THE STREAM/ Michael Brown-
I want to focus on one word, and one word only. That word is fairness. Not gender. Not transgender. Not activism. Not rights. Not perception. Simply fairness. That’s the issue here, and that’s where we need to keep our focus.
The question is not why a man identifies as a woman (or vice versa).
The question is this: Is it fair for a biological male to compete against biological females?
Competing As a Woman
According to a story posted on Trib Live, a “A transgender woman [CeCe, formerly Craig, Telfer] who competed as a man as recently as last year won an NCAA women’s track national championship on Saturday.”
Yet, less than 18 months ago, in January, 2018, “Telfer finished eighth in a field of nine in the Men’s 400 meters at the Middlebury Winter Classic in Vermont.”
So, competing against fellow-males, Telfer was second to last in a field of nine. Now, competing against females, Telfer came in first in a field of eight. That’s quite a turnaround.
And Telfer did not simply win. He won decisively, finishing with a time of 57.53, more than one full second ahead of second-place finisher Minna Sveard, who ran a time of 59.21, edging out the third place finisher Sidney Trinidad, who finished in 59.29. (This picture says it all.)
So, instead of Sveard taking a first place, she ends up with a second place, despite training hard and running her best. The deck was simply stacked against her. Is that fair? Continue reading…
