Just Because It's Legal...
Way back in 2018, I’m perusing the usual websites that keep me up to date as to what is going on in the world; politics, religion, science…what have you. More often than not there are more than a few things that don’t surprise me, but there are a handful that make me look up from the back of my cereal box and go…huh? I mean, at the time, our previous president was being his usual boorish, moronic self; and the other side of the aisle were being, well, their boorish, moronic selves. I still hadn’t broken 72 (that’s a golf reference, by the way), and the pandemic was still just a Hollywood movie that seemed as harmless as an invasion of Klingons (yes, the juvenile Star Trek reference). Then much to my surprise, I clicked on an article, the title of which was, “Male Runner Wins NCAA Conference’s Female Athlete of the Week.” Needless to say, I quickly finished my Frosted Flakes and toast, and said to myself, “This is gonna be good.”
At the time I admit to being very naive and uneducated about the whole transgender movement. And to be fair to knuckleheads like me, the movement had not taken on the militance in 2018 that it now seems to have in 2021. Anyway, a Mr. Jonathan Eastwood (yes, I’m dead naming here, sue me) was a runner on the University of Montana men’s track team who, after much deliberation, joined the women’s track team (claiming gender dysphoria). Needless to say, once joining the women’s team, Mr. Eastwood’s fortunes improved…dramatically. Now I could be a prick here (no pun intended) and say that young Mr. Eastwood, whose times were average at best when competing agains fellow males, thought he could do better against the women. Because his BEST time in the 800 meters was an average 1:55:23. But go figure, that’s 4 seconds faster than the WOMEN’S COLLEGIATE RECORD. He also has far better times in the 1500 and the 5000 than his fellow competitors…uh, I mean, women. But let’s give him the benefit of the psychological doubt. Let’s assume that he believes he is trapped in a man’s body and feels he has a right to compete against women while in a man’s body. Oh, by the way, the reason for the above-mentioned article was that young Mr. Eastwood had received an award, much like an Athlete of the Week award. (I’ll wait until you, dear reader, digest all this…Time’s up!)
Around the same time, two young men in Connecticut were beating the crap out of young high school girls in various track and field races. Much like young Mr. Eastwood, these two guys decided, after much psychological deliberation, that they were indeed women, and had the right to be seen as such on the athletic field. Because of the dominance of these two men (again, sue me), many young women not only lost a chance for medals, but validation for years of hard work and scholarships to college. The mind reels. Needless to say, the transgender movement has become a juggernaut wrapping itself up in (with other progressive movements) the all-encompassing personal rights motif. “I think, therefore I have a right to do whatever I damn well please.” To be fair, I made that last quote up. On the other side of the aisle, many of these same female athletes and their parents (as well as other assorted kindred thinkers), have gone to court to seek, how shall I put this, redress. Fortunately, in this writer’s opinion, as of this writing there are a number of states that have pushed back and said that biological men cannot compete against women.
So, because this is a blog and I have no desire to write a book….yet; let’s go to the science in a very general way. I’m not a psychiatrist, psychologist, or any type of medical professional. But you know what? I can read. And what I do know is that once you get to and past puberty, men have larger hearts, larger lung capacity, and larger muscle mass. Women are generally smaller, shorter, slower, and weaker. You don’t have to major in kinesiology to figure out that the sexes should not compete against each other in athletics. I’m not trying to make a statement here, it’s just the way it is. Are there outliers in the above descriptions…sure. There’s a bell curve. But the outliers involved in this particular subject are incredibly rare. These are the facts. It’s why we have an NBA and a WNBA. It’s why there is a PGA Tour and an LPGA Tour. It’s why there are both male and female lacrosse leagues. It’s why Usain Bolt doesn’t run against women!!! For the love of Jack Pepper, do I really need to spell this out? I do? Okay, how’s this: Allyson Felix is, last I checked, the fastest woman in the world. In 2018, 300 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS beat her lifetime best in the 400 meters. There’s more, but I think I’ve made my point.
I’m trying hard not to be flippant or uncaring about the issues involved here. Again, I’m not qualified to comment on a young person who feels at some point that they don’t want to be the gender that they actually are. I can’t imagine the deliberation that goes on in one’s mind with regard to this issue. That’s another piece written by somebody galactically smarter than me. But here’s what I do know, as someone who played sports, loves sports and, yes…can read; it’s wrong to allow biological men to compete against women. And don’t tell me I’m not giving these transgender athletes a chance. They can compete against their biological equals, or they can, with the help of sports authorities, develop separate leagues/divisions, what have you. Not to put to fine a point on it, but not long ago the World Rugby Association amended it’s policy, saying no biological men…period. Did that piss off a lot of people? Sure. But have you watched a rugby match? It’s physical, dangerous, and absolute mayhem. And it was the right thing to do.
One last thought example. And remember, outlandish examples are only the slippery slopes that we don’t want to get to. I’m going to assume that everyone reading this knows who Charles Barkley is (I was going to use my good friend and high school teammate Vaughn Ward as the example, but he knows where I live and can still beat me up! Love you, Vaughn). I’m going to assume that Chuck was a pretty big guy even in high school. I do know he was a great high school basketball player. Can you imagine if he decided one morning in his 16th year of existence that he was a female trapped in a man’s body? And let’s say the powers that be allowed him to play on the girls basketball team. Feel free, dear reader, to do the carnage in your mind.
Every definition of gender dysphoria that I have read says nothing about any type of surgical alteration (which, again, would not much matter after puberty). All a young man has to do in 19 states (as of last year), is to say, “I’m a woman.” And all he has to do is act like a woman during the school day. If you want to call yourself a woman…have at it. But don’t think you have some inalienable right to destroy the hopes and dreams of biological young women who have no prayer of crossing that finish line ahead of you.
