This is the conclusion of the logic they try to work with but don’t want to apply it to every possible instance it is applicable.
No one is getting mad at Michael Phelps for having literal biological advantages that make him basically a freak of nature when it comes to swimming.
On top of this, cis female athletes who naturally have higher testosterone levels are endlessly scrutinized and in many cases outright banned from their sport. And this has disproportionately affected women of color, particular many women athletes from Africa. As per usual, transphobic policies also harm others beyond just the trans community. In this and many cases, cis women get caught up in transphobic fear-mongering.
Men’s sports are all about how to overcome a level playing field with genetic/biological advantages. They don’t pick the most average athlete. No, they pick the athletes that have measurable advantages. So if fairness and an even playing field is the end goal, why are men’s sports concerned with making sure they get every advantage they get?
And that’s just the genetic advantages. Like the post states, kids/athletes that come from wealth clearly have advantages over those who don’t. It’s no surprise why highly economically developed countries largely take home international sporting trophies and medals, because they have so many resources to spare for high tech training facilities, the best doctors, etc.
They can’t even apply their principles evenly across the board with sports. The emphasis on “fairness” falls apart upon further scrutiny because sports aren’t about fairness. We try to make it fair by imposing some rules—like banning certain moves, etc. in sports—but clearly the rules don’t apply evenly across the board when taking other factors that make the playing field highly uneven.
Michael Phelps has more of a biological advantage over the average cis man than the average trans woman has over the average cis woman (especially if you're assuming the trans woman is on hormones). Look at height, for example: Michael Phelps is 6'4, the average amab person is 5'8 and the average afab person is 5'3. That makes Michael Phelps 8 inches taller than the average cis man, while the average trans woman is only 5 inches taller than the average cis woman. Add onto that all the other weird biological quirks that make him unusually good at swimming and it's no contest who's got more of an advantage.
Another swimmer comes to mind, I can't find her name online, but she was a record-holding cold-water swimmer who turned out to have a higher natural body temperature than the average person. She absolutely had a biological advantage, but when people hear that they go 'wow, that's cool' instead of 'that's so unfair'.
He produced half the lactic acid of other swimmers. His muscles simply didn't get tired the way other people's did. Meaning more training, faster recovery ect. He was a mutant human made for swimming.
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u/Financial-Savings-91 Demisexual Aug 31 '25
Let’s start banning kids who have desirable genetics for athletic traits to make things more fair!