From my perspective, Doing an open/trans category is tantamount to exclusion. Here’s how it plays out: one or maybe two participants which is barely a category. Or maybe cis gendered men participate in an open category just to sandbag. Neither of these is an inclusionary scenario in my mind. Women’s cycling has a participation problem, it would be great if casting wider net would be seen as a good thing for the racing hobby
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Really interesting reading your perspective. Thank you for the courage to put yourself out there and let us see things in a more relatable way.
I’m curious whether you’d be willing to offer an opinion on whether you think there should be a difference between elite and non elite categorisation of transgender athletes?
Your perspective has flipped my opinion, which is not worth a knob of **** of course, I understand that. Based on what you have said though, I’ve gone from being ambivalent, to thinking that the most appropriate option is just racing and full inclusion.
I do still think it’s super sticky in terms of competitive fairness at the elite level. Like, what if you were a 6w/kg male that transitioned, is that fair? I honestly don’t know? And say for a weight lifting athlete, does a male that transitioned at 30 have more of an advantage than one that transitioned at 20? I honestly don’t know and my natural inclination is for general inclusion but it does seem really tricky.
I’d be interested to see what the female and transitioned females think, that is really what matters. This world (USA I’m looking at you) is already far to full of old white men making decisions for women.
I also agree that there should be a lot more pressure on entities to enhance women’s sport earning opportunities. Ineos not having a women’s team at all is an embarrassment to cycling in my opinion. I understand it’s all about revenue generation, but look at the NBA or Ineos, the numbers are so enormous that a tiny fraction of their budgets would change the landscape on the women’s side.
End rant/ (apologies for a potentially controversial post)
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When I’ve heard people suggest an open category as a solution I’ve assumed it would replace what is currently called the male category.
So “Open” and “xx” rather than “male” and “female”
Agree regarding a trans only category - hard the believe people think that could be a genuine solution given the small numbers involved.
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This is the only possible way an open category would make sense.
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But I fail to see how that would make any difference. You would still have trans women racing in the mend field
We all want the same thing: That as many people compete, as fairly as possible, are rewarded for the efforts they put into their training, win if they can, and go home happy. No matter the gender or any other category. Let us get that out of the way. While some people might just “hate” a diifferent group, I have faith that this is very few people.
That out of the way, lets talk logistics here for a minute.
Many times its much easier to scream out what people think is the right answer which doesn’t have the intended result. Sure, people like to hear it because its so inclusive, but it doesnt answer the tough questions:
How does it work? How do we protect the integrity of womens’ sport?
If we set hormone limits, why is it fair for someone to be able to manipulate those hormone levels to best reach that limit and other people are not allowed?
Why doesn’t this question come up with women transitioning to men and protecting the integrity of mens’ sport?
All the inclusive nice talk aside, how do we this? I am all about including people, but we have GOT to answer these fair questions, and not with emotion but an actual actionable response.
There is a time for emotion. If you want me to say it, I will agree that I feel bad for someone with gender dysphoria and I am glad I not affected by it. I want nothing but the best for them and for everyone else as well.
Putting the hate and anger and division aside will allow people to actually have a discussion about this. My points are no less valid than anyone else’s point because I am straight white male. We are dealing with facts here. Not feelings. Facts don’t care about race or gender or age or anything. Emotions do.
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I have the same opinion on this as I do on abortion. I do not have a vagina. I have an opinion that I feel does not matter at all. I do not feel that I have the right to control anyone. If my significant other gets pregnant then I can share my opinion but at the end of the day it is her decision. My Wife got pregnant at 18 and gave the baby up for adoption. She is now the older sister to my 3 kids and is an amazing person who I love and respect.
It will all work out in the end WITHOUT my 2 cents.
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It always seems a strange one that these opinion pieces are filled with MEN arguing over it when really MEN are the ones least affected by the issue.
Of course sport is in general male dominated but what to the women have to say about it? I honestly don’t know but I bet they are far more inclusionary than men are.
