Recently, Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics (WA), stated that transgender women that have gone through male puberty would be prohibited from competing in women's sports. For those of you who don't know, the WA is an international governing body for athletic sports, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running.
I thought that this was a fair decision for obvious reasons, but apparently there is some backlash from human rights groups. The WA gave the following as an explanation:
However, CNN disputed the science in the same article:
For Debate:
1. Is it discrimination or wrong in any way to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports? What does the science say?
2. Assuming there is a good answer, how can this issue be resolved?
I am thinking that a blanket ban on transgender or allowing them all without conditions might be the extreme positions. I could be wrong. Let's discuss!
I thought that this was a fair decision for obvious reasons, but apparently there is some backlash from human rights groups. The WA gave the following as an explanation:
Source: CNNIn a statement to CNN on Friday, WA said: “The science shows that anyone who has gone through male puberty retains male anatomical differences that provide an athletic advantage.
“The World Athletics Council was unwilling to compromise the integrity of the female category without evidence that these male advantages can be ameliorated.
However, CNN disputed the science in the same article:
Advocates of banning transgender women from women’s sport have argued that transgender women have a physical advantage over cisgender women in sports.
But the mainstream science does not support that conclusion. A 2017 report in the journal Sports Medicine that reviewed several related studies found “no direct or consistent research” on trans people having an athletic advantage over their cisgender peers, and critics say the bans add to the discrimination trans people face.
Debate in the scientific community about whether androgenic hormones like testosterone serve as useful markers of athletic advantage remains ongoing.
For Debate:
1. Is it discrimination or wrong in any way to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports? What does the science say?
2. Assuming there is a good answer, how can this issue be resolved?
I am thinking that a blanket ban on transgender or allowing them all without conditions might be the extreme positions. I could be wrong. Let's discuss!
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