A right to Win!

Wake up 6 am. It’s cold outside, the grey misty air wraps itself around me, as I walk to the bus station to go to the first practise of they day. I choke down the last of the bread, fighting the early morning nausea. I travel across the city in a squeaky bus, trying to catch up on some of the homework still undone for school. The tennis court I get to practise on today, is a school basketball gym, with tennis court lines painted on the extremely slippery wooden floor. It’s freezing inside, so I won’t take off my sweats almost until the end of practise. After practise, I take another bus to get to school. I bit late, but that’s almost ok. Teachers will give me a pass, because I represent the school in every sports competition imaginable. In recess I decline another invitation to a birthday party, dance or friends activity, because of yet another practice or a weekend tournament. It might even be a far away country, I have to fly alone to, to save money for my family. After 7 hours of lessons, I take another bus to get to the track and field gym to run laps, and lift weights. I admire, how runners, high jumpers and long jumpers stretch their long limbs and almost glide over the track with unimaginable speed and skill. I push harder on my workout, but not too heavy, because I still have another 2 hours of point play ahead of me on the tennis court. It’s now almost 7pm. Time to take the bus back to the house. I should use the hour to get some homework done for tomorrow, but at the comforting motion of a moving bus, I fall asleep. Exhausted from the day. I get home, devour my dinner, and start on homework, as I marble at the strength of my sister who tends to her bloody, deformed toes from her day as an inspiring prima ballerina. She will stay up much later than me, as she just got home from her brutal training day. Time to rest, as tomorrow I get to do this all over again.

There are millions of stories like this. Mine is nothing special. Days, months, years and decades filled with dicipline, sacrifice and determination to reach ones goal, as impossible as they may seem. To claim that spot of victory, of participation at the highest level, as competition to reach them is immense. After every lost match, or failed practise, choking thoughts of self-doubt creep up and are hard to swallow back down. Why didn’t I hit one more basket of balls…So stupid…What about my parents, and all the money and time they are sacrificing for this…I should wake up earlier, maybe that will get me the advantage next time. Maybe if I tried harder…I must not be good enough for this…

Now imagine that female athletes face all these challenges, yet determined and secretly hopeful, show up to the match, race, competition, look up and see that a former man stands at the start line, or across the field from her. Her stomach drops. That’s it then. There is nothing she can do. Today she will have to face a certain loss. But what about my goal, my dream, my hard work. They are telling her its ok if she loses, she is expected to, because well… Why? Because formerly he, now a she, has the preferred right to go and win this. Easily. Without the years of lonely, desperate, extremely grueling hours of work. His body will do it for him, as they are not equal in strength, speed, or athletic ability. Even if he is a she now.

I could quote the many scientific research papers, told and untold stories of female athletes, or just common sense, but simply put- it is unfair. It’s unfair to force biological female athletes to compete against biological males. Male physiology underpins their better athletic performance including increased muscle mass and strength, stronger bones, different skeletal structure, better adapted cardiorespiratory systems, and early developmental effects on brain networks that wires males to be inherently more competitive and aggressive. (cited from Alison. K. Heaters article. Link here) Men’s 100m world record is 9.58 sec by Usain Bolt, women’s 100m record is 10.49 by Florence Griffith-Joyner. That’s an incredible impressive time from Florence, unbeaten for over thirty years, yet it would not even qualify her to enter for mens 100m race.

For centuries any elite sport competition has been divided between two main categories: male and female. There is a reason for that. Why no female to male transgender athletes want to switch over then? A former girl, competing against men? Should be the same thing right. It is not! Because a former girl would have no chance to win. My husband, Hans, is a former high level tennis player. He left home at 16 years old to go travel the world, and play tournaments with almost no money to his name. The competition in professional tennis is so fierce, that the climb up the rankings was brutal. It took almost a decade, fighting for each match, to save up some money and reach an impressive top 40 in the world. We used to joke that instead of sleeping in train stations, and playing club matches for money to be able to go play professional tournaments, or driving 3 days straight to get to a match, and then lose, over and over again. All he had to do was call himself Hansina, tell everyone he is a she now, compete against women, win every single match, and bank millions of dollars. How incredible! But then again, who would do that?! It would not have been the same level of achievement for him, the same gratitude and satisfaction in his efforts, than fighting for his spot on the mens tour.

So when Lea Thomas, a transgender swimmer, wins a Division I swim meet with 9 seconds ahead of the rest, or when Alana McLaughlin, a transgender MMA fighter, almost kills her opponent in the ring, we really have to stop pretending that this is normal. Where are all the feminists now? The advocates for young girls to participate and excel in sports… It is not woke or honorable to take opportunities away from female athletes for no other reason than to be politically correct. My two year old daughter is already extremely athletic. I hope that one day she can excel in her chosen sport. However, if she is forced to compete against biological males, I will defend her right to win to the highest level!