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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am coming at this conversation as a former female track athlete.

Regarding transgender male to female, I think it’s ok if they have undergone horomone therapy.

What I think is the trickier question is the naturally high T women, being debated in track right now.

On the one hand, if they are going to make an upper limit on T for women competitors, maybe there should be an upper limit on male competitors as well.

On the other hand, don’t many Olympic athletes have unusual physical attitbutes such as Michael Phelps’ long arms? Maybe we should treat T the same as other physical attributes and part of that is what make the athlete special? [/quote]

There are ranges that are typical for women and ranges that are typical for men.

One of the "benefits" of oddities like Caster or Phelps is that they are incredibly rare and cannot be manufactured. Transwomen can be created. You're unlikely to field an entire team of Phelps's (could it be done through surgical means?). But you can create an entire team of Casters, by taking men who aren't quite good enough to make the men's team, and telling them they're going to be women for the year or two leading up to whatever event. True, this will only work in countries like Iran (see the news articles on their women's soccer team), but it makes it more dangerous for biological women and it makes it more difficult for biological women to compete in athletics.

I think testosterone ranges are a blunt instrument, and even once testosterone is reduced the benefits of having gone through male puberty are undeniable. If transgender people won't voluntarily step out of women's competitive athletics, then we need to consider how to ensure these competitions are as fair as possible for biological women. That may be only allowing biological women to compete. That may be allowing transwomen with testosterone within a certain range to compete. That may be allowing transwomen who did not go through male puberty to compete. That may be allowing transwomen who have had their testicles removed to compete. Ignoring women's rights is a non-starter.

In the meantime, transgender people can participate in social leagues, open competitions, or the men's division (which is essentially the open division in most competitions). Or they can work towards adding a transgender category. Women's events didn't pop up fully formed for women, women had to fight for them. The Special Olympics didn't pop up fully formed for athletes with disabilities, they and their allies had to work for it. [/quote]

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