Some issues give me serious heartburn, in that any resolution to their complexities is likely to upset my gut … seriously.
The issue of transgender females competing against fellow females is one of those issues. Oh, my. Hear me out on this one.
I oppose legislation that requires transgender individuals to use public restrooms in accordance with the gender to which they were born. That is discriminatory on its face. It’s also unenforceable, unless states and local communities are going to assign bathroom monitors to look for transgender individuals … and then shoo them out! Ridiculous, yes?
Now comes this issue of athletic competition.
I must stipulate that it is a demonstrable fact that males run faster and possess more physical strength than females. What, then, happens to a young man who decides to change to a woman? This person receives hormone injections to assist in the transition. Does someone who is injected with, say, estrogen lose the inherent advantage with which he was born? Do the hormones level the proverbial playing field, removing the advantages that men have over women when competing against them directly? Does a transgender individual no longer run as fast or throw an object as far?
This is what complicates the issue for me.
I don’t like acknowledging this difficulty. It’s just that as I hear experts talking about whether transgendered women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, I am not hearing anyone tell me whether it’s fair to all concerned.
