The writer seems to be earnest and well-intentioned. Everything he says makes perfect sense, and most reasonable people will likely agree. But he doesn’t seem to understand the core issue at stake, or why this subject is so contentious. The runners who wish to register in a marathon in a “non-binary” category will not read his essay, slap their foreheads and exclaim, “Oh, ok, NOW I get it! Thanks so much for the explanation. No prob, I’ll just compete in my sex category!” Not one of them will say that. Because they believe their self-defined gender identity should trump biological truth in the public sphere. That is the whole point! They believe the rest of society should “affirm” what THEY believe (or in some cases simply what they claim to believe) to be true about who they are. So often this happens at the expense of others, especially women. “Non-binary” is not an actual biological category. It is a belief. People get to believe what they believe, and people believe a lot of bizarre stuff. A healthy society makes room for people to hold different beliefs. But if a Scientologist came to a marathon demanding to compete in a “thetan” category because he believes his true spiritual self is a thetan, there would be no need for an essay explaining why that should not happen. When institutions such as the Boston Marathon cave to such nonsense, only unfairness results. Even worse: truth itself is violated in the public sphere.
PS: I looked up more about thetans. Also parallel to the idea of being non-binary, Scientologists believe their real selves (thetans) are sexless. But like most religious people, Scientologists do not go around claiming they are neither male nor female. They check the correct box when they go to the doctor, because they want good medical care. Maybe they think they are really and truly sexless in their essence, I don't know, but they live in the world of agreement shared with the rest of us. They don't demand special accommodation for their beliefs which are not based in physical reality.
Na, thetans would simply be another example of 'other'. Sometimes the best defense against nonsense it to wholeheartedly support it. Resistance fires up the SJW, no? Far better to give them exactly what they want, and indeed take it to its logical limit.
I disagree. Let them have the 'other' category where there are no rules at all least someone be offended. So long as there are categories for real men and real women, the 'other' category will be of interest only to a very few freaks and it could have some comedic value to boot. I'd like to see drag queens running in full regalia. Someone might enter a horse who identifies as a human. Let them make fools of themselves.
The author writes that the purpose of these competitive divisions is to make comparisons fair, but also states that receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy confers an unfair competitive advantage. He states that these divisions allow apples to apples comparisons, and he clearly wants badly to preserve the most narrowly defined divisions possible. But some athletes, either naturally or as a result of the physiological response to hormone therapy, don't fit neatly into an existing apple mold. The author does not want them to expand the existing categories. So the obvious solution is to allow such athletes to compete against each other.
The writer seems to be earnest and well-intentioned. Everything he says makes perfect sense, and most reasonable people will likely agree. But he doesn’t seem to understand the core issue at stake, or why this subject is so contentious. The runners who wish to register in a marathon in a “non-binary” category will not read his essay, slap their foreheads and exclaim, “Oh, ok, NOW I get it! Thanks so much for the explanation. No prob, I’ll just compete in my sex category!” Not one of them will say that. Because they believe their self-defined gender identity should trump biological truth in the public sphere. That is the whole point! They believe the rest of society should “affirm” what THEY believe (or in some cases simply what they claim to believe) to be true about who they are. So often this happens at the expense of others, especially women. “Non-binary” is not an actual biological category. It is a belief. People get to believe what they believe, and people believe a lot of bizarre stuff. A healthy society makes room for people to hold different beliefs. But if a Scientologist came to a marathon demanding to compete in a “thetan” category because he believes his true spiritual self is a thetan, there would be no need for an essay explaining why that should not happen. When institutions such as the Boston Marathon cave to such nonsense, only unfairness results. Even worse: truth itself is violated in the public sphere.
PS: I looked up more about thetans. Also parallel to the idea of being non-binary, Scientologists believe their real selves (thetans) are sexless. But like most religious people, Scientologists do not go around claiming they are neither male nor female. They check the correct box when they go to the doctor, because they want good medical care. Maybe they think they are really and truly sexless in their essence, I don't know, but they live in the world of agreement shared with the rest of us. They don't demand special accommodation for their beliefs which are not based in physical reality.
Na, thetans would simply be another example of 'other'. Sometimes the best defense against nonsense it to wholeheartedly support it. Resistance fires up the SJW, no? Far better to give them exactly what they want, and indeed take it to its logical limit.
I disagree. Let them have the 'other' category where there are no rules at all least someone be offended. So long as there are categories for real men and real women, the 'other' category will be of interest only to a very few freaks and it could have some comedic value to boot. I'd like to see drag queens running in full regalia. Someone might enter a horse who identifies as a human. Let them make fools of themselves.
Why limit the restriction to 'elite sports' alone? Why not all female sports?
The author writes that the purpose of these competitive divisions is to make comparisons fair, but also states that receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy confers an unfair competitive advantage. He states that these divisions allow apples to apples comparisons, and he clearly wants badly to preserve the most narrowly defined divisions possible. But some athletes, either naturally or as a result of the physiological response to hormone therapy, don't fit neatly into an existing apple mold. The author does not want them to expand the existing categories. So the obvious solution is to allow such athletes to compete against each other.