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In reversal, James Talarico says he opposes trans athletes in girls’ sports “if it risks safety or fairness” (www.texastribune.org)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/texas@lemmy.world
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DALLAS — Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico on Wednesday said he opposed transgender student-athletes competing in girls’ sports “if it endangers safety or fairness,” reversing course on previous positions he took while in the Texas House opposing restrictions on trans athletes.

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[–] 12 points 1 month ago (4 children)

His answer is not reasonable in the slightest because he also implied that there are situations where transgender participation is 'unsafe', perpetuating the false and transphobic stereotype of transgender women being men trying to assault women.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    It's still a fake non-issue. I used to fall for the anti-trans propaganda because I do watch and have participated in women's contact sports, so I know how already inherently unsafe it is, and the only reason it does not matter is because the percentage of trans women in sports is negligible so it's exceedingly unlikely to be a problem. It's not a real issue that affects me or you, most likely, so there's no point in engaging with the hypothetical at all. Trans people deserve human rights, respect, dignity, and privacy, and sports organizations and schools should figure out their own rules that work for their own communities.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago*

    It's still a fake non-issue.

    Even if minute in terms of the number of athletes affected, each person that cannot participate is being denied equal participation in society. More broadly, the same people pushing to ban transgender sports participation are seeking to remove transgender recognition from society as a whole.

    Trans people deserve human rights, respect, dignity, and privacy, and sports organizations and schools should figure out their own rules that work for their own communities.

    Letting local communities selectively deny transgender people equal rights is not acceptable. Civil rights are not something that should be optional. No school or sporting organization in any state should be discriminating against transgender individuals in any capacity with respect to their gender identity.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    perpetuating the false and transphobic stereotype of transgender women being men trying to assault women.

    That is not at all what was said or what was being implied...

    Sports can be dangerous in and of themselves, which is why there is an entire field of sports medicine, as well as safety guildlines for just about every professional and amateur sports league that exists.

    It's not unreasonable to think that a circumstance could arise where two people of the same gender identity fall into radically different body weight/height classes. And in that circumstance it would not be safe or fair for those to people to compete. (This is why boxing, for example, is already broken up into weight classes.)

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