Originally published at: The Four Fallacies at the Heart of SCOTUS’ Decision on Trans Athletes - TPM – Talking Points Memo
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. The Supreme Court on Tuesday authorized further discrimination against transgender students. In a split ruling on two cases about whether states could ban trans students from school sports matching their gender identity — Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. — the…
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Only in the Republican imagination is being trans something that’s convenient and unfair to do. Talk to any parent with a trans child who wants to support and affirm them. Long waitlists, endless medical appointments to “prove” the child is actually trans before approving any gender-affirming care, increasingly fewer providers and longer trips to get care, the threat of legal persecution, social stigma, and on and on. Imagine not being able to get any sleep in the week before a competition because you don’t know if you’ll be able to keep getting puberty blockers or if some bigoted school staff member will flag you for cyber abuse by LibsofTikTok or some other conservative influencer.
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Good points, but I think in addition, it is also important to emphasize the scientific/medical reality that somewhere between 1-3 children out of a thousand are born intersex, and parents and doctors have to decide whether to raise the child as a boy or a girl without fully knowing how the child will develop. There are also numerous genetic and developmental conditions that lead to complicated gender identity issues.
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Thanks to Dr. Theoharis for impressively and unimpeachably marshaling the evidence under workable bullet points.
And thanks to Sharong for the suggested addition.which needs to be supported by authoritative links.
But doesn’t this layout of the arguments truly make the underlying point that anti-trans-activism is really all about bad faith heaping of studied cruelty on innocent victims to serve evil ends? Please speculate as to what those ends might be.
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Getting bigoted ignoramuses to vote for you instead of the other candidate?
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These are very weak arguments, and I say that as one who is a lefty civil libertarian who is sympathetic with the need for respect for trans rights. Most of the points contained within these “fallacies” are a stew of straw arguments and irrelevancies in relation to the legal issues involved in the SCOTUS case. With all due respect to the piece’s well-meaning author, if this is the best case that can be mustered for why SCOTUS got it wrong, then it is no wonder that even liberals on the court agreed with the majority on the Title IX angle, and that (I’m guessing) a poll would probably show that 95% of the population thinks the court got it more or less right.
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Under the guise of protecting the feelings and rights of trans women, George Theoharis presents another Me Generation, ignorant, effectively hate women argument. The science is largely settled, as are the dangers of transwomen playing contact sports as women. The IOC’s statement about the protection of the female category in sports, based on a thorough examination and discussion of the evidence, makes all that clear. It’s no accident that Theoharis doesn’t refer to it. I encourage commenters to read it: https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/International-Olympic-Committee/EB/policy/policy-on-the-protection-of-the-female-category-english.pdf, and www.olympics.com/ioc/news/international-olympic-committee-announces-new-policy-on-the-protection-of-the-female-women-s-category-in-olympic-sport. The IOC’s document also refers to exceptions for transwomen’s participation, and that there are some sports where the differences between biological women and transwomen may not come into play, and therefore separation is unnecessary. In addition, sports scientist Ross Tucker has several podcasts (Science of Sport) that go into the issue in depth (he was part of World Rugby’s process in examining the issue and creating their policy).
The Supreme Court’s decision, however, is in legal process and much of its reasoning reactionary. Kavanaugh’s seemingly sympathetic sentence about respecting transwomen athletes is patronizing. I suggest reading Sotomayer’s concurrence and thorough dissent to get a sense of what occurred. Eligibility should first be in the hands of sports federations, not reactionary, ignorant, biased politicians. In individual sports, trans girls/women should be allowed to participate in either an open category or in the male category. Until their numbers increase, it would appear that team sports are in most cases another matter.
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Long time members, but it takes a ruling like this to bring you out into the comments, spouting “settled science” that it is dangerous for them to compete against them. Sorry, but those injuries happen against other female athletes as well. It is far from settled science, just the opposite.
Watch this clip of a trans basketball player injuring a member of the other team. It’s brutal! The trans player has the ball in her hands, the opposing player grabs it! She holds on to the ball and turns the other way, pulling it out of the poor girl’s hands. Girl falls to the floor, grabbing her back. She can’t get up! OMG, she was attacked by a huge guy who brutally assaulted her.
World Cup soccer players could learn acting from her.
Dialogue is important. This is an issue that means a lot to both of you. I wonder how far you go with what should be allowed. Is it only sports? What about someone who, as an adult, has transitioned and is in the workplace and wants to be addressed and recognized for that, is that acceptable? What bathroom should they use? If they go into the women’s bathroom, they are in a closed stall. No one can see them. But should people in the office be alerted that “hey, that’s really, physically a guy.” so that they can be aware and be safe? You know, protect the cis female from the trans, because obviously they’re still a guy.
/s
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11 year old girl wants to run track with her friends (the actual case at issue)? She even said, she is not very good, just wants to participate and have fun.
What is your continuing obsession with danger in women’s contact sports?
By the way, to root out this single athlete, every girl - including ‘tomboys’, lesbians, ‘unfeminine’ ones - can&will now be subjected to harassment, accusation, genital inspection.
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How is this STILL an issue?
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Citing the IOC position on trans athletes in the Olympics is hardly relevant to K-12 sports. The reason I support sports programs is not because they are a pipeline to fame and fortune, but just that it is good for kids to learn teamwork, discipline and resilience with all sorts of people.
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