Lost in Translation

Trans people have been in the news a lot lately, and most of it seems to be favorable to their situation.

As it should be.

But things have recently gotten a little weird, as society attempts to develop new rules regarding transgender athletes.

The focus is on people who were born male but now identify as female. They are supposed to be physically transitioning to their new desired gender, but in many cases remain intact males.

If you know what I mean...

They are apparently intent on ridding themselves of their extra parts at some point, but have not yet completely transitioned. So, the testosterone is still flowing, and the muscle power it creates is still available to them.

But — strangely — these folks want to compete in “female” sports while still packing their package.

And so, the sports world is attempting to find ways to make female competition truly competitive and not skewed to the “woman” who has not yet fully transitioned -- but is nevertheless officially recognized as a person already possessing their desired ultimate gender status.

Critics of this idea note the unfair advantage a not-yet-fully-transitioned man has over a normal female — in most cases. Yes, there are real women who are built big and tough and are fairly strong — no doubt possessing a little more testosterone than the average female.

But we’ve already seen examples of so-called trans men who are setting new records in formerly only-real-female competitions. A trans man recently won a female weightlifting contest by lifting more than 200 pounds over the previous record held by a biologically authentic woman.

Swimming, tennis, running and other athletic pursuits -- all are seeing much the same thing: Female records are falling.

And it’s not fair.

We have to be logical about this new dimension of sports competition. Since most everyone agrees a testosterone-fueled masculine body is generally stronger and has more stamina than the average woman's body, there must be a better solution than simply letting non-fully-transitioned males compete against real females.

Some have suggested that these not-yet-transitioned males compete against each other in a special new category just for them -- leaving biologically real males to continue to compete against biologically real males and biologically real females to compete against biologically real females.

I like this idea a lot.

And I think we’re moving in this direction — albeit slowly.

But the craziest thing just happened. The federation that organizes chess competitions around the world announced it would prohibit transitioning males from playing against real females.

That’s so absurd. Why would ANYONE believe that still being biologically male is an unfair advantage over a female in a game of CHESS???

Dana Reizniece-Ozola, deputy chair of the chess federation's management board, said the goal of the new regulations was “to increase the rights of the transgender persons and allow them being registered under their new gender” in the organization's official directory.

All well and good, but let's get real: Men and women — whether they’re transitioning or not — should be allowed to play chess against each other. Women-only chess tournaments were created in the 1970s to encourage more female players, and while no doubt well-intentioned, nearly 50 years later female chess competitors still make up roughly only 2 percent of total competitive chess players.

But wait a minute: Why do we need a special chess competition just for women? Chess is a game of the mind, and both female and male players ought to be able to compete with their minds equally.

To suggest otherwise is insulting to women.

I have two suggestions: 1) Create athletic competitions exclusively for trans athletes, so they can see how they truly stack up against other trans athletes. And 2), forget about putting women in female-only chess competitions and let ALL -- including trans -- play each other equally.

No big chess muscles required. Just a sharp mind.