there. The only people who didn't seem to want me there were the people sitting on the sidelines who didn't even bother being out in the miserable weather. It takes a special mentality to realize that sports are meant to be fun and enjoyable for everyone. People who get so focused on winning medals or scholarships or glory completely fail to remember why we play sports in the first place. They're fun! Sure it was miserable but I got to have so much fun with everyone I met. And I got to make friends!

At the end of the day I think that's it. People who don't want trans people playing sports (and I do use that phrase specifically) forget too often that sports are supposed to be for fun. Not for anything else. So let people have fun. Let people compete because they want to.

PS If you don't know what the trans flag is, don't start the hate speech.

Live in your fantasy.......it's your right to.

And NO........Americans overwhelmingly oppose males competing against females.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans don’t want men playing in women’s sports

(The Center Square) – Surveying nearly an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, a poll taken by the New York Times and polling company Ipsos showed that the majority of

www.thecentersquare.com

 

[BirdinHand]

Live your life being the genuine “you”. You are embraced exactly the way you are, and welcome in ALL spaces just the way you are.

Ignore the people that say otherwise.

 

[Fearandloathing]

I work with a lot of drug addicts in my job. They always have stories to tell. Some of them are pretty wild. But at the end of the day I have to help them out.

I would love to run a marathon one day. I don't think I am in any shape to do it right now but maybe in the future I can get to the point where I'm running it. I won't lie, how do you get into the mindset to run for so long? That's what? 42 something kilometers?

I started by taking a walk.

The doc old me I had to lose 30lbs. I ended up dropping 8-10 lbs per month and then I couldn't stop.

But "run" is not the first verb I would use. Were I to try it now, and I may, I'd be walking with my cane.

So, walk. Just walk until you worry you may have gone too far, go two more blocks and come home. Eat well, treat your feet to clean socks every trip and just try to do more this day than last. Some days it will be less and some days might not work you at all. By month three you will NEED to take that walk.

But the first aim is to raise your metabolism which burns calories which build the body and keep the organs healthy. Even one block one day with an aim to two blocks next week is revolutionary. You will awaken the part of the brain that responds to injury and damage curing a lot of side issues along the way.

Climate is not killing us.....idleness is.

 

[Bodi]

So you don't have a reason why men are biologically superior to women in chess. Most people who study the issue don't point to something as broad as psychology by the way. Keep at it.

Probably has to do with the problem-solving single task oriented focus of men versus multi-tasking overview of women.


.

 

[j brown's body]

Live in your fantasy.......it's your right to.

And NO........Americans overwhelmingly oppose males competing against females.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans don’t want men playing in women’s sports

(The Center Square) – Surveying nearly an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, a poll taken by the New York Times and polling company Ipsos showed that the majority of

www.thecentersquare.com

How do they feel about transgenders comoeting against females.

Or do you mean transgenders and you're yet another one of those who deny being a transphobe while exhibiting the transphobe characteristic of misgendering them?

 

[Fearandloathing]

How do they feel about transgenders comoeting against females.

Or do you mean transgenders and you're yet another one of those who deny being a transphobe while exhibiting the transphobe characteristic of misgendering them?

comoeting?

Huh?

I have many trans friends and one close enough to call brother/sister. I am unaware of any complaint of any trans committing anything against women outside of individual disputes. If anything, my friends are the subject of abuse from women AND men.

 

[Scatty Kitty]

Live in your fantasy.......it's your right to.

And NO........Americans overwhelmingly oppose males competing against females.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans don’t want men playing in women’s sports

(The Center Square) – Surveying nearly an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, a poll taken by the New York Times and polling company Ipsos showed that the majority of

www.thecentersquare.com

I live in the reality of what I experienced. The athletes I competed with were happy I was there. The people who didn't compete didn't. Simple as that.

 

[Fearandloathing]

I live in the reality of what I experienced. The athletes I competed with were happy I was there. The people who didn't compete didn't. Simple as that.

What I have witnessed in this, what I call the third sexual revolution is that the controversy has brought out understanding and compassion. I go back to a time when gays were terrified of holding hands in public. Last summer I walked past two men kissing on the beach trail and said "I protested for your right to do that" and was smothered with hugs.

We have come from the closet to the front of the stage.

Now its time to pick up the mantle and assume the lead.

Progress is a young person's pursuit. Pushing into an eighth decade I figure I can rest now.

We won!

 

[Aristaeus]

Transgender women aren't men.

That depends on which definition of woman you use.
Regardless, they are male, and if they have gone through male puberty then they have an advantage.

