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Is "focusing On The Genitals Transphobic"?
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There are not that many transpeople, and even fewer of them are also athletes, let alone ones that are capable of dominating their sport. Contrary to their portrayal in the media, trans athletes are not going to render women's sport redundant, either by accident or because of some conspiracy to "self-identify" as a woman in order to play the system.
"Contrary to their portrayal in the media, trans athletes are not going to render women's sport redundant, either by accident or because of some conspiracy to "self-identify" as a woman in order to play the system."
I'm sure you're right, Jim (though I have suspicions that it will be more prevalent at lower levels of sport). But that's not really the issue as I see it. The point is that the CAN do so if they wish and that is absolutely ridiculous. The fact that few - if any - will is neither here nor there. The fact is that badly thought through legislation, usually as a "knee jerk" reaction to a perceived problem, is absolutely rife in the UK.
I'm sure you're right, Jim (though I have suspicions that it will be more prevalent at lower levels of sport). But that's not really the issue as I see it. The point is that the CAN do so if they wish and that is absolutely ridiculous. The fact that few - if any - will is neither here nor there. The fact is that badly thought through legislation, usually as a "knee jerk" reaction to a perceived problem, is absolutely rife in the UK.
mushroom25
Remember a few years ago when it appeared that we couldn't leave our doors open for fear of urban foxes and their propensity for entering houses and eating babies?
You remember the scare stories about the ebola virus? How that nurse was going to enter the country and we were 'all doomed'?
Newspapers tend to pick up a narrative, run with it until they and/or the public get bored. Then they chose another topic for people to attach themselves to.
We are slap bang in the middle of one of those cycles.
Remember a few years ago when it appeared that we couldn't leave our doors open for fear of urban foxes and their propensity for entering houses and eating babies?
You remember the scare stories about the ebola virus? How that nurse was going to enter the country and we were 'all doomed'?
Newspapers tend to pick up a narrative, run with it until they and/or the public get bored. Then they chose another topic for people to attach themselves to.
We are slap bang in the middle of one of those cycles.
What Ms Navratalova said doesn't seem transphobic to me, because if you have a penis - you're not actually transgender yet. Martina is calling for standards to be adopted. This is a sensible move. There are a number of different sports authorities, and they need to all have the same set of policies to ensure fair play.
I don't think that there's a requirement to have Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) to be considered transgender, so in that sense I think sp's point earlier is wrong.
Transphobia is, by definition, an irrational fear of trans people, and so, in that sense, worrying that transgender people are going to render women's sport meaningless by taking over and dominating with minimal effort when there is no evidence that this is happening is pretty transphobic. But that said I see the point in making sure that there is some level of standards and regulation. Andy Murray won't tomorrow change his name to Andrea so that (s)he can play in women's tennis and clean up there, but I can see that he shouldn't necessarily be able to. One suggestion, for example, might be to insist that professional sportspeople cannot compete for some time period if they declare a gender change, and I doubt that you'd need to go that far to kill off any chances of (non-existent, remember!) cynical sportspeople wishing to re-energise their failing careers by pretending to be a woman for a bit, or vice versa.
Transphobia is, by definition, an irrational fear of trans people, and so, in that sense, worrying that transgender people are going to render women's sport meaningless by taking over and dominating with minimal effort when there is no evidence that this is happening is pretty transphobic. But that said I see the point in making sure that there is some level of standards and regulation. Andy Murray won't tomorrow change his name to Andrea so that (s)he can play in women's tennis and clean up there, but I can see that he shouldn't necessarily be able to. One suggestion, for example, might be to insist that professional sportspeople cannot compete for some time period if they declare a gender change, and I doubt that you'd need to go that far to kill off any chances of (non-existent, remember!) cynical sportspeople wishing to re-energise their failing careers by pretending to be a woman for a bit, or vice versa.
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