Transgender Teenager Wins Texas State Wrestling Championship

[ClydeR]

A transgender teenager won a Texas state title for girls wrestling on Saturday — even though the wrestler, 17-year-old Mack Beggs, identifies as a boy.

More... (http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/transgender-wrestler-wins-texas-title-amid-debate-over-fairness-n725896)


Instead, much of the focus was on Mack, who is transitioning from female to male and is taking testosterone. Mack would have preferred to be wrestling boys, but state policy forced him to compete according to the gender listed on his birth certificate.


The state allows steroids if they're used for valid medical purposes.


Should they change the rules to require this wrestler to compete against boys? If so, should the student still be required to use the girls' bathroom in Texas? The Trump administration, as you have undoubtedly heard, weighed in on the toilet wars (http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2017/02/trump-and-toilet-wars) last week, reversing an Obama administration policy that would have required public schools to allow students to use the bathroom that corresponds to the student's "gender identity."

[Gelston]

It is a girl on steroids competing against girls not on them, basically. I don't think she should have been allowed to compete at all while on those drugs.

[Parkbandit]

It is a girl on steroids competing against girls not on them, basically. I don't think she should have been allowed to compete at all while on those drugs.

Can't have it both ways.. unless you believe he/she shouldn't be able to compete against any sex?

[Gelston]

Can't have it both ways.. unless you believe he/she shouldn't be able to compete against any sex?

.... I said no competition PERIOD while on steroids.

[Androidpk]

Legalize steroids. Problem solved.

[Gelston]

Legalize steroids. Problem solved.

While I don't care for professional, I don't agree with that for teenage amateur sports.

[chalion]

.... I said no competition PERIOD while on steroids.

I'm sure shes not having her period if shes jacked up on steriods.

[Tgo01]

Kind of odd that steroids are allowed for any reason. Is it any secret that steroids gives people an unfair advantage in sports such as this?

I realize he/she is taking them for medical reasons but sometimes life isn't fair.

[chalion]

Women don't naturally generate as much test as men do. So part of the transition process is to supplement that test production with artificial means. This will subdue the natural estrogen production and the body will start to undergo the secondary traits of puberty that men do, hair growth, deep voice etc. She's aware it gives her an unfair advantage against other women, she doesnt want to wrestle women, she wants to wrestle men who she is now more on par with.
It is a tangle of interesting questions. All other things taken out, could an artificial testosterone using biological female gain an advantage over the same age bracket post-puberty male?

[Kembal]

Kind of odd that steroids are allowed for any reason. Is it any secret that steroids gives people an unfair advantage in sports such as this?

I realize he/she is taking them for medical reasons but sometimes life isn't fair.

You know, I haven't heard this angle in the reporting here locally (shouldn't have been able to compete at all) - everything I read/heard was that he should've been made to compete against boys. Which makes me think the UIL (governs Texas high school sports) must've okayed it somehow. I don't know what the basis for that is.

[Gelston]

Women don't naturally generate as much test as men do. So part of the transition process is to supplement that test production with artificial means. This will subdue the natural estrogen production and the body will start to undergo the secondary traits of puberty that men do, hair growth, deep voice etc. She's aware it gives her an unfair advantage against other women, she doesnt want to wrestle women, she wants to wrestle men who she is now more on par with.
It is a tangle of interesting questions. All other things taken out, could an artificial testosterone using biological female gain an advantage over the same age bracket post-puberty male?

I understand that, but that would open the door for men wrestling women, who would naturally have an unfair advantage. Maybe if they made a trans league one day or something, but I like how Texas does it. You wrestle as what your birth certificate says you are.

[Tgo01]

She's aware it gives her an unfair advantage against other women, she doesnt want to wrestle women, she wants to wrestle men who she is now more on par with.

I understand that but if they allowed it then surely they would have to allow boys who are just starting to transition into girls to be able to compete against girls, where the person will have a natural advantage.

The only real fair way to handle this is to not allow them to compete at all, which sounds harsh but what other choice is there? Otherwise you are bound to screw over people who are not taking drugs that makes them better athletes or people who have a natural advantage because of the way they were born.

[chalion]

Yeah, I can't find anything either way on estrogen therapy negatively affecting muscle mass/growth enough to not give a biologically born male an advantage. I think almost all sports will give the edge to testosterone production, naturally or artificially. Until we all have to build our own robot bodies to compete for us.

[Enuch]

Isn't wrestling done by weight class? I don't know drastically different the strength balance would be but I feel like a jacked 155 female wrestling a jacked 155 male could be fairly even, especially if technique is sound. A 135 chick versus a 185 dude isn't going to go well but neither would a 135 male. I am sure there is some merit to the argument but I think it could be more fair than we give it credit

[Gelston]

Isn't wrestling done by weight class? I don't know drastically different the strength balance would be but I feel like a jacked 155 female wrestling a jacked 155 male could be fairly even, especially if technique is sound. A 135 chick versus a 185 dude isn't going to go well but neither would a 135 male. I am sure there is some merit to the argument but I think it could be more fair than we give it credit

Men are still built naturally stronger even at the same weight. Men in general have more muscle mass. Even at the same weight, the man is going to have more muscle.

[Tgo01]

Isn't wrestling done by weight class? I don't know drastically different the strength balance would be but I feel like a jacked 155 female wrestling a jacked 155 male could be fairly even, especially if technique is sound. A 135 chick versus a 185 dude isn't going to go well but neither would a 135 male. I am sure there is some merit to the argument but I think it could be more fair than we give it credit

Women naturally have more body fat than guys, you know with boobs and all.

Typical male athlete has 9% body fat, typical female athlete has 17% body fat.

The absolute minimum body fat a female should have is around 10%, whereas a man can go all the way down to 2%.

[Enuch]

Could this overwhelming support the male dominating in the same weight class or does technique play a factor? I would be interested to see if there has been a study done because I bet at the amateur level it could have some merit. Key word being some.

[Gelston]

Could this overwhelming support the male dominating in the same weight class or does technique play a factor? I would be interested to see if there has been a study done because I bet at the amateur level it could have some merit. Key word being some.

Technique definitely plays a factor, but technique can be taught. Muscle mass just is.

[Shaps]

Women naturally have more body fat than guys, you know with boobs and all.

Typical male athlete has 9% body fat, typical female athlete has 17% body fat.

The absolute minimum body fat a female should have is around 10%, whereas a man can go all the way down to 2%.

How dare you say men and women are different. They are equal in all ways. Damn sexist.

[drauz]

Reminds me of this.

https://pics.onsizzle.com/Facebook-c98cbc.png

[Taernath]

Isn't wrestling done by weight class? I don't know drastically different the strength balance would be but I feel like a jacked 155 female wrestling a jacked 155 male could be fairly even, especially if technique is sound. A 135 chick versus a 185 dude isn't going to go well but neither would a 135 male. I am sure there is some merit to the argument but I think it could be more fair than we give it credit

When I was in high school there was no female wrestling team, but one girl kicked and screamed until they let her wrestle in the men's lowest weight class. She got smoked really easily, then claimed the other guy touched her inappropriately during their match. That's certainly not going to be universal (see: Billie Jean King), but there's a reason almost no sports, particularly contact sports, have mixed sex matches.