Quote:
Originally Posted by invader
Are there inherent differences in strength between men and women?
Do those inherent differences make it unfair for men and women to compete against each other in strength based competition?
Does hormone therapy that a trans-person goes through erase this previously unfair advantage?
Three simple questions that would solve the debate.
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I "like" how you assume a 'yes' to your first question for your second question, and your third question only means anything if there's a positive answer to your second question. So you're only asking ONE question, "Are men and women different?" And yes, they are! But can you see how that one question is too simple to solve this complex problem?
Women have a higher pain tolerance than men, they're more flexible, and they have a lower center of gravity. Those seem like some advantages in an MMA fight between two people of roughly equal size. counteracting bone density and skeletal muscles advantages.
How about these three questions to determine how you think about it?
1. "Do the strength related benefits of growing up male bodied provide a significant advantage over the toughness related benefits of growing up female bodied?"
2. "Does the situation make sense in reverse?" Would you force a trans man to only fight women once his transition to male was complete? Would you allow a trans man getting into the ring with male fighters?
3. "Are her advantages outside the range of normal genetic drift?" In other words, most men are taller than most women. But I'm a 5ft tall male, and most women are taller than I am.
I'm not considering some hypothetical superman who wanted to transition into a superwoman. I'm talking about this particular female fighter: Was her pre-transition self strong enough that no non-trans woman could possibly catch up?
I think, since Ashlee Evans-Smith won on a TKO (not a decision), that a woman has caught up.