New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard won two gold medals at the recent Pacific Games. Hubbard, 41, was born as a bloke named Gavin. Laurel took double gold in the women’s over-87kg category at the Samoa 2019 games.
Some people feel that this is tantamount to cheating. If Gavin couldn’t win as a bloke, they say, then “ Laurel” might win in the women’s division.
Up until 2003, Gavin would have to have had his bits and pieces chopped off (also known as reassignment surgery) plus undergoing at least 2 years of hormone therapy in order to be eligible to compete. Now, surgery is no longer required.
Apparently, it is now all about testosterone and the Olympic Committee (IOC) criteria regarding testosterone levels for transgender athletes.
Bloke to blokette transgender athletes will need their testosterone level to be below 10 nanomols per litre of blood for at least one year before their first competition.
For simplicity’s sake, I will just refer to this as 10 or 5 or 2 for the rest of the article, otherwise it starts to read like a medical journal. I will also refer to testosterone as male hormone – well, that’s what my Mum said to do and she normally knows best.
Across the ditch, Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has been banned from swimming by the body Swimming Australia due to having the banned drug Ligandrol in her system. Apparently, Ligandrol is the closest thing to taking the male hormone without actually taking it. Whether Shayna Jack took the drug knowingly or unknowingly is still being investigated.
This brings me to Caster Semenya – a South African athlete who has lived her entire life as a woman but has XY chromosomes. As such, her male hormone levels are naturally much higher than most females like me who have only XX chromosomes.
Under the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) regulations, female athletes with high natural levels of the male hormone who wish to compete in events from 400m to a mile must medically limit that level to under 5, double the normal female range of below 2.
Semenya has said that she will not take medication to comply with the regulations.
What a pickle! So much talk of male hormones and so many rules … here is how it seems to me:
In a nutshell, if you are a bloke who wants to be a blokette, you can have up to 10 while you are still a bloke. If you are a woman who has a male chromosome you have to keep it below 5. The average woman has below 2.
My conclusion is that 10 is pretty generous, but maybe I am just being a right-wing, anti feminazi, transphobic old biddie, with nothing better to do than consider a fair go for all on a LEVEL playing field?
Why should Caster Semenya have to keep her level below 5 and Laurel Hubbard is allowed double because she is a bloke? Isn’t that just a tiny bit sexist, ladies?
This entire transgender issue is, in my opinion, destroying women’s sport. Who is benefitting from this insane imbalance of Human Rights?
When Jessica Yaniv, (previously Jonathan) a Canadian transgender demanded her “ bits and pieces “ be waxed at a women’s waxing salon, it almost sums up the absurdity of this whole situation. When the salon owner refused, saying that she did not wax scrotums, Jessica Yaniv made such a fuss that the salon owner ended up closing her business.
The owner is now being had up for a violation of Human Rights. What about the Human Rights of the poor bloody salon owner?
Rugby Australia committed suicide to appease the outraged anti-Christians. The American NFL destroyed its base to support Colin Kaepernick’s hatred of his nation’s flag. Women’s sport is now under threat of becoming the Transgender Affirmation League.
To me the answer is simple. One Rule for All. Testosterone levels for female athletes set at a standard 5.
Or, better still, how about a simple chromosome test?
As Dickens said in his novel “ A Tale of Two Cities “ It was the best of times and worst of times.
Sadly, we seem to be living in the perpetual worst of times and I wonder if we will ever see the best of times again?
Unless we can get back to a level playing field, sport is becoming less about having a sporting chance and more about redefining the old saying “ It isn’t cricket! “ Because having a bat and a couple of balls just isn’t cricket.
Let’s stop asking why? Why not? And start simply saying Y.
