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Jesse Powell
@jespow
We already acknowledge some limitations on the range of diversity acceptable to a meaningful contest. For the purposes of a foot race, what is a "girl"? Clearer definitions will help. No 3-legged runners, no cyborgs, no dogs who identify as human (you know who you are).
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The Washington Times
@WashTimes
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#Transgender sprinters finish 1st, 2nd at Connecticut girls indoor track championships washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/
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Zac Shaiken 🇺🇦
@ZacShaiken
This is a real question that sports need to answer. We studied caster semenya in one of my college courses "the science of gender and sexuality orientation" which was a fascinating review of peer reviewed research. Turns out not much is known even about widely accepted topics 1/2
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Zac Shaiken 🇺🇦
@ZacShaiken
For example, did you know that there isn't a clearly defined bisexual arousal pattern? We all believe bisexuality exists because people say it does, but the science hasn't captured what it means to be bisexual yet. On paper, bisexuality is a fluid point during transition. 2/2
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Jesse Powell
@jespow
Much is not known about the nature/nurture impact of non-binary genders. Categories for athletic contests can only be defined in terms of what is observable. MMA has 14 weight classes. You could go further and divide people up based on length of appendages, BMI, etc.
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Zac Shaiken 🇺🇦
@ZacShaiken
The nuance of these cases exists because there isn't a perfect scientific indicator of sex/gender. In the case of caster semenya, she was biologically female (had female genitals) but had elevated levels of testosterone, which can correlate with an athletic advantage.
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Zac Shaiken 🇺🇦
@ZacShaiken
This brings up a philosophical question of the extent to which society should strive for equitibility. I have no personal thoughts about this topic, I need to educate myself more.
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Jesse Powell
@jespow
The gender category in sports is a shortcut, with some obvious flaws. What is it really trying to accomplish? A combination of unstated expectations: that a "girl" will be on all metrics within some tolerance of the International Prototype Girl, as defined by the BIPM.
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