TRANSGENDER Athletics

I think it's a subject which could land us in very deep water if discussed on this forum, Brian.

And you shouted in your title. That's not like you.

That gender spectrum is wide and complex. Soon it may only be ‘perfect’ ends of that spectrum that will be allowed to compete in top class sports who decides and how is it decided upon? Where and how are the lines drawn?

They should not be allowed to compete they have more power than femail born competitors have a class of their own.

+1👍🏻. If it was a Transgender only race it would be fair without a doubt. To Female competitors it is badly weighted against them. Testosterone make a world of difference & should not be abused to gain an advantage. The Sport for all tag can only work if it continues as fair for all too.

Gender was always determined by a visual inspection. The likes of Caster Semenya is a real issue and only came to light when other tests and ideas of masculinity and femininity were applied. She was born a female by body but isn’t allowed to compete as a female. Far more complex than many think, not as black and white as some believe.

It only requires two categories in sport  -" Biological females" and an "Open" category for everyone else. Females could also take part in the Open category if they so wished.

Any other system is unfair on females.

It’s an absolute minefield. Personally, I think it’s better to keep female sports  “true” female only. It’s hard of individuals such as Castor Seymenya, but she had to control her naturally occurring raised testosterone levels to be able to compete.

Think back to the dark days of the old East German teams. It was blatantly obvious that something was going on in terms of hormone therapy, particularly in the power disciplines such as shot putt, discus , etc… very hard for other female athletes to compete on a level playing field.

Women have fought very long, and very hard to build up a portfolio of events on a par with those of male athletes, and it’s still not as it should be.

Hi everyone, We are closing this discussion as we ask in the Community Guidelines that we keep conversations relevant to our shared hobby of caravanning, motorhoming and the great outdoors. Thank you.