Male-to-Female transgender athlete sets record, raises questions about Olympics policy

This is such utter bullshit and is the type of thing that does harm to trans people by giving people actual legitimate reasons to hate them. They absolutely don't need this shit. Their lives are hard enough with all the preexisting hatred that comes out of ignorance and straight up bigotry. Which is nothing compared to how fucking miserable it can be to just have to exist in a constant state of gender dysphoria (which can feel like the worst aspects of major depression and anxiety disorder rolled into one) because parts of your brain developed abnormally during months 7-8 of gestation. And to have the only effective treatment for that shit be to transition to the other sex and thereby subject yourself to people's irrational hatred.

Transitioning is actually a remarkably effective treatment and medical technology is good enough that many trans people can pass so flawlessly as their new gender that there is literally no way to tell the difference without a major medical examination.

That said, testosterone is a helluva drug that has many permanent physical effects, which effects can, on average, give one a permanent advantage in competitive sports. MtF trans people who once "benefited" from exposure to male-range levels of testosterone for a significant period of time (most such people do not see that as a benefit but a massive curse) should not be treated the same as cis females in this one aspect of life. At least not until and unless technology emerges to somehow magically undo those permanent effects. (Most MtFs would eagerly welcome such technology.)

/r/news Thread Parent Link - outsports.com