The End of Women’s Powerlifting?

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From the article: “ However, the court cited “increased risk of depression and suicide, lack of access to coaching and practice facilities, or other performance suppression common to transgender persons,” as competitive disadvantages for transgender competitors.”

The increased risk of suicide and depression exists for all transgender people regardless of whether or not they lift weights. It exists regardless of discrimination.

I don’t know of any gyms that ban transgender people. How many coaches would refuse to train a transgender athlete? And the idea that those supposed disadvantages outweigh the advantages that come with the biological reality of being a male, sexually, is ridiculous. But these are judges, not people involved in athletics or scientists, making these decisions.

Powerlifting is also a niche sport that couldn’t put up the kind of fight other sports could. Imagine if, or rather when, transgender females start dominating women’s tennis. You’ll see a line drawn in the sand.

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I disagree.

“Mediation analyses showed that perceived discrimination accounted for increased depressive symptomatology among LGBT males and females, and accounted for an elevated risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation among LGBT males. Perceived discrimination is a likely contributor to emotional distress among LGBT youth.”

(Almeida, J., Johnson, R. M., Corliss, H. L., Molnar, B. E., Az
rael, D. (2009). Emotional distress among LGBT youth: The influence of perceived discrimination based on sexual orientation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7), 1001–1014.)

“Youth who reported four types of minority stress had nearly 12 times greater odds of attempting suicide compared to those who reported none.”

(Green, A. E., Price, M. N., & Dorison, S. H. (2022). Cumulative minority stress and suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 69(1–2), 157–168.)

“Transgender women” is more correct, but that’s nitpicky.

“When USAPL denied Cooper entry into the competition, it did not have a formal policy that expressly prohibited transgender women from competing“ […] “Subsequently, USAPL revoked her competition card, which prevents Cooper from competing in future USAPL events.”

(Suit seeks to lift ban on transgender powerlifters – Minnesota Lawyer)

Revoking someone’s membership based on a retroactive ban on their participation, due to being part of a legally protected class, does sound pretty patently discriminatory.

I actually agree with much of the conclusion you draw here, though. When I was a JV wrestler in my sophomore year of high school, I beat the girl who would end up being state champion in the girls’ tournament that year 10-0 without being able to break my own team’s varsity lineup. There’s an obvious and substantial physiological difference between those born - and especially those who have gone through puberty - as male or female. I’ve seen firsthand in my trans friends and partners that feminizing HRT causes a pretty rapid decrease in strength and muscularity, but I doubt it ever really levels our fully between cis and trans women.

I’m actually pretty fond of the solution Mark Rippetoe uses at his strengthlifting competitions - a “female” division, and an “open” division.

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Sad to see this…all women should be protesting this bullshit and boycotting all sports events that allow this

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So a sense of victimhood that may be imaginary.

But not the sole contributor.

What if they are girls? Also, if the idea is that female reflects a biological reality then it only reinforces that transgenderism is completely separate from sex. And discrimination based on sex is legal in some situations.

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Women should refuse to compete. Men should too. Let the guy be a champion in a league of his own.

A new league should form, but instead of men and women’s divisions they can have people with penises and people with vaginas division. Let these delusional people who make a farce out of athletics challenge that one in court.

Don’t like those divisions? Well, the USAPL is over that way, where a women’s powerlifting champion can have a penis.

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Another sport women could compete with each other in bites the dust.

Or another subpar athlete- and I use that term loosely, rises to prominence. Not through athletic accomplishment. though, but through litigation.

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Fantasy land gains more ground. Let’s get rid of youth sports while we’re at it. If I feel that I’m 12 years old, I should be able to compete as a youth.

It sucks. I think of the meets I’ve done and all the strong women who worked their asses off to be there. The women’s divisions were always some of the most entertaining lifting.

And all this bullshit about hurting trans feelings, what about the girl’s feelings? Theirs are less valid? How many girls do you see at powerlifting meets that struggle with their weight and appearance? They finally found a place that accepts and encourages them and in the process better themselves. A venue where they put in hard work, walk up to the platform with all their insecurities and everyone cheers them on. It’s a damn shame.

Make a separate trans division, but leave the girls alone. I love powerlifting, but I could give two shits if every federation goes under.

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According to woke ideology, they are. This is explicitly stated.

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And Title IX was supposed to have made sports fair between the sexes.

An accepted philosophy that is proving troublesome: “Perception is reality.”

I agree. The men of this country should stand up and fully support their women counterparts with their feet. Let that affiliation reach its just destiny.

If all we really want is fairness. Then make it fair. Classify these trannies a separate group. Let them compete on their level playing field.

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Screw that. Look at who women vote for. They are behind wokeism. It’s just that they can no longer claim the greater state of victimhood.

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Yes. Women have compassion to a fault. The men need to do what the women can’t seem to do.

I am in no wise looking to let women lead themselves in the wrong direction uncontested. If we men would look at every female athlete as our wife or daughter, we would make the sacrifice. We would do all we could to protect the “weaker” sex. That is what real men do.

I suppose that is being way too idealistic in this self-centered world. Stand now. If not now, when?

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Some have retribution against men to a fault. Women started this so they can step up and end it, if they have the, uh, balls.

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I am not looking to assign blame. That is too easy and won’t alter much if they refuse to see their mistake.

I am looking for solutions. I can see if men were real men and were in one accord this could end in less than 2 months. Now pragmatically, it won’t happen. A vast majority of men are more interested in their own person gain than they are women and their challenges looking for a level playing field. As, “It ain’t my problem. Let them trannies come compete with us.”

If all the men in NCAA swimming would totally boycott swimming, the trannies would be addressed differently. And most likely before the next swim meet.

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Only 14 comments to get to a slur, that’s impressive. Good work guys!

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Closeted bigotry is quite the plague isn’t it.

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I doubt it. The transgender women are not competing against them. It’s not like if men stop swimming the women will stop swimming. Why should a man give up his sport to solve a problem that women could solve on their own? If they are that weak then maybe they shouldn’t be involved in competitive sports in the first place.

You should come up with something better. You’re a lot smarter than that. If you disagree with his notion, explain why. Playing the bad word card says a lot more about your own emotional fragility than it does about the thoughts of someone decades older than you on this controversial subject.

The sooner you ditch the victimhood line of thought the better you will be be in both rhetoric and reality.

What would you consider the worst outcomes of this plague?

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Plagues kill. Closeted bigotry won’t even give me a hangnail.

Personally, as someone who lives by the 80/20 pareto principle, I am deciding I should just ignore all this whatchamacalllit BS, because (hopefully) I will be dead before it significantly intrudes into the lives of normal folk. Step away from the big cities, and the (overwhelming?) majority of people do not interact with this stuff in mind.

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I think that the worst possible outcome of these men dressing like women and chasing them out of their competitive safe spaces is that women will then have no outlet for their desire to compete amongst each other.

These men should just be clear about who they are and what they are about. These trans athletes clearly want women back in the kitchen in their traditional role as barefooted baby makers.

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