04-13-2021, 11:01 AM
I have always marveled at the distinction between various levels of athletics and the somewhat arbitrary divisions and distinctions that exist. Most of these distinctions exist to foster competition. P5 schools vs. Division II schools in football wouldn't in general be very interesting. To me, distinctions based on gender serve the same interest. In many sports males as a group perform "better" than females. However, this isn't universally true. Stanford Women's Basketball could undoubtedly beat may teams composed of men. It is all relative, and it is not absolute. A few "ringers" are problematic only in so far as they change the nature of the balance. If that happens, action will need to be taken. However, right now it seems to me that a female athlete who is defeated by a genetic female athlete is no better off than one who is defeated by a transgender athlete. The other player was better on that day. You can imagine rules that eliminate players based on ability/performance, but many people would say those rules would be "arbitrary". I say a rule based on gender, however defined, is no less arbitrary.