I think this is an interesting discussion and I don't know where I stand on it yet. Having a "trans" category for sports, probably wouldn't solve everything. Are you going to need 2 (or more) trans categories -- male to female and female to male? And what about people with gender issues that exist at birth (ex. ambiguous genitalia)? And are there enough trans people competing in sports to fill this new category?

To me the issue is perhaps most important at the high school level. I think at that level, inclusivity should be one goal.

The latest figure I've seen is that an estimated 0.6 percent of the adult US population identifies as transgender. While it is likely a larger percentage for younger people (say teens to 20s), its still a very small segment of the population. So, I'm I just wondering how big of issue transgender individuals in sports really is.

Anonymous wrote:No one born as a male should be allowed to compete at an advantage against biological females...

This should be common sense

Trans people who try to win athletic competitions against biological females are just doing a disservice to the cause of public acceptance of the trans movement

+1

News flash! Men and women are different, and all the surgery in the world won't change that. DD will go out as a ghost for Halloween, but I will only pretend that she's invisible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: has any trans man (born female, but identifies and transitioned to be a man) ever won or come very close to winning a men's sports competition?

I'm guessing no?

I support trans rights, but not at the cost of women's sports entirely. I'd be in full favor of a third category, however.

I think that Olympic track star medalist is competitive against men, but not at the top levels. She is leaps and bounds above the strongest women competitors in the world.

Who are you talking about? What man (born female) medaled in Olympic men's track competitions?

Umm...do you read the news?

I do watch the news, and I don't know what transgender man athlete you're talking about. Can you just tell me?

Unless you're talking about Caster Semenya - who is not transgender, but intersex. Meaning she was likely born with external female genitalia, but also a chromosomal irregularity that often includes internal testes. That's not transgender. Caster is a woman, but not biologically female OR male.

So who are you talking about?

I'd be interested to hear as well. Caster Semenya was born a girl, raised a girl, and now identifies as a woman. The fact that she has a chromosomal abnormality is no more "cheating" than the fact that Michael Phelps was born with freakishly big flipper feet.

Semeya is a distraction from this conversation, frankly.

Anonymous wrote:I may be misreading this thread, but it seems like a lot of anti transgender people are posting. How about some support for this community??

You can be supportive of the transgender community in general, without supporting things like this. How is it fair to the women in the race to be competing against a person who is biologically male, but simply "feels" like they are female? I support transgender people in issues like jobs or housing, but no, I don't think men should be competing in women's races, even if those men identify as women.

I may be misreading this thread, but it seems like a lot of anti transgender people are posting. How about some support for this community??

Anonymous wrote:I'm on the fence with this one. On the one hand, she was born a male and had the advantage of decades of testosterone, but on the other hand, should we really be separating men from women in sports?

Or by age? Shouldn’t local middle school basketball players really be competing against NBA teams? Let’s do away with all divisions and categories and just let people have at it. Who cares if sports become meaningless to all but the strongest and fastest men in the world?

Anonymous wrote:I'm on the fence with this one. On the one hand, she was born a male and had the advantage of decades of testosterone, but on the other hand, should we really be separating men from women in sports?

Also, why do we separate men and women for a Grammy? or an Oscar?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: has any trans man (born female, but identifies and transitioned to be a man) ever won or come very close to winning a men's sports competition?

I'm guessing no?

I support trans rights, but not at the cost of women's sports entirely. I'd be in full favor of a third category, however.

I think that Olympic track star medalist is competitive against men, but not at the top levels. She is leaps and bounds above the strongest women competitors in the world.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: has any trans man (born female, but identifies and transitioned to be a man) ever won or come very close to winning a men's sports competition?

I'm guessing no?

I support trans rights, but not at the cost of women's sports entirely. I'd be in full favor of a third category, however.

I think that Olympic track star medalist is competitive against men, but not at the top levels. She is leaps and bounds above the strongest women competitors in the world.

Who are you talking about? What man (born female) medaled in Olympic men's track competitions?

Umm...do you read the news?

I do watch the news, and I don't know what transgender man athlete you're talking about. Can you just tell me?

Unless you're talking about Caster Semenya - who is not transgender, but intersex. Meaning she was likely born with external female genitalia, but also a chromosomal irregularity that often includes internal testes. That's not transgender. Caster is a woman, but not biologically female OR male.

So who are you talking about?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: has any trans man (born female, but identifies and transitioned to be a man) ever won or come very close to winning a men's sports competition?

I'm guessing no?

I support trans rights, but not at the cost of women's sports entirely. I'd be in full favor of a third category, however.

I think that Olympic track star medalist is competitive against men, but not at the top levels. She is leaps and bounds above the strongest women competitors in the world.

Who are you talking about? What man (born female) medaled in Olympic men's track competitions?

Umm...do you read the news?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: has any trans man (born female, but identifies and transitioned to be a man) ever won or come very close to winning a men's sports competition?

I'm guessing no?

I support trans rights, but not at the cost of women's sports entirely. I'd be in full favor of a third category, however.

I think that Olympic track star medalist is competitive against men, but not at the top levels. She is leaps and bounds above the strongest women competitors in the world.

Who are you talking about? What man (born female) medaled in Olympic men's track competitions?

Well maybe we are due for a larger conversation about the value of sports in our society. If it’s to bring people together, then competition is just a fun side show and it shouldn’t matter who wins. It’s just for fun.. If it’s about identifying the best woman or man, then we probably need a trans category. What is the point of being the best at something? Does it add to our society or is it another source of division?

Anonymous wrote:FYI the girls state champions for Connecticut track and field were both boys who identified as girls (1st and 2nd place winners = boys).

And in this case, there is no hormone blocking required.

The first place state champ looked like a very strong and athletic male with long hair.

Yes, and was not remotely competitive if running against biological males:

As for Andraya Yearwood’s first-place finishing times in the girls races, the Day reported that Yearwood ran the 100-meter final in 12.66 seconds and the 200-meter final in 26.08. According to Northeast Sports Timing, the last-place times in the boys 100-meter and 200-meter Class M finals were 11.73 seconds and 25.59 seconds, respectively.

Anonymous wrote:Question: has any trans man (born female, but identifies and transitioned to be a man) ever won or come very close to winning a men's sports competition?

I'm guessing no?

I support trans rights, but not at the cost of women's sports entirely. I'd be in full favor of a third category, however.

I think that Olympic track star medalist is competitive against men, but not at the top levels. She is leaps and bounds above the strongest women competitors in the world.