Transgender Athletes
97 watchers
Aug 2019
1:30pm, 13 Aug 2019
1,231 posts
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bonners
That is something I've not heard of before jda. Is that a thing? What type of surgery would that be? I'm racking my brain trying to think of what type of advantage. One point from early, labelling people as gender confused isn't really helpful is it? I don't know any transgender people personally, but from the reading I've done here and elsewhere, they seem pretty 100% in the tough decision they have made, certainly not confused. Reading some of the links, and my memory from the Navratilova documentary, isn't what is really needed post transition lots more studies to give a mass of evidence as to what the actual advantage is? And isn't the issue the difficulty of getting meaningful numbers into the studies? As for pre transition, from my limited understanding, am I correct in thinking that all the science states that there is a distinct advantage, whatever the treatment? My other musings are around transitioning from female to male. Is this less common for whatever reason? Also, those who are posting with personal knowledge, are these people actually competing at a distinct disadvantage? |
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Aug 2019
1:34pm, 13 Aug 2019
6,442 posts
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Jovi Runner
I agree to a point ref testosterone beuiing used as one efiner. Hower the male body, even that which hasn't gone through pubetry -, is inherently different to a female born body - ie regarding bone length/heart size etc etc as I understand it. I'm not medically trained so maybe someone who is can contribute but I'm fairly sure that there are physical differences between males & females that give males a physical advantage even with reduced testosterone? Taking hormone supplements to replicate aa woman's hormones will not make you bones different in length? (Apologies for the very basic science but hopefully people get my drift). |
Aug 2019
1:55pm, 13 Aug 2019
4,930 posts
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jda
Simona Halep famously (well somewhat) had breast reduction surgery while a junior to improve her tennis. It would seem unlikely that she's the only one. Laser eye surgery (eg Tiger Woods) is apparently ok too, irrespective of whether these ops are considered justifiable for health reasons. So there's a male example too.
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Aug 2019
1:55pm, 13 Aug 2019
42,723 posts
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Velociraptor
Interestingly, one specific group in which transitioning from female to male is reported to be particularly prevalent is in those who have 5-alpha reductase deficiency, a condition in which someone is born with XY (male) chromosomes but without typical male external genitalia, and the condition it's widely believed affects Caster Semenya. It was conventional in the past to advise that these babies be raised as girls based on their external anatomy if the condition was recognised at all. However, if functioning testes are left in place these girls will go through a male puberty, and it's reported that more than half of those girls who go through a male puberty seek to transition from female to male. onlinelibrary.wiley.com I've seen one case in my working lifetime, just a few years ago, and the parents were advised that their little girl would be likely to have a smoother passage through puberty and to have a chance of being a fertile adult, if she was raised as a boy. |
Aug 2019
2:20pm, 13 Aug 2019
2,375 posts
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ThorntonRunner
bonners - my son is f->m. As a female he was playing cricket at women's county championship division 1 level, with and against current internationals (aged 14-15 he was in the England Women's Development Group - top 25 14-15 year olds in the country). As a male, he would be pretty anonymous (except for very good technique!) in club cricket. He's stopped playing at present because that difference takes the joy out of it for him. It's probably the one thing which is a real personal loss to him in transitioning, but he needed to transition so it something he's just had to accept. |
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Aug 2019
2:31pm, 13 Aug 2019
195 posts
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Love Lettuce
JDA - Simona Halep's breast reduction took her from a D to a B/C cup. It would make running more comfortable and potentially improve the range of motion on her swing if that had been impeded by her breasts previously (although I wouldn't expect a D cup to have caused too many problems). I'd class it as more of a quality of life improver rather than a performance enhancer.
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Aug 2019
2:37pm, 13 Aug 2019
6,443 posts
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Jovi Runner
jda - Laser eye surgery does not transition nyou from male to female which is what we are currently debating so is not comparable. If Tiger Woods transitioned from M_F then that would be more comparable.
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Aug 2019
2:41pm, 13 Aug 2019
6,444 posts
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Jovi Runner
V'rap - I am not medically trained so confess to not fully understanding so is the case you describe not a male/female with a sex characterstitc disorder (DSD?) rather than an emotional/physchological "feeling" of being in the wrong body? AS you say, you have seen only one such case in your medical career so it does seem rather unlikely that all the men currently transitioning to females have this disorder?
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Aug 2019
2:44pm, 13 Aug 2019
1,232 posts
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bonners
@jda, interesting, I do seem to recall that now. I'm not sure I'd put those things in the same category, but again, I guess it is entirely subjective. @thornton; cheers, that is really interesting. This is all really educational for me. Again, an entirely subjective view, but that ties in for me with the fact that I'm sure in the vast majority of cases this is not something people are doing for gain, it is something that is hugely difficult to do. Real shame for your son, but as you said, he needed to transition. |
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Aug 2019
2:48pm, 13 Aug 2019
4,933 posts
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jda
Jovi, I'm interested in what your solution would be.
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