Greetings and Salutations;

The issue of the Trans Community, and its participation in Sports has been a growing issue for the past few years. A post on Social Media caught my eye today, and I thought I would write a quick note about it.

The original post was an article decrying the presence of Trans folks in sports HERE it is.

My observations on the OP were these points:

Ok…I read the article. In my opinion it is sketchy for the following reasons.

1. It is personal opinion presented as reasonable argument. While she raises some difficult and important questions, she presents no evidence that her claims are backed up with factual data.
2. The so-called “Leftward movement” of the liberals is questionable. From my observations, the Left is pretty much standing still. However the Right is moving further and further towards right-wing fascism…which makes it LOOK as if the left is moving.
3. She ignores the reality that gender fluidity has been a part of human society since before recorded history began. The Encyclopedia Britannica has a more detailed article on this.
   At one time in America, it was a “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation. Over the past 40 years or so, as the extremest Right Wing attitudes have grown, folks who are not white, cis people have faced increasing oppression and danger. Here is a discussion of this part of the issue.
4. Recent advances in medical technology, which have allowed successful gender realignment procedures have, alas, caused a large tempest in a teapot. The Right Wing has (as mentioned in the above link) started pushing hate speech about trans folks, making their lives more difficult and dangerous.
5. The claim that trans women (No one seems to care about trans MEN) have an unbeatable advantage when engaged in sports is sketchy. While there is no question that adults that have transitioned have physiological differences, there are no easily found studies about trans folks that started the change at puberty. This LINK discusses the myths that have been pushed about trans athletes.

All this having been said…this is a facet of the human experience that is new, and so is causing a huge struggle. It is my observation that, in general, a vast majority of liberals have a fairly “hands off” attitude. They are not fanatical at supporting Trans folks engaged in sports. NETHER do they denigrate or ignore the rights and concerns of biological women.
The Conservatives are spraying lies, and hate speech against the trans community that increases the danger to them, sets unrealistic expectations, and has resulted in violence, and discriminatory legislation across the country. It also seems that some of the prejudice against the trans athletes is based on sexism, not fact. After all, as I touched on above…I believe it is inconsistent to get in an uproar over Trans Women, and yet totally ignore Trans Men.

I strongly urge anyone taking a stance on this issue think deeply about the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have done unto you”…and ask yourself…Is the way we are thinking about, and treating the Trans community the way WE would want to be treated? In addition…remember this: The limits and rights taken away from Trans folks can be taken away from ANYONE.
Conversely, supporting the rights of other citizens does not mean giving up one’s own rights.
Had I stayed in spite of the abusive language directed at me, I would have pointed out that the sports organizations were aware of this increasingly divisive issue, and were looking at options…such as “Separate but equal” competitions for cis and trans folks. Oddly enough this does bubble up the memories of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Seems like a lot of the arguments being made by the anti-trans faction were only slightly reworded from the arguments presented by the White Supremacists of the day.

This is a challenging issue, alas, and prone to be addressed with emotion, rather than rational thought. I submit that we, as a society, must push back the emotional reactions and strive to consider the course of action to follow from a more adult, rational path. I mention this because in the Facebook thread where this issue came up, I was vehemently attacked by two of the women after I posted my one comment. I was told that I did not support women, and that the use of the term “Cis” in conjunction with women was denigrating and that it did not apply because the term was “Women” (As in “Real Women”, I gathered.) I did try to engage these women in a rational discussion, to help me understand why they felt so strongly about this issue. However, it proved to be impossible. They were in a rage, and were apparently looking upon me as part of the Patriarchy, working to oppress them. If I say so myself, I thought this was bigotry in its finest form. They made no effort to find out who I was and what I supported…but put me in the camp of the enemy immediately. I probably did not help matters when I pointed out that they were acting in a very bigoted manner (and yes, that is how I put it).

God Help Us All

Be safe! Wear masks when appropriate, wash hands well, stay boosted, and social distance

Bee Man Dave