• naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    9 months ago

    It’s ok, you’re right although the subtext of the thing is “are trans women beating cis women at a statistically anomalous rate” and so individual medals are really the matter at hand is all I mean to point out. I also made no claim no trans women had won, rather that there is no flood of medalists. There’s like that weight lifting woman that went from high men’s rankings to flunking all her lifts after HRT for example. Which based on what we know of estrogen aromatisation and T effects on metabolism is what we’d expect really.

    The trans “movement” is not new actually. you know that famous picture of the Nazi book burning? Guess what they were burning. We’ve been documented and treated in western medicine for at least 100 years. Other cultures have their own understandings of gender and analogous things go back to before we have records.

    So if you want to talk about chromosomes talk about chromosomes but I have to ask why? I get the impression you’re largely ignorant of endocrinology. Please correct me if I’m wrong here, I only know what I had to learn plus a couple of textbooks casual reading. Chromosomes don’t determine shit. Genes in chromosomes may cause (and usually do) expression of certain proteins which may cause (and usually do) expression of certain hormones, which again usually cause tissue changes. Stuff like getting jacked doesn’t happen because Y chromosome, it happens because androgenic hormones like T and DHT bond with receptors in specific tissues causing metabolic changes. Cis women generally have higher T and DHT than trans women (because E and T aromatise into each other and T makes DHT, trans women usually take antagonists for T [an antagonist is a chemical that fits into a slot but not in the correct way to activate the slot. Blocking the activation by the intended hormone/drug]).

    Normally none of this matters tremendously, unless you’re say on hormonal birth control, treating male pattern baldness, trans, have insensitivity disorders or whatever. Then all the wonderful and terrible subtly of what causes human sexual characteristic expression does matter. So if we’re concerned about muscle mass chromosomes don’t matter, as someone who was XY but completely insensitive to androgens (rare but hard to say how rare specifically since most people don’t get gene sequenced) is indistinguishable from a cis woman unless we examine the statistics of children she births if she does. Or for a trans woman who has undergone HRT for some period longer than the lifetime of muscle cells such that the muscles have all been replaced under normal female conditions chromosomes also don’t matter.

    I am only trained in physics, I will not speculate on the inner lives of penguines. I am not sure of penguins are offered HRT, or how hormones in penguins and sexual expression work. I suggest you ask a domain expert if such a person exists. If we have a batch of penguines with various sex hormone interventions active and they are analogous to primate sex hormones then I would be comfortable endorsing nuanced and specific language. If there is anything applicable from physics I have learned it’s that the universe is staggeringly complex.

    I am not an expert on all sport. I think things should be determined with sensitivity to their context and according to evidence. E.g. sports where muscle mass matters a lot should probably have hormone level monitoring for all participants for a couple of years prior to catch both unusual health conditions and cheating or something whereas other sports timelines and requirements may be different. I am not an expert, it would be utterly ridiculous for me to suggest definitive guidelines.

    • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
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      9 months ago

      I was referring to the modern trans movement that is allowing people who were born with penises to compete in leagues that, until recently, were exclusively for people who were born with vaginas. That is a new movement. It is not something that the nazis were burning books about so far as I know.

      It is clear that you have done some research into biology, it is impressive. It is surprising to me that microchimerism isn’t brought up more in these sorts of conversations. This is when someone is born with one or more organs that have different chromosomes than the majority of their body. For instance, an xx brain while the rest of their body is xy. This can go both ways, but it is more common for a human xx to have organs that are xy due to stem cells from their babies getting into the organs of the mother.

      So far as penguins go, I actually do happen to know that penguins that are born with mismatching chromosomes are genetically able to lay eggs, and those with matching chromosomes are the ones that provide the sperm. This is opposite to how it is in humans. However, similarly to humans, the males(matching chromosomes) are generally larger and stronger than the females(mismatching). By the way, I don’t claim to know the inner worlds or experiences of the penguins when I say male/female, this is just a shorthand that is used in scientific literature to describe someone who produces eggs or sperm. It is common in linguistics for common concepts to be shortened over the evolution of the language.

      I’ve enjoyed talking with you, and as a result of our conversation, I have just learned something interesting. It seems the Olympics have changed their rules dramatically in 2022 and made it so that trans women who have gone through male puberty are not allowed to compete as women, so it seems that for now there will likely not be any trans women winning any medals after all. Not because they are less capable, but just because they are vastly outnumbered. Lia Thomas(swimmer) has been beating the competition by entire body lengths, nearly unheard of in her sport, but since she went through male puberty, she will very likely not be allowed to compete.

      Unrelated, but I have faith in your ability to eventually get that pull-up! I’m no coach, but I would like to pass on an idea that I’ve heard before that may or may not be of some benefit. Get yourself a chair under the bar so that you can get to chin up position with the bar just by standing, then kick the chair out of the way and try to resist the gravity as much as you can. You can see your progress over time in how long you can keep yourself up before being in a completely dangling position. It can be motivating to get to see your progress instead of just being stuck at exactly 0 pull-ups. I’m sure you got it in you!

      • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        9 months ago

        For honesty’s sake I have not enjoyed talking with you, I have consumed about 2 L of port and missed a night’s sleep coping with the stress.

        • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
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          9 months ago

          Alright, well, I suppose that should be our sign to call it quits. I hope every good thing imaginable will happen to you. I honestly believe that life for trans people is going to continue on this recent upward trend for quite some time.

          All that port isn’t helping your upper body strength, I imagine! Willpower is a muscle that runs through everything you do. Exercise it! (Or don’t… it’s your life after all, live how you want to!)

          Never forget how incredible, undoubtedly amazing you are!

            • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              9 months ago

              They’re awful. But online comments aren’t about the hardline conservatives, they’re about people who might see dissent to reactionary views and start asking questions.

              Ugh I fucking hate it though. “Debate me, debate me no I won’t do independent research that challenges my biases debate me now or I’ll voice a stance against you undefended”. They’re vegan and I think a woman too, so you fucking know they’d be exhausted if someone started doing this to them about either of those things.

              Alas, that’s the problem. Empathy is often too weak, intersectional solidarity is necessary. Until every cage and every chain is broken we’re just all damned to this pointless struggle, gaining privilege and then terrified that the next struggle will take what little we won.

          • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            9 months ago

            Don’t patronise me. My lived experience is trans tolerance massively backsliding since the 2000s.

            I never had anyone ban me from sport for example. People like you are part of the problem, I don’t get the luxury of stepping out of debates for the freedoms of people like me because the audience will simply see an echo chamber reenforcing their ignorant biasies.

            you are not a friend, you are not an ally, you are a political obsticle.

            • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
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              9 months ago

              Sounds lonely. Sorry they tricked you into this mindset. I hope you find a way out. There’s are lots of us nice people out there, I’m sorry they took us away from you.

              • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                9 months ago

                “They”?

                For fucks sake look at yourself, own your damned opinions. you want trans people to face more barriers to a full and happy life, you lend your voice to a crowd that chants for our extermination, you want policies that would leave trans women at least unable to compete. Your friend felt she couldn’t wrestle because of some silly policy at a school that didn’t require HRT? No trans woman on HRT would be able to compete with men. you wonder how her life might be different? what scholarships she might have got? you want that fate for all of us, whether it’s your intention or not.

                You are cruel and discriminatory, thoughtless in your callous disregard launching your uninformed opinions into the public arena at a time that’s rather fraught. you have the privilege to do so and you use it cruelly and recklessly. No different to those men “just asking questions” about abortion rights, or gender pay gaps. No different from carnists sealioning about food intolerances or desert islands to distract from factory farming.

                You are hurting people with your privilege. You can either take a look inside yourself and reflect, wonder why your behaviour doesn’t line up with the good and sensitive person you hold yourself to be. Or you can dismiss the pain you’re causing as oversensitive internet nutters being extremists and blithely continue.

                It’s your choice, you’ve made a heroic change on at least one issue standing up for the vulnerable in the face of ridicule and the knowledge that you were raised to be party yo great harm. Do you have the courage for another? m

                • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
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                  9 months ago

                  I don’t want policies that exclude you. I want policies that work for everyone. I don’t want your extermination. I want everyone to live in peace however they were born.

                  Yeah, she didn’t want to wrestle against someone who went through male puberty, someone who had been dating a girl a year prior in a straight relationship. Someone who got into the league on a single condition. They checked a box. I don’t blame her for not wanting that, and it isn’t fair that she had to make that decision. It’s not. The fact that you can’t admit that is absolute proof that you are unable to consider the entire situation and the real world. What happened to her was a result of an over-compensating faculty that was acting completely out of fear. They made a mistake.

                  I don’t make policy, believe it or not. I am just a random person. I get that you are having a tough time, but it’s not my fault. You can make fake accusations all you want, but that won’t do anything to change the fact that I’ve done nothing to hurt you or any other trans person. You can make up situations in your head all you want, but that doesn’t make it any more real. It’s not going to help you or anyone one else to create monsters out of everyone who isn’t exactly like you. That’s bigotry, and it is disgusting. It is appalling that you do not know better, although it is possible that it is not your fault, and you’ve simply been tricked. If that’s the case, then I hope you find a way out of this mindset. The world is so much bigger than you.

                  On your point about factory farming. I’ve been vegan for years due to factory farms. I stand up for my beliefs with my actions. I don’t even use soap that isn’t vegan. You can create a false world if you like, but I suspect you will be much happier in the real one.

                  • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                    9 months ago

                    Anyway, I’ve said my piece you suck on this issue, I hope you cool off and reflect. You’re clearly someone who is willing to change their mind and be empathic and thoughtful.