"It's only One" TW in Women's Sports Pt. 1

 "It's only one TW, it's not like they are dominating women's sports." This is one of the current talking points about TW in women's sports. More specifically right now, it's referring to New Zealand powerlifter Laurel Hubbard who is preparing to compete in the 2021 Olympics. I've criticized both the policies allowing TW to compete in women's sports as well as Hubbard herself.

My criticisms of each though are different. I will not call Laurel Hubbard a cheater. She is competing under rules and guidelines that allow her to do so. I will however criticize her decision to compete. THAT is fully on her. Knowing a rule is unfair, and still using it for your personal gain does not make you a good person. Hubbard continuing to compete in women's sports is being selfish. 

"But it's only one! She's the first even though TW have been allowed to compete since 2004!"

What most leave out of this is that the rules in 2004 were much stricter. Full genital surgery was required. That means a lot more time, energy, money and commitment to being a "transwoman". Time, energy, money and commitment are also needed to be an Olympian. Let's remember that MOST Olympic athletes are not professionals. They work/go to school and train all on their own time and money. In the US, a hardware store chain used to run ads about how they employed Olympic athletes and hopefuls. I'm not an athlete, but I have transitioned and had SRS. I can tell you that transition can absolutely take up your focus, time and money. 

Now if, as studies show, only about 15-20% of TW actually have SRS, that knocked out a lot of TW under the old rules. I would also assume, that until more recently (due to insurance coverage) most TW that had SRS were likely older, as they could afford it. Most competitive athletes are younger. So the old rules allowed for a minority of a minority.

The new requirements are only that testosterone must be suppressed for 12 months prior to competing and that their "declared gender" remain stable for sporting purposes for 4 years. Wow that's a much lower bar. Now, we are led to believe that no male athlete would "pretend to be a transwoman." I also want to make it clear that I have no reason to not believe that Hubbard is sincere in her desire to be a transwoman. I know there have been jokes about Russia, China and Iran having men compete as women for years. 

What I want to point out is not that athletes or countries WILL abuse these policies, but how easy they are TO ABUSE.. Lets make no mistake, with the exceptions of a few events like gymnastics and ice skating, the Olympics are not creating celebrities. Most athletes train their whole lives, go to 1 maybe 2 Olympics, return home and become an answer to a trivia question. Even during the games, we keep a running total of how many medals each country wins, but can you name the individual winners by the end?

But let's see what the new requirements actually mean. Suppressing testosterone: Now I'm not an endocrinologist so don't take this as gospel. Spironolactone is a testosterone blocker. It is commonly given as part of MtF HRT. I am not sure if it alone would lower someone's level to the required amount, but let's assume it does. Spiro would have an impact on muscles and strength, but studies are showing that most of that can be overcome and compensated for IF one trains, which I'd assume an athlete would. There is also an impact on sexual function for some and shrinkage of testicles. Of course steroids' shrinks them too, doesn't stop some men. In other words, without the feminizing effects of estrogen, there are little noticeable long term effects of just lowering testosterone, especially for such a limited time.

The other requirement "maintaining your declared gender for 4 years for competitive purposes" sounds prohibitive, but lets actually look at what that means. Does "declared gender" actually require anything of the person? Presumably, you'd need to start suppressing testosterone a few months before to hit the 12 month consistent level, so say you declare 18 months before the Olympics. Do you have to legally change names or "sex'? Nothing says you do. Do you have to present yourself as if you're the opposite sex? Again, no requirement, and many TRAs would say that's "transphobic" anyway. All it really means is that you can't return to competing as a man for 4 years. Presumably you can go back to being a  man at any point, you just can't compete as one for a bit. And again, are we really going to monitor?

We often want to believe others behave the way we would. But the fact is, not everyone does. Someone or some country is going to see an opportunity. The Olympics have all manner of sordid history. Judges have been found cheating, athletes have endured what many would consider abusive conditions, we've even had attempted murder. Do you really think taking a pill and saying you "identity" as a woman is beyond the range of possibilities?