Michael Phelps, whose biological traits fall within norms for the men he swam against, recognises advantages of trans swimmers who retain many biological male traits
Remember. Advantages DO matter if they cross category boundaries. Sport does not exist to celebrate testosterone
Remember. Advantages DO matter if they cross category boundaries. Sport does not exist to celebrate testosterone
https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn/status/1483864846684893184
Just like boxing does not exist to reward size/mass Paralympics do not exist to reward the absence of disability, and youth sport does not exist to reward maturation. We separate groups into categories/classes so that we can reward what is meaningful, unconfounded by what is not
This is, of course, the reason that we can celebrate Phelps for exceptional performances. And why we celebrate Ledecky for the same reason, even though if directly matched, only one would be rewarded. Hence, we ‘remove’ the effect of testosterone with a category that excludes it
And long arms, lung volume, metabolic capacity, fiber type, neuromuscular factors, technical skill, psychology etc then BECOME factors that actually matter, the things that Elaine Thompson shares with Bolt, Osaka with Djokovic, and so on. Categories ALLOW celebration of women
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