Our presentation today was about transgender athletes and our discussion largely focused on the difficulties that female athletes face when they are forced to compete with biological male athletes who are choosing to compete against them, but what about the female athlete who identifies as a a male, but is forced to compete against girls because of a “birth certificate law?”
Meet Mack Beggs – “Mack Wrestles” is an ESPN 30 for 30 short that tells the story of a wrestler who was assigned female at birth, and because of Texas law, was forced to compete against girls in spite of his transition, which included steroid and hormone replacement therapy beginning his sophomore year in high school. Beggs asked to compete in the boys’ division, but the rules required him to wrestle in the girls’ division.
Since winning back-to-back Texas high school state championships, he has since had “top surgery” in his transition process and has had his birth certificate reissued in the state of Texas. He is a student athlete at Life University in Georgia and is will be wrestling this year on the men’s team.
We asked lots of questions, but didn’t come up with many answers, and I think that’s the point of an ethics class. Some things are simple and straightforward, while others are more complicated. This is an issue that is coming at us quickly, and as we continue to examine it, it is going to get messier. I think it’s like JB said – we’re just not ready!
How do the needs of the many compare to the needs of the few? Which takes precedence? How do we preserve a balance? Competition is part of our natures, so how do we try to preserve a level playing field? Do we divide by gender, weight, height? Are there other ways to classify human beings to try and keep things “fair”? Is there any such thing as fair?
https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/article226444165.html
IDS 102 - Ethics 