Lisa D MerrittJan 25, 2023
Jay Ulfelder

New study finds "no substantial evidence of any biological advantages for trans women competing in elite women's sport."

"'What threatens women's elite sport, for cis and trans women, is not trans women, but is rather misogyny in the form of underfunding, non-parity in participation and leadership, inequitable sport space allocation/access, and a range of sporting opportunities not afforded to women...in equitable ways.'"

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/trans-women-athletes-have-no-unfair-advantage-under-current-rules-study-finds

#TransRights #cycling #queer

Jan 25, 2023 at 4:46pmWeb
Show threadMichaelJan 25, 2023

@jayulfelder

facts can be your friend but they suck if you're a bigot.

Show threaddaniel s.Jan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder someone tell the professional disc golf association, whose medical committee cited transphobic political commentators over medical evidence in their recent decision to ban trans women who transitioned after puberty from competing in major events.
Show threadYaktuaryJan 25, 2023
@selfagency @jayulfelder I would tell the professional disc golf association if I wasn't so busy LOLing at the idea that a pro disc golf association exists
Show threadAriaflameJan 26, 2023
@yaktuary @selfagency @jayulfelder Hey, one day with enough practice I might get over my grip lock problem.
Show threadJeremy BuchmanJan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/guys-i-swear-im-only-transitioning-so-i-can-cheat-at-girls-sports
Guys, I Swear I’m Only Transitioning So I Can Cheat at Girls’ Sports

Guys, I know you’ve heard rumors around school, and I’m sure you noticed that I wasn’t at basketball tryouts, and I wanted to make sure you heard w...

McSweeney's Internet Tendency
Show threadJay UlfelderJan 25, 2023
@jeremybuchman lol
Show threadblterribleJan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder The key part of that is that the trans women must have verified testosterone and estrogen levels matching that of women for 24 months. The devil is in the details, and generally I prefer studies that can pull evidence from a larger dataset. We're not there yet.
Show threadCat Food CasseroleJan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder
And NONE of the people having trans panic actually care about women's sports. They are just using it as an excuse to be bigots.
Show threadWendy PalmerJan 26, 2023
@casserolefood @jayulfelder yep. A relative started going on about this (I am involved in running a local sports league and we’ve been working really hard to bring up the participation of girls so I guess my relative assumed I’d agree with her), and it was like: nope, if you have never a) shown any interest whatsoever in sport in general and b) never cared about the fact that the major issues in grassroots women’s sport are underfunding and lack of proper change-rooms, you don’t get to spout off about this.
Show threadCat Food CasseroleJan 26, 2023
@wendypalmer @jayulfelder
And I'd bet they don't think women's soccer teams should make as much as men's or basketball teams.
Show threadEthan BlackJan 26, 2023
@casserolefood @jayulfelder None? Look, just because you believe someone is totally wrong doesn't mean that they have to be a bigot to believe what they believe. Many people believe that biological males who identify as women are physically stronger than biological women, and that that gives them an advantage in sports.
Show threadCat Food CasseroleJan 26, 2023
@golemwire @jayulfelder
No, it doesn't. Look up actual statistics, almost no trans women beat biological women. They take hormones. Get a clue.
Show threadDr JJan 26, 2023
@casserolefood @jayulfelder Except for Martina Navratilova, and for someone who's as exposed to trans peole as she is, she's shockingly wrongheaded on the subject. I thought she'd done her homework, but she hasn't.
Show threadTrismegistusMxJan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder If not for capitalism, we could play games for the love of play instead of nominating members of the working class as "professionals" and forcing them to play as if their livelihoods depend on it. Modern sports are simply gladiatorial games.
Show threadA.StringerJan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder If as stated, "the athlete has declared their gender identity as female, they can demonstrate their total testosterone level in serum has been below 2.5 nmol/L for a period of at least 24 months, & their total testosterone level in serum is below 2.5 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category, " then I don't see why trans & cis women can't compete together in competitive sports?
Show threadDanMJan 25, 2023
@jayulfelder This seems to be saying they may have an advantage. But that the advantage is one of many possible advantages and disadvantages that different people have. It’s not saying there is no advantage…. Is it?
Show threadDarthJan 26, 2023
@danmullin @jayulfelder you are right also it’s important to note their review methods are flawed and “Absence of Evidence does not mean Evidence of Absence”
Show threadLeftwardswingJan 26, 2023
@jayulfelder Boom! There goes the haters big talking point.
Show threadmeowdudeJan 26, 2023
@jayulfelder hasn't this been proven wrong multiple times?
Show threaddarksidecatJan 26, 2023
@jayulfelder Always worth noting too is that the bone density thing doesn't work across ethnicities. While averages as typically slightly higher for men than women in the same ethnic group, on average, women of one ethnicity can be higher/similar to the men of another than to the women. & social factors impact bone density as well. Mexican American men regularly have lower bone density on some tests than white women.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057045/
Age, gender, and race/ethnic differences in total body and subregional bone density

Total body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) data offer the opportunity to compare bone density of demographic groups across the entire skeleton.The present study uses total body DXA data (Hologic QDR 4500A, Hologic Inc, Bedford MA) from the National ...

PubMed Central (PMC)
Show threaddarksidecatJan 26, 2023
@jayulfelder Most professional athletes are not post menopausal, so the shift from "men have greater average bone density than women of the same ethnicity, race, & social status" to "men have higher average in general, with some exceptions" post menopause doesn't really matter for elite sports.
Show threadDarthJan 26, 2023

@jayulfelder

1: careful in interpretation, as the authors seem to mimic a systematic review and label it a scientific review, their methods don’t comply with normal practices for a review and there is no systematic assessment of risk of bias in the papers they find

2: as Carl Sagan said “Absence of Evidence does not mean Evidence of Absence”

3: the group publishing the report it self seems a little biased

Show threadDr JJan 26, 2023

@jayulfelder Thanks for this. It's just further proof.

People are using Lia Thomas as an example. As if trans athletes should never win! They win and they lose, just like everyone else.

Show threadNikoufJan 26, 2023
@jayulfelder there was an issue some time ago with a trans woman competing in professional kick boxing. There, I suppose there is significant advantage. But could be an exception.
Show threadbubbajetJan 26, 2023

@jayulfelder I was reading the article and marveling at the twisted logic until I got to the buried lede: it seems that the conclusions are most valid for people who have undergone at least a year of hormone therapy.

And that’s what needs to be addressed.

Do you have a 12-month restriction on competing - but not practice? There’s got to be a better way. Obviously the equipment and training has to be addressed too.