Florida governor refuses to recognise transgender swimmer

[hammerofglass]

You know, it's been days and I still can't think of any sport where the grip strength thing would relevant even if it were true.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

You know, it's been days and I still can't think of any sport where the grip strength thing would relevant even if it were true.

How relevant is the question. In softball the tighter you can grip the bat the more kinetic energy the bat is going to absorb from the ball and push back.

The skill curve is still highly relevant though in determining proficiency of batting swing.

[hammerofglass]

You know, it's been days and I still can't think of any sport where the grip strength thing would relevant even if it were true.

How relevant is the question. In softball the tighter you can grip the bat the more kinetic energy the bat is going to absorb from the ball and push back.

The skill curve is still highly relevant though in determining proficiency of batting swing.

"Competitive softball is a thing" is something I hadn't known until this second.

[Frustration]

Because women started to compete evenly (or beat) men in some sports and got their feelings hurt, so they banned women, realized it was a bad look, and created women’s divisions a few years later

So you seriously believe that women compete athletically at the same level as men, and women are excluded to protect men's feelings?

Let's consider what the world would be like if this were true. Directly comparing achievement in any given organized sport would be difficult, since men and women are segregated, but I believe there are separate men's and women's world records in all sorts of athletic competitions that rely on absolute achievement rather than merely relative. We can compare them.

Does female athletic achievement generally approach, equal, or exceed the equivalent male athletic achievement? Not only in records of the absolute best, but in terms of the distribution across the entire field of highly-achieving athletes? (Looking at the whole population might be misleading, since males and females as groups don't receive the same levels of athletic training and encouragement, and there may be differences in interest rather than capability.)

[Riedquat]

There are certainly social factors involved; I don't think there's much reason to separate out motor racing (and indeed I don't know of separate mens' and womens' motor racing events) but there's a huge difference in the number of people who make it to, say, the standard to drive in F1 (the few women who have been F1 drivers has been so small that having scored a total of half a point between them doesn't mean anything).

However I do find the idea in general that there's no actual difference, at least after a couple of years of testosterone blockers, to fall in to the category of extraordinary claims requiring extraordinary evidence.

[Frustration]

You know, it's been days and I still can't think of any sport where the grip strength thing would relevant even if it were true.

...and now we know the degree to which your beliefs engage with reality.

[CmdrKing]

So you seriously believe that women compete athletically at the same level as men, and women are excluded to protect men’s feelings?

That is factually, historically the origin of woman’s sports, yes. Women managed to break into some sports, were excluded, and then within a few years were included under sex segregated leagues. Since they were adding these sports, they also added other sports where such breakthrough had not (and most likely would not) happened.

[Frustration]

Oh, I'm perfectly willing to grant the origins, but - do you suggest that the continued division between men's and women's sports - especially in those sports that were established after Title IX required equal athletic opportunity for women as men - is due to women being discriminated against?

[hammerofglass]

You know, it's been days and I still can't think of any sport where the grip strength thing would relevant even if it were true.

...and now we know the degree to which your beliefs engage with reality.

Empty emotional appeals with no actual arguments or examples. Exactly what we've come to expect from you.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Oh, I'm perfectly willing to grant the origins, but - do you suggest that the continued division between men's and women's sports - especially in those sports that were established after Title IX required equal athletic opportunity for women as men - is due to women being discriminated against?

If the shoe fits...