Skeptic.com: The Contradiction at the Heart of Gender Debates

Over at Skeptic.com(*), we find an article titled "The Contradiction at the Heart of Gender Debates".   This is one of those cases of the author writing something which is so far out of their expertise that they completely mischaracterize things.  To be fair to the author, their bio states that they are a PhD Geologist - that's nothing to sneeze at.  But, it doesn't exactly make them overly qualified to opine on the issues around gender dysphoria and its treatment. 

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Understanding Trans People in Sport and the Panic Legislation Over It

Much has been made about transgender women (trans women) participating in sports - competitive and recreational.  Unfortunately much of the panic is unjustified, and efforts such as those of the Alberta Government to ban trans women from sports is horribly misguided.  

The expressed fear is that because a transgender woman is assumed to have male characteristics that would provide an "unfair advantage" in sports (or in some contexts, might actually present a danger to other athletes in the field. 

In this essay, I will explore the research literature and its current limitations, as well as the policy objectives related to government involvement in sports and recreation.  Spoiler:  It's not simple, and anyone who tells you that based on one attribute or another that a ban is justified, is kidding themselves.