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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Women aren't men minus puberty

32 replies

IamThereforeIdontIdentify · 05/03/2019 10:54

The discussion about men in women's sports is opening the door - wide - for boys who had had puberty blockers to take part in women's sports. The discussion about male puberty being something that is not undone by reducing sportsmen's levels of testosterone is valid and important. But there's something missing too.

I don't know how to address it, which is why I'm posting here, but female puberty isn't what happens in the absence of male puberty. The changes women's bodies go through surely also need to be framed as a) positive b) separate and valid in their own right and c) unachievable by simply avoiding male puberty.

Even a change in the language would be welcome (by me Smile) not framing the adult male form as the standard, which seems to be increasingly common when sports are discussed. I do realise that most sports were actually developed for men, which doesn't help.

But does anybody see what I mean and/or have ideas about any of this?

Going back to the puberty blockers, I guess it's possible that male teens/adults who've taken hormone blockers and cross sex hormones will not have the physical capacity to compete against girls who've gone through normal development. Which is sad in the physical implications of that for the teens/adults themselves. But at the moment I think it's fair to assume that in the next five years we'll start seeing these kids assuming they can join women's sports because their puberty has been blocked and our arguments about going through male puberty being an advantage will need to be unpicked.

OP posts:
MagicMix · 05/03/2019 11:17

You're completely right. Women are not defective men.

We are quite commonly presented as 'men -', rather than a positive value in our own right. A lot of people also seem to think 'man - penis = basically a woman'.

Babdoc · 05/03/2019 11:15

We could solve the sports problem very easily. We already have a Paralympics.
Simply arrange a Translympics.
These people can then compete against each other, without injuring female athletes or using male bodies to cheat in women’s events and set impossible records.
Judging by the numbers invading women’s sport at present, there would certainly soon be enough for a separate competition.

Iused2BanOptimist · 05/03/2019 11:13

Hb levels are the whole point of blood doping (which is banned).

GregoryPeckingDuck · 05/03/2019 11:12

So are you hoping to frame female puberty as a disadvantage of sorts? But even within that you have so much varriation.

IamThereforeIdontIdentify · 05/03/2019 11:09

Pushed send too soon!

I don't know what the difference would be in real terms to the sex level differences though.

OP posts:
IamThereforeIdontIdentify · 05/03/2019 11:08

I heard Paula Radcliffe mention them this morning too - hadn't heard that before.

OP posts:
Iused2BanOptimist · 05/03/2019 11:04

I have also heard differences in haemoglobin loosely mentioned if at all. But women have a lower Hb due to menstruation and Hb carries oxygen so it's rather a big deal actually.

Women aren't men minus puberty
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