SOMETHING TO REMEMBER ABOUT TRANSWOMEN IN WOMEN’S SPORT.

The Australian Leader of the Opposition proved what a numbskull he is by saying that girls in sport try hard only to be defeated by transgender athletes. There will always be somebody who has an advantage be it height, foot size or whatever that will mean that they have an advantage over someone else. Just like there will be a student who studies really hard and scores 94/100 yet someone else doesn’t have to study as hard and scores 98/100. What do you do? Deduct five marks from the second person because they didn’t have to work as hard? You can’t.

An athlete may have a dream to compete at the Olympics, and some come so close but so far, and while that’s a personal disappointment, it happens. Just like how Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps had the advantage of large feet, you can’t bind their feet so that they can only swim as fast as someone with Size 7 feet!

While there is no doubt that a transwoman who has gone through male puberty will have some effects of testosterone (I’m not an athlete, but since beginning my transition, my skin has become softer, I have developed breasts, albeit small ones, and I have always had more of a curvy figure than a V shape figure), such as needing to shave facial hair, they do not have a comparative advantage unless it relates to height, for example. A transwoman won’t shrink after using estrogen.

The Liberal Party and other right-wing parties in Australia have long opposed minority rights, and transwomen are just another group to punch down on.