Swimmin' with the non-wimmin
The world's swimming governing body, World Aquatics (FINA), will ban transgender females from women's competition, unless they physically transitioned before the onset of male pubertal development. This is effectively a ban on all transgender women competing unfairly against biologically-relevant women.
As a sop, trans swimmers have been given an open competition group in which they can fight it out amongst themselves. It's the equivalent of giving the unruly, bullying children their own sandpit to play in. Only with less sand.
So, Lia Thomas' hopes of crushing her female competition at the Olympics may be dashed, but at least she'll get to compete. And if there are only two other weirdos who take part, she'll still be a shoo-in for a medal. (thumbup)
FINA's panel of experts used a science-based approach in drawing its conclusions. This approach included considerations, such as:
Dr Michael Joyner, a physiologist and leading expert in human performance "Testosterone in male puberty alters the physiological determinants of human performance and explains the sex-based differences in human performance, considered clearly evident by age 12. "Even if testosterone is suppressed, its performance enhancing effects will be retained."
Dr Sandra Hunter, an exercise physiologist specialising in sex and age differences in athletic performance "By 14 years or older, the difference between boys and girls is substantial. That's due to the advantages experienced due to the physiological adaptations in testosterone and the possession of the Y chromosome. "Some of these physical advantages are structural in origin such as height, limb length, heart size, lung size and they will be retained, even with the suppression or reduction of testosterone that occurs in the transition from male to female."
In its rebuttal press release, Athlete Ally, an LGBT advocacy/pressure group, claimed it was deeply discriminatory, harmful, unscientific
, but doesn't justify that statement. So, that'll be them blowing hot air outta their arses then.