It’s so complicated, I genuinely can’t see an answer without someone getting the brown end of the stick.
More power to anyone thats going through it. 
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Caster Semenya is likely not a woman. I think it turned out she had a Y chromosome.
I think women, actually XX chromosome women, should be allowed to compete no matter how high their natural testosterone is. There are some women who don’t do gear who can very high.
Biological men though should be kept out of women’s sports. It’s not just a case of reducing their testosterone levels. They continue to have advantages over women even after testosterone is lowered. This is because men have different bone structures, denser bone and muscle structures, larger hearts and lungs etc.
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Think I broadly agree - but think it should be decided on a sport by sport basis.
In cycling I think Y-chromosome gives an unfair advantage but I’m less sure about strength and combat sports that have weight categories anyway.
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As a cis woman, I believe in the need for a separate category for men who have transitioned to a woman. I’m not sure how to support women transitioning to men in sport. It seems they would be at a total disadvantage?
The most important thing, I believe, is that there continues to be an honest and open discussion about women’s well being and safety (as long as this is not driven by hate).
Cancel culture doesn’t help anyone.
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I can’t think of a single sport in the world where being a woman would be an advantage over being a man. Again, with men: larger hearts, lungs, larger & denser bones, different nervous system, higher capacity for pain and holding on, greater aggression etc.
Even in MMA where there are weight categories, it does nothing to protect biological women from biological men. Sure, their weight will be lower but their body composition compared to that of the female opponent will comprise less fat, more muscle, bone etc.
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You’re correct, women have zero competitive advantage when competing against men.
I’m guessing they have a therapeutic exemption form most of the time to be on steroids, perhaps they could arguably gain an advantage by dosing higher than natural levels of T compared to men because it’s such a broad range, but still, they’ll lack all the other benefits given by a Y chromosome.
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Maybe one alternative is to simplify classifications based purely on bottom line biology - either XY or XX. Take “Gender” out of it and go by genetic-biological make-up. There are mutations which exist (ie XXY) but the classification would still work - either one has a “Y” or they don’t.
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Exactly. Personally, I don’t believe in gender. In my country, we always used the word ‘sex’ because it’s rooted in biological reality, genetics, science etc. It’s only really in the last decade or so that the relatively modern theory of ‘gender’ has started to come into my country. My guess is that American Christians of the past were a bit prudish and jumped on the term ‘gender’ because they were uncomfortable with the word ‘sex’. From there, it’s started spreading around the world. Just a guess though.
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Oh Yes the “Puritan” roots have infected us and twisted us in so many ways. Sure they made us successful but they really fudged us up at the same time. Every American should definitely be in therapy 
Good to see a woman posting here. Unfortunately many are being quiet about this. I personally think it is because they’re worried about getting cancelled.
I think very few people hate anyone, and most people just want to see fairness across the board.
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The use of the term “gender” has primarily been driven by the LBGQT community…it is absolutely not the evangelicals who are driving it.
“Gender” (or call it what you want, but I prefer to use the term that is used by those affected) is an extremely complex thing….it doesn’t fit into two neat boxes. Until we all realize this, the conversation won’t really advance much.
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I think it is difficult for cis women/ men to fully understand the complexity of the term “gender” and how the history of that word has lead to it’s use in the LBGQT community. I am open to explanation and have listened, but I have not lived the experience. I would not insult anyone by trying.
Living 55 years as a cis woman has given me a particular set of experiences which is likely to be different than a man transitioning into a woman has experienced. That’s not rejection/exclusion, but I can see how it may feel like that.
Cis women have been kicked around for years too. Let’s not argue about who has more rights or who has to miss out. Let’s come together with compassion and respect.
It’s important for everyone’s future that cis women are not bullied into accommodation
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Such a powerful statement. This is what I see happening.
These women are almost forced to feel like bad people if they simply want to protect the fairness in their sport
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