I’m not sure how to explain this and I will probably garble it a bit. I am a cis person with absolutely no interest in participating in sports and no interest in watching sports.

But the “debate” about trans folks in athletics is truly exhausting me. I never realized before how uncomfortable I am with the separation of men and women into different sports teams, and all the hubbub about what hormones and height and body features should be “acceptable” is really upsetting to me. It’s just so much policing of people’s bodies. I think that is ultimately what makes me very uncomfortable with this as a topic of discussion.

I have no idea what it is that differentiates male athletes from female athletes. Somewhere along the way, folks said that men should compete against other men and women should compete against other women because it would be “unfair” for them to compete against each other. I truly do not know what accounts for these distinctions — whether the “male advantage” comes from having experienced an androgen-based puberty or if it comes from current testosterone levels or what.

And you know what? I don’t really care. Isn’t the point of sports to enjoy the pursuit of physical fitness and the “love of the game”? Does it really matter if one person has more testosterone or is taller than their teammate? I get it that some people depend on their athletic ability to get scholarships and whatnot….but that’s a whole other f*cked up ablest system, in my opinion.

Oh wow, now I don’t even know what is making me more angry — the policing of people’s bodies, the culture of college/professional sports, or both. I just feel genuinely sick with all this bs. Just let people play for the team that they identify with and let’s all have a good game.