At the time I admit to being very naive and uneducated about the whole transgender movement. And to be fair to knuckleheads like me, the movement had not taken on the militance in 2018 that it now seems to have in 2021. Anyway, a Mr. Jonathan Eastwood (yes, I’m dead naming here, sue me) was a runner on the University of Montana men’s track team who, after much deliberation, joined the women’s track team (claiming gender dysphoria). Needless to say, once joining the women’s team, Mr. Eastwood’s fortunes improved…dramatically. Now I could be a prick here (no pun intended) and say that young Mr. Eastwood, whose times were average at best when competing agains fellow males, thought he could do better against the women. Because his BEST time in the 800 meters was an average 1:55:23. But go figure, that’s 4 seconds faster than the WOMEN’S COLLEGIATE RECORD. He also has far better times in the 1500 and the 5000 than his fellow competitors…uh, I mean, women. But let’s give him the benefit of the psychological doubt. Let’s assume that he believes he is trapped in a man’s body and feels he has a right to compete against women while in a man’s body. Oh, by the way, the reason for the above-mentioned article was that young Mr. Eastwood had received an award, much like an Athlete of the Week award. (I’ll wait until you, dear reader, digest all this…Time’s up!)
Around the same time, two young men in Connecticut were beating the crap out of young high school girls in various track and field races. Much like young Mr. Eastwood, these two guys decided, after much psychological deliberation, that they were indeed women, and had the right to be seen as such on the athletic field. Because of the dominance of these two men (again, sue me), many young women not only lost a chance for medals, but validation for years of hard work and scholarships to college. The mind reels. Needless to say, the transgender movement has become a juggernaut wrapping itself up in (with other progressive movements) the all-encompassing personal rights motif. “I think, therefore I have a right to do whatever I damn well please.” To be fair, I made that last quote up. On the other side of the aisle, many of these same female athletes and their parents (as well as other assorted kindred thinkers), have gone to court to seek, how shall I put this, redress. Fortunately, in this writer’s opinion, as of this writing there are a number of states that have pushed back and said that biological men cannot compete against women.
So, because this is a blog and I have no desire to write a book….yet; let’s go to the science in a very general way. I’m not a psychiatrist, psychologist, or any type of medical professional. But you know what? I can read. And what I do know is that once you get to and past puberty, men have larger hearts, larger lung capacity, and larger muscle mass. Women are generally smaller, shorter, slower, and weaker. You don’t have to major in kinesiology to figure out that the sexes should not compete against each other in athletics. I’m not trying to make a statement here, it’s just the way it is. Are there outliers in the above descriptions…sure. There’s a bell curve. But the outliers involved in this particular subject are incredibly rare. These are the facts. It’s why we have an NBA and a WNBA. It’s why there is a PGA Tour and an LPGA Tour. It’s why there are both male and female lacrosse leagues. It’s why Usain Bolt doesn’t run against women!!! For the love of Jack Pepper, do I really need to spell this out? I do? Okay, how’s this: Allyson Felix is, last I checked, the fastest woman in the world. In 2018, 300 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS beat her lifetime best in the 400 meters. There’s more, but I think I’ve made my point.
I’m trying hard not to be flippant or uncaring about the issues involved here. Again, I’m not qualified to comment on a young person who feels at some point that they don’t want to be the gender that they actually are. I can’t imagine the deliberation that goes on in one’s mind with regard to this issue. That’s another piece written by somebody galactically smarter than me. But here’s what I do know, as someone who played sports, loves sports and, yes…can read; it’s wrong to allow biological men to compete against women. And don’t tell me I’m not giving these transgender athletes a chance. They can compete against their biological equals, or they can, with the help of sports authorities, develop separate leagues/divisions, what have you. Not to put to fine a point on it, but not long ago the World Rugby Association amended it’s policy, saying no biological men…period. Did that piss off a lot of people? Sure. But have you watched a rugby match? It’s physical, dangerous, and absolute mayhem. And it was the right thing to do.
One last thought example. And remember, outlandish examples are only the slippery slopes that we don’t want to get to. I’m going to assume that everyone reading this knows who Charles Barkley is (I was going to use my good friend and high school teammate Vaughn Ward as the example, but he knows where I live and can still beat me up! Love you, Vaughn). I’m going to assume that Chuck was a pretty big guy even in high school. I do know he was a great high school basketball player. Can you imagine if he decided one morning in his 16th year of existence that he was a female trapped in a man’s body? And let’s say the powers that be allowed him to play on the girls basketball team. Feel free, dear reader, to do the carnage in your mind.
Every definition of gender dysphoria that I have read says nothing about any type of surgical alteration (which, again, would not much matter after puberty). All a young man has to do in 19 states (as of last year), is to say, “I’m a woman.” And all he has to do is act like a woman during the school day. If you want to call yourself a woman…have at it. But don’t think you have some inalienable right to destroy the hopes and dreams of biological young women who have no prayer of crossing that finish line ahead of you.
[Editor-at-large Chip Magee has suggested that due to the millions of readers who do not access this culture-changing column via Facebook, I should leave my e-mail address at the bottom, like some of those big-shot op-ed writers. Well, he’s the boss and wants to feel like he’s earning the big bucks we pay him here! So, what the hell. Feel free to write and praise or bitch and moan. As long as it’s intelligent…I’ll print it. magtour@icloud.com. And if Facebook cancels me (wouldn’t that be cool), there are plenty of host sites that’ll have me. I’m ALL IN!]
Comments
Post a Comment