Penn swimmer Lia Thomas continues to break barriers and redefine what a woman swimmer is capable of. Mainly because she’s biologically male.
Thomas recently won another race and broke another record and is the Ivy League Champion.
🥇🥈
Lia Thomas is the @IvyLeague champion in the 500 free. Her time of 4:37.32 is a new pool record.
Catherine Buroker finishes in second.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/ki2SQdxn6Q
— Penn Swimming & Diving (@PennSwimDive) February 17, 2022
But for some reason, despite all of her achievements, Lia Thomas has been subjected to quite a bit of criticism. It seems there are people out there who have a problem with men competing against women in women’s sports. Go figure!
But as New York Times science reporter Azeen Ghorayshi points out, that sort of pushback just comes with the territory for trans women athletes. It’s part of the cross that athletes like Lia Thomas have to bear for having a Y chromosome:
https://twitter.com/azeen/status/1494026188897103883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1494378734853500934%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fwordpress%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Faction%3Deditpost%3D2134933
Why were they winning, Azeen?
We've finally found a way to trick feminists into defending men. https://t.co/SpA2KI07RP
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) February 17, 2022
Ha!
But seriously, though. Anatomy matters. Hormones matter. And yes, chromosomes matter.
Please explain what "chromosomal scrutiny" means. https://t.co/jDY35e0w6j
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 17, 2022
His..Her.. I mean.. the chromosomes are being scrutinized!
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 17, 2022
Sorry, Azeem, but all that stuff matters. Science says so.
SCIENCE! https://t.co/X6ZFCNPYZs
— FSakes (@FSakes1000) February 17, 2022
New York Times “science” reporter https://t.co/Inucv2Lep2
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 17, 2022
Science reporter 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/keSfADm1sd
— Eva Kurilova (@eva_kurilova) February 18, 2022
"chromosomal or hormonal scrutiny"
This is a science reporter for the NY times lmfaoooooooooo bwahahahahhaha https://t.co/PKi6DYX2gL
— Ahmed Al Assliken (@assliken) February 17, 2022
As Ghorayshi fairly points out, there have been cases of biological females whose bodies secrete considerably more testosterone than most women’s, or of biological females with unusual sex chromosomal abnormalities. But those cases are extremely rare and are very different from cases in which a male athlete elects to chemically transition to become a trans female.
Transgender women may have a disadvantage in some sports, given their heavier musculature, said Dr. James Barrett, the director of the Adult Gender Identity Clinic in London, who is helping lead a study for the I.O.C. that looks at how much athletic ability decreases in transgender women after they start hormone therapy.
“Trans women by and large aren’t winning across the board,” he said. “It’s not obvious that there’s necessarily an advantage at all.”
Still, because of development during puberty, transgender athletes may have some lasting physical advantages in a sport like swimming, such as a taller height and larger hands and feet. Coming up with a policy for sex-segregated sports therefore requires making a choice: Either exclude these athletes, or allow them to compete with potential advantages, said Jakob Vingren, an exercise physiologist at the University of North Texas.
Note to Dr. James Barrett: it’s actually quite obvious that elite trans female athletes frequently have multiple advantages over elite biologically female athletes.
And we agree with Jakob Vindgren that sex-segregated sports require choosing between excluding trans athletes or allowing them to compete. Personally, we vote for the former.
We’re just following the science. The actual science.
WSPWG would say the dividing line for competing in the women’s sport category is MALE PUBERTY… regardless of how one identifies, was raised, chromosomes or genitals …and whether they can roll it back.
“What defines a woman” — pffft.🙄 #FairPlayForWomen https://t.co/NQwTEbdKzV— Nancy Hogshead, JD, Oly (@Hogshead3Au) February 17, 2022
An elite athlete tends to be subjected to anatomical scrutiny when he has a penis and his competition are all biological women. https://t.co/6uBvLQEb4T
— AdamInHTownTX (Not a Biologist) (@AdamInHTownTX) February 17, 2022
Just FYI, if you’re inclined to respond directly to Ghorayshi’s tweet and article, you’re gonna have to do it via quote retweet:
Probably because the science is settled as far as she’s concerned.
A limited replies. Always the sign of a strong argument.
— Andy Lancaster (@andylancaster) February 17, 2022
Especially for a journalist.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 17, 2022
Especially for a science journalist.
Haha the replies are disabled. Perfect representation of this position. https://t.co/xlJ19MhQK2
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) February 17, 2022
Never fails.
Unfortunately, Azeem Ghorayshi’s position actually has legs. And those legs will likely wind up somewhere we really don’t want to be.
We're going to start hearing the term "Chromosomal Justice" here pretty soon.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 17, 2022
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