Quote:
Originally Posted by Toy Soldier
The issue there is in performance enhancement though, and it still disproportionately affects women’s sports. A biologically female transman who has been on testosterone for years will ALSO have a distinct strength advantage over unmedicated people. There’s a reason that various hormones are banned as performance enhancing drugs in most if not all sports.
The inverse would be true of men’s sports; if a top male Rugby player starts taking female hormones to transition, he will quickly lose the strength needed to compete in the top men’s tiers.
The problem is that hormones end up with a “half way point” that fits in neither category. Trans women taking hormones lose physical strength, so they’re not as strong as the men, but are still stronger than other women. Transmen gain an advantage over other biological females, but it’s unlikely to be to the extent that they can compete with biological males.
I can appreciate that it’s very complicated. But of course, the focus needs to always remain in no one gaining an unfair advantage, and (first and foremost) safety.
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As far as I know, there aren't any specific reles against sportspeople taking performance degrading drugs? Like, laws aside, the leagues don't specifically say "thou shalt not get stoned every night", even though doing so would damage their perfomance?
Transition hormones should be treated similarly. If a transwoman can't keep up with the other males as a result of taking the hormones, the choice should be a)give up the sport or b)stop taking the hormones.