[TrumpCard]

We start with a system that is fundamentally unfair. Women get to win competitions even though they are not the best at their sport. Other genetically disadvantaged populations don’t get their own category. In meaningful competitions, we sometimes segregate by age (but those categories mostly don’t win anything substantial), but we don’t segregate by race or height or any other genetic criteria except gender. I don’t have a problem with that unfairness, and in fact, I think it’s socially desirable. But we should recognize it for what it is because that unfairness is what gives rise to the difficulty of how to treat transgender athletes. If we start with the premise that gender categories in sports are fundamentally unfair, but still socially desirable, then it’s easier to say that we also are going to be unfair to transgender women, just like we are going to be unfair to other male-born athletes who fall into other sports-disadvantaged categories.

[TrumpCard]

We start with a system that is fundamentally unfair. Women get to win competitions even though they are not the best at their sport. Other genetically disadvantaged populations don’t get their own category. In meaningful competitions, we sometimes segregate by age (but those categories mostly don’t win anything substantial), but we don’t segregate by race or height or any other genetic criteria except gender. I don’t have a problem with that unfairness, and in fact, I think it’s socially desirable. But we should recognize it for what it is because that unfairness is what gives rise to the difficulty of how to treat transgender athletes. If we start with the premise that gender categories in sports are fundamentally unfair, but still socially desirable, then it’s easier to say that we also are going to be unfair to transgender women, just like we are going to be unfair to other male-born athletes who fall into other sports-disadvantaged categories.