 

[Phys251]

That depends on which definition of woman you use.
Regardless, they are male, and if they have gone through male puberty then they have an advantage.

Must be nice for people who are trans women. So many advantages, like being harassed, bullied, and discriminated against.

 

[Aristaeus]

Must be nice for people who are trans women. So many advantages, like being harassed, bullied, and discriminated against.

I'm obviously talking about biological advantages.

 

[Phys251]

I'm obviously talking about biological advantages.

Hear that? That's the sound of my point sailing right over your head.

 

[Aristaeus]

Hear that? That's the sound of my point sailing right over your head.

What point was that? Males should be allowed to compete against females if they belong to a group that has suffered discrimination? What kind of batshit craziness is that?

So black men should be allowed to compete against white women? Oh wait, women have been harassed and discriminated against for thousands of years, so how's that going to work?

Transwomen who have went through male puberty have biological advantages when it comes to most sport.

 

[Phys251]

What point was that? Males should be allowed to compete against females if they belong to a group that has suffered discrimination? What kind of batshit craziness is that?

So black men should be allowed to compete against white women? Oh wait, women have been harassed and discriminated against for thousands of years, so how's that going to work?

Transwomen who have went through male puberty have biological advantages when it comes to most sport.

Keep refusing to acknowledge your point while arrogantly demanding that I address yours. It's a great look for you.

 

[Lisa]

What point was that? Males should be allowed to compete against females if they belong to a group that has suffered discrimination? What kind of batshit craziness is that?

So black men should be allowed to compete against white women? Oh wait, women have been harassed and discriminated against for thousands of years, so how's that going to work?

Transwomen who have went through male puberty have biological advantages when it comes to most sport.

Would that be before or after 6-12 month of hormone therapy that places their sex hormones levels at cisgender female levels? Or are you going to deny that is almost always a sporting requirement for trans females?

Would you prefer that trans guys compete as female because of their birth sex? Please be logically consistant in your arguments.

 

[Aristaeus]

Keep refusing to acknowledge your point while arrogantly demanding that I address yours. It's a great look for you.

I don't know what point you were trying to make. How does being socially disadvantaged have anything to do with competing in the male or female sporting categories?

 

[Scatty Kitty]

As noted before, knowing why does not change the fact that men are better than women at chess. Men are not “suffering” by being prohibited from monopolizing sports.

I thought the point of your OP screed was to elicit a broader conversation about allowing men into women’s sports.

You didn't read the OP. Go read the OP, then respond to it.

 

[maquiscat]

Ah thanks, appreciate it.

Also PS transgender is an adjective not a noun

In the English language we use adjectives as nouns and nouns as adjectives all the time. The first is known as "nominalized adjective". We commonly hear people say "the rich", "the whites", "the wise", "the meek", etc. The latter is known as "attributive nouns", or "noun adjuncts". We use "car", typically a noun, as an adjective when we talk about a car battery, or a car door. There are of course many other example of this. And given that many members of the transgender community will use transgender as a noun, as well as the short form of "trans" (although not necessarily the same individual using both), the uses are valid, as long as they are not being intentionally used in a derogatory manner.

Also, congrats on finding something that you enjoy doing at least enough to keep it up. Kudos to your fellow athletes for their support. Next heckler that opens his (because it is almost always a cishet white male) mouth, point out that at least yu go off your lazy arse to get in shape. The disparage intended towards them, not you.

 

[maquiscat]

Doesn't apply in competitive athletics. We have separate divisions for men and women because of physical advantages that males have over females. I don't give a rat's behind if a guy wants to claim they are female, but when you decide you want to compete against biological females that's different. Men are men, women are women and they don't belong in competitive sports together in the same class.

So tell me, why do we have a separate women's division in Olympic skeet and trap shooting?

 

[maquiscat]

I might believe that argument if you can explain to me the biological advantage men have against women in chess.

Ironically, they have a psychological advantage, at least currently. I read a study not too long ago, where they did a mixed chess tournament, and divided into two styles. Face to face, and via a computer screen. They found that women performed much better against other women face to face than against men, but when the woman didn't know whether her opponent was a man or woman, she typically did equally well against both.

Weird take but okay. I mean heck this is the point I'm making. You're so worried about "society" and the "only way for kids to succeed" that you're not even focusing on the fact that sports are fun! I'm enjoying myself when I practice and play.

I do think that most of the objection is against competitive sports, such as for pay or scholarship, or similar. While most probably don't have issue with transgenders playing for the sake of playing where the teams are mixed, too many opponents can't get their mind out of the paradigm of all sports being competitive in the way I described.