Right, yeah. So this happened. Remember Fallon Fox? Remember I was going to write about her? Lucky days, Ducks, I’m actually keeping a promise.
I don’t much go for the ultimate fighting; about the only fighting I do of late is with polyhedral dice, which don’t hurt anybody. (Except the d4; that nasty little tetrahedron is the gaming geek’s caltrop of choice.) The one martial art I studied was the one with no attacks.
But now comes Fallon Fox to the bar. Or octagon. There’s something geometric involved. (Maybe a d4. Ouch!) So it turns out, she is trans! And a fighter in Mixed Martial Arts.
Of course, she didn’t set out to be a trans fighter in Mixed Martial Arts. She’s a female fighter in Mixed Martial Arts.
According to most people.
Maybe not Steve Crowder. (O my ducks, beware, for that link goes to Fox…)
Unless you were born and raised a woman, you don’t go around hitting chicks.
It’s only natural for human beings to get squeamish at the sight of a lifelong male pummeling dames mercilessly, but it’s not an argument. So let’s use a scientific one! Surprisingly, human biology is not the homophobic, intrinsically anti-transgender medium that leftists would have you believe.
So let’s assume for a second that one can completely change their genetics (rather than the likely reality of having merely pushed certain, inconvenient gene expressions at bay) after having Bobbitt’d their wiener. It is still undeniable that for this person’s entire life, that he had the hormonal profile and capabilities of a man. This is of course to say nothing of the ligaments, bone density and overall musculature that has been built over a lifetime of… well, being a man. Let’s just talk hormones for a second.
Well! Biology may not be homophobic, but I know somebody who is.
So let’s assume for a second that one can completely change their genetics (rather than the likely reality of having merely pushed certain, inconvenient gene expressions at bay) after having Bobbitt’d their wiener. It is still undeniable that for this person’s entire life, that he had the hormonal profile and capabilities of a man. This is of course to say nothing of the ligaments, bone density and overall musculature that has been built over a lifetime of… well, being a man. Let’s just talk hormones for a secondWell! I think I just threw up in my mouth, which is still a more pleasant image than the ones Steve fed you.
I won’t keep the Fox regurgita…right, forget I said that. I’m going to stop quoting now. The rest is as bad, talks about musculature, and the amount of hormones in your body. Even if we were to posit any of that to be true (and it’s a bit dubious), let’s check two things:
- Ms. Fox has a body that is currently no more capable of producing testosterone than any other woman’s.
- Ms. Fox has been that way for more than two years.
Which is, you know, good enough for the International Olympic Committee!
Look, folks, I get it: this is controversial, even among us, the trans. There are many reasons why you might not want to compete in women’s sports, provided the you in this sentence is a woman of trans experience. Were the world as we wish it to be, and there was equality between all, well, then, no worries. But it ain’t. There are very good reasons for women to still have segregated sports, and segregated spaces. Though it needn’t have to be this way; I remain unconvinced that there isn’t a woman anywhere in the world, no matter what her path to womanhood was, who couldn’t learn to throw a knuckler well enough to pitch at least long relief, or pass well enough to play point guard for five minutes, or goalie for sixty. I myself would do away with segregation by gender and just go with rational divisions like weight class or fastball speed, or acting ability if you like soccer. (Meryl Streep could make any side in Europe a contender! I kid, folks, I love the beautiful game.)
What isn’t a good reason is the crass, knee-jerk, gender essentialism of folks like Steverino up there (sadly mirrored, sometimes, by folks on what should be the side of the angels. Or cupcakes, if like me you don’t believe in angels.) Nobody should beat up on anybody, male or female, is what I says; unless, of course, everyone’s signed up for it in some polygon of some kind.
And for the record, taken with a large amount of salt, and the realization that I eat like crap and have had a milestone birthday in between: I am a shade of what I used to be able to do, prehormones. It’s damn near impossible for me to keep my weight down, let alone lower it. Things that I used to lift without even thinking about it are now major problems sure to cause me pain down the road. I walk slower, breathe heavier, and if anything my larger frame is a hindrance, because I lack the muscles to push it around.
It’s been four years now since my own surgery. Food for thought.