Cut From Yahoo News:
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Transsexuals were cleared Monday to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
Under a proposal approved by the IOC executive board, athletes who have undergone sex-change surgery will be eligible for the Olympics if their new gender has been legally recognized and they have gone through a minimum two-year period of postoperative hormone therapy.
The decision, which covers both male-to-female and female-to-male cases, goes into effect starting with the Athens Olympics in August.
The IOC had put off a decision in February, saying more time was needed to consider all the medical issues.
Some members had been concerned whether male-to-female transsexuals would have physical advantages competing against women.
Men have higher levels of testosterone and greater muscle-to-fat ratio and heart and lung capacity. However, doctors say, testosterone levels and muscle mass drop after hormone therapy and sex-change surgery.
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said the situation of transsexuals competing in high-level sports was "rare but becoming more common."
IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said no specific sports had been singled out by the ruling.
"Any sport may be touched by this problem," he said. "Until now, we didn't have any rules or regulations. We needed to establish some sort of policy."
Until 1999, the IOC conducted gender verification tests at the Olympics but the screenings were dropped before the 2000 Sydney Games.
One of the best known cases of transsexuals in sports involves Renee Richards, formerly Richard Raskind, who played on the women's tennis tour in the 1970s.
In March, Australia's Mianne Bagger became the first transsexual to play in a pro golf tournament.
Michelle Dumaresq, formerly Michael, has competed in mountain bike racing for Canada.
Richards, now a New York opthamologist, was surprised by the IOC decision and was against it. She said decisions on transsexuals should be made on an individual basis.
"Basically, I think they're making a wrong judgment here, although I would have loved to have that judgment made in my case in 1976," she said.
"They're probably looking for trouble down the line. There may be a true transsexual — not someone who's nuts and wants to make money — who will be a very good champion player, and it will be a young person, let's say a Jimmy Connors or a Tiger Woods, and then they'll have an unequal playing field.
"In some sports, the physical superiority of men over women is very significant."
Are you saying that you don't think a transexual (male to female) would have an advantage? Men are usually taller. A 2 year waiting period would not change this. They naturally have far more muscle mass. I'm not sure whether or not some remnants of their male muscle mass would remain after a 2 year wait. I guess time will tell. I personally have a BIG problem with it and think it is unfair. Let them have their own competition! Call it the He/She/It Games!;) No male/female division. I hope USMS will not follow suit.
Originally posted by LindsayNB
Would you also like to ban unusually tall women? Or tall muscular women? Would you be ok with a short skinny male to female transexual competing? It seems to me that we all vary in numerous ways, why is this one special? I don't understand the argument here.
Personally I doubt the issue will ever come up at the Olympic level but I think it would be a special shame if transexuals were not allowed to fully participate at the masters level.
No. I would not want to ban unusually tall or muscular women. I have been told I am both. BUT...I am a woman!! An unusually tall woman is far shorter than an unusually tall male!
Originally posted by lefty
The hormone levels of a transsexual female are approximately the same as a traditional female: if the transsexual female showed elevated levels, they would be disqualified like any other female. The advantage that a transsexual female could have is if they were able to carry forward the muscle mass that they developed as men. This is potentially mitigated by the 2 year post-opertive exclusionary period. The idea that this could be "abused" by someone who wants to make money is so out of left field. First it is doubtful that any doctor would perform the procedure if they suspected as much and second, how could you earn money doing this? Scorn, and raised eyebrows - sure. But money?
While most doctors are honest and honorable practitioners that take their hippocratic oath very seriously, there are doctors out there that would do a surgery to make money. No one has implied that a transexual would have the operation to make money. Swimmers usually don't make much money!...not enough to gamble on changing their sex!
Are you all afraid the Olympics will be overrun by transsexuals? What you are all foamed up about is this scenario:
A world class athlete decides they want to change sexes during their peak athletic period.
A world class athlete essentially has to quit training during this time for the surgery.
A world class athlete then has to take up training again and overcome all the changes and then requalify for the Olympics.
How many transexuals do you think will attend, 1 or 2 out of 10,000+ athletes?
Does anyone think Ben Johnson will get a *** job and then take Marion Jones' medals?
Bob, I agree! See my earlier posts. Aquageek...your're right. The scenario does seem far fetched. I just don't like the possibility even being there for someone to take advantage of.
Interesting...
1) I wonder what the # of transsexuals is who desire to compete, and are of sufficient ability to do so, at the upper levels of sport.
2) Has anyone addressed various mechanical abvantages that males have that would NOT be affected by hormones? For example, height. It seems that for swimming, basketball, volleyball, high jumping, etc, height is an advantage, all else being equal, and males tend to be taller than females. Also, men usually have narrower hips relative to leg length than women - this can be an advantage in things like racewalking (less of an arc through which to move one's legs).
Transsexual olympians, gay marriage... what fascinating times to live in.
-LBJ
Absolutely Leonard….an Olympic experience to say the least…where a person can actually go and watch his Mom... and.... his Dad compete in the same event, same lane, at the exact same time…how marvelous a time we truly live in…. Hey, maybe in a few more years we can clone a horse with a man and then the horse/man can compete as man….Ah, now their is a thought....the Mr. Ed of the Olympics….
Men are usually taller. A 2 year waiting period would not change this.
Would you also like to ban unusually tall women? Or tall muscular women? Would you be ok with a short skinny male to female transexual competing? It seems to me that we all vary in numerous ways, why is this one special? I don't understand the argument here.
Personally I doubt the issue will ever come up at the Olympic level but I think it would be a special shame if transexuals were not allowed to fully participate at the masters level.
Originally posted by swimr4life
Swimmers usually don't make much money!...not enough to gamble on changing their sex!
Well, swimmers also don't make enough money to risk endangering their health with drug use, so you could argue on that basis that drug testing for swimmers is unnecessary. But sometimes the gleam of Olympic gold can have attractions beyond any gleam of money that may be associated with it.
I thought I read somewhere that Flipper is really a man trapped in the body of a porpoise and would like to compete in Athens. As long as the IOC can be flexible about genotype and the presence or absence of a Y chromosome, I don't see why we should be hung up on a concept like species. Of course he'd still have to submit to drug testing like the other competitors.
