He huffed about how the question wasn’t “appropriate” even though his bill would result in kids being asked that same question.
A Republican state rep from Michigan testifying about his anti-trans sports bill on Monday was left speechless after an out Democratic colleague began his questioning by asking, “Representative, can you tell me: are you trans?”
A long beat staring down out gay Democratic state Rep. Mike McFall followed, before state Rep. Jason Woolford ® managed to reply, “Are you?”
“I’m actually going somewhere with this,” he said to lawmakers in the small chamber.
“Because I want to know, how does a 14-year-old girl prove whether or not she’s trans to a 50-year-old coach?”
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Exactly, we’re talking about two different things when comparing children’s sports and Olympic sports and it’s easy to conflate the two.
Olympic competition needs fair rules to ensure the best humanity can produce is rewarded. The rules are already there and they seem to be fair and supported by trans athletes. Politicians need to stay out.
In children’s sports it’s more important kids learn skills, fitness, cooperation, and find a sense of community. So unless there is a massive outlier, the rules should maximise inclusion over “fairness”. Politicians also need to stay out.
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I think you’re being a little dramatic. I understand if you personally don’t care about the rules but I have to imagine no one is saying it should just be an absolute free for all. Again I don’t understand why we link school and sports but we do and for that reason it means a lot to some and nothing to others. I’m completely down for a free for all in professional sports.
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I agree. I feel like this is only made more complicated because of college sports and the money involved.
I agree with what you’re saying but I also don’t think it has to come to that. I guess my point is that if we don’t make some attempt to set a standard then we are allowing literally anything. I don’t honestly care for sports being tied to school in the first place but are we saying that anyone can claim to be trans and join the other team at any time because we’re all too afraid to talk about it or what? If that’s the case then it seems like we should just do a way with gender in sports completely.
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You have a standard. Men play in the men’s category, women in the women’s. In this context, a man is anyone with a testosterone-dominant biology, and a woman anyone with an estrogen-dominated biology. There is your objective standard.