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."
Originally posted by gull80
If the athlete is genetically a male (XY chromosomes) he should compete with the men. On the other hand, maybe we're too hung up on chromosomes. Perhaps we should enter a dolphin and kick some serious tail. I'm not a xenophobe and have no problem swimming against a fish (actually an aquatic mammal).
gull80, I couldn't have said it better myself!! Transgenderism is a choice. Even though I don't think it is "OK", it is an individual's choice to go through the surgery. To each his/her own. BUT, the fact remains that they are still genetically the same sex they were before the surgery!! I think sex in competition should be based on what you are GENETICALLY!
Call me politically "incorrect" if you want but, just as transgenders have their right to their opinions, I have every right to mine. I am not homophobic or transgenderphobic. I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE LIKE ME BEING MADE TO FEEL OPINIONPHOBIC........afraid to voice my opinion because I might offend someone! Yes, I'm traditional and old-fashioned. It doesn't mean that I should be made ashamed of my view and opinions. The silent majority should be able to voice their opinions too!
right on aquageek....im gonna gate crash that party...but i'll have to find some circumcision scissors if i'm ever gonna fit in...(disclamation notification writen by sparx's lawyer :any content written herein during divulgence therein whomesoever discruntated without any dispromacavated response however caused throughout the former said"sparx" and without affecting statutory,ethical ,euro pro,racist unorthodox practices ,sexist and any other sect requiring the persecution,prosecution,downfall,etc...etc...etc of the aforementioned sparx is null and void!!!!!)
Originally posted by LindsayNB We ban performance enhancing drugs because they have adverse health effects not because they enhance performance, otherwise we would ban vitamins, ordinary supplements, and healthy living.
I respectfully disagree. Performance enhancing drugs DO truly effect performance. It is CHEATING. Swimming regularly, eating a healthy diet, taking vitamins are not cheating. Comparing vitamins to steroids is not a valid point.
I realize Lindsay was trying to make a point of contrasting vitamins and steroids. I didn't choose the right words. Performance-enhancing drugs DO enhance performance. Yes, they harm the user's health in the long run. There are MANY athletes that don't care about how it effects their bodies in the future. They just want to succeed NOW at any cost. My point is that vitamins, healthy living, etc...are not cheating. Steroids, sex changes, blood doping..etc ARE cheating due to obvious improvements in performance.
Originally posted by lefty
The reason that steroids are banned is because of the health effects. If the IOC allowed steroid use, anyone who was not willing to (permanently) harm their body would be at a disadvantage.
Very good point. This same rationale can be applied to transgenderism...."anyone not willing to harm their body would be at a disadvantage." Am I the only female that has a problem with this?
exrunner, WOW...very good,thought provoking points. The lines will definitely be muddled. That is why I think the "you are what your genes say you are" rule is the best, clear way to decide this.
Originally posted by LindsayNB
By definition cheating is breaking the rules, if the rules permit a male to female transexuals to swim as a female then that is not cheating. My point is that the status quo is not an end in itself, the rules were designed to serve goals. Steroids are not banned because they enhance performance, they are banned because they have adverse effects on your health and we don't want people to have to ruin their health in order to be competative. (quote)
Which is why I think the new rule allowing transgender, especially male to female, is wrong. They should not be allowed to compete with genetic women! I believe it is cheating and has long lasting effects on a swimmer's health! I noticed that most of the posters that are "fine" with this are men. I wonder how you would feel about this issue if you were a woman.
They would be excluded because they would have an unfair advantage. PERIOD! The more this topic is expanded, the more this fact is being twisted and turned into a totally different direction.
