ESPN article on W swimmer G Ryan who is genderqueer / non-binary
Leaders and best, another Wolverine breaking barriers and overcoming challenges -- swimmer G Ryan.
http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/18908049/michigan-wolverines-s…
As the article says, G Ryan identifies as "genderqueer" or "non-binary," I didn't make those terms up or apply them randomly.
March 15th, 2017 at 10:24 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
Oh no, political comments start in 3....2....1....
March 15th, 2017 at 10:34 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 11:41 PM ^
Not your best night MGoBrewMom. Normally you are an open minded person.
March 15th, 2017 at 10:46 PM ^
I'm frustrated--but not surprised--that this thread veered off into the overtly political. Obviously the topic has political implications, but so too do many issues surrounding sports--race, gender, class, etc. are and always have been tied into athletics. (In other words, athletics can never be "pure" entertainment.)
In this instance it was disheartening that someone would point out that Michigan was an early advocate for recognizing the rights and needs of gay students and would get downvoted for such a statement. I mean, that strikes me as so uncontroversial to be basically apolitical--saying that gay students deserve respect, compassion, and to be treated with dignity. The fact that someone would downvote such a statment is depressing.
I guess I'm feeling a little fired up like MGoBrewMom. Apologies if I am dragging us further into the political rabbithole.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:07 PM ^
Do you think an opposing viewpoint would be any different? If I posted something of the sort of "So Proud that Michigan was the first University to have a Baptist Student Union! Its great to be a Michigan Wolverine" in response to an outspoken Christian swimmer's achievments, you don't think it would get neg bombed into oblivion? Of course it would and it rightfully should due to the guidelines of this board. Once you make a statement of clear politics removing all gray areas and clearly stating a political viewpoint, you have broken the rules of the board.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:36 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 11:48 PM ^
Correct. I would be just as outraged as you if the "negs" to that post were indeed to make a statement that they weren't for the fair treatment, rights, and protection of gay students on campus. I know I certainly support their rights as such. I am assuming the "negs" are pointed towards the political tone than the content itself. At least i am giving them the benefit of the doubt and hoping there isnt anyone who truly would want unequitable treatement of gay students on campus. That would truly be deplorable.
March 16th, 2017 at 12:05 AM ^
March 16th, 2017 at 12:01 AM ^
Not true, we know 100% fact that being gay is not genetic, or at least not entirely genetic. If that were so, 100% of identicall twins (two people with the EXACT same DNA) where one brother was gay would mean the other brother would be gay too. This isn't the case (I believe the basketball Jason Collins is an example. If I remember he is an identical twin and his brother is straighta and he is gay).
What Im not saying is that being gay has no genetic component, there certainly may be, but it we know with Scientific certainty that it isn't 100% genetic. That is just an unarguable fact.
March 15th, 2017 at 10:34 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 10:40 PM ^
Damn--a flurry of righteous anger from MGoBrewMom!
March 15th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
Honestly, she's ruining the thread that actually has some decent debate about how to classify sports or whether they should be classified with adherence to non-binary people's needs.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:09 PM ^
Agreed. MgoBrewMom, your exemplifying so much that is wrong in America today. You leave no room for dialogue or disagreement. That really is a crappy way of dealing with people. It is not respectful at all.
March 16th, 2017 at 12:11 AM ^
You don't always see a lot of self-reflection in threads like this. It's a sensitive topic, for some people more than others. I personally get very angry when I think of the discrimination and abuse that is often hurled at people who are gay, transgender, etc. Clearly this is something that matters to you, and I appreciate that.
You may not be thrilled with your comments now, but don't sweat it--we all have bad days on the board. It's just rare for most of us to admit it!
Apology accepted MGoBrewMom! I am assuming by your inference that personally this issue has touched you / your family in some way, and that you have been on the recieving end of some mistreatment. If that is the case, I am truly sorry for that. That is a horribly painful thing to have to experience or watch someone else you love experience.
Even though we disagree, I hope you know that I respect and love you as a person. Odd thing to say on a message board LOL, but its important to say in this climate of today. To disagree is not to hate, and I hope we all (myself most included) can remembert that. I wish you nothing but the best!
March 15th, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^
I try to be fair-minded, but I'll admit that I don't always succeed. So I am much more forgiving of a post that is impassioned if I happen to agree with the person. As a result I'm not too bothered by MGoBrewMom's tone, but I don't have a lot of patience for the guy below me complaining about the social justice warrior privilege on this blog.
Anyway, that's my full disclosure and admission of bias, one-sidedness, etc. I agree with you that this thread (which must be living on borrowed time, right?) does in fact have some thoughtful and informative posts. I'd be curious to know more about people who don't fit the xx/xy binary and how they complicate any policies about athletics.
In any event, I was primarily surprised at how many negative reactions the initial story generated.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
901 P, GREAT post. If you lived in NC I would take you to luch on my dime and love to hear your thoughts. You are a genteman without a doubt! Unless your a woman, and then you are a lady of the highest caliber. LOL
March 15th, 2017 at 11:28 PM ^
Did you just assume 901P's gender?
March 15th, 2017 at 11:45 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 11:00 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
March 15th, 2017 at 11:38 PM ^
Is this a fucking joke? Are there no rules?
March 15th, 2017 at 11:51 PM ^
If the mods were paying attention, they'd delete most of MGoBrewMom's and BayWolves' comments.
March 16th, 2017 at 12:08 AM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 11:45 PM ^
A lot of people are useful idiots that are brainwashed by the globalists to destroy a country. Once that is done they are killed. Don't be one of those people. Trump is the first non-globalist puppet since Kennedy. Still many people are mind controlled by the globalists through their educational and media indoctrination. Thankfully that number is shrinking everyday.
March 15th, 2017 at 10:13 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 10:20 PM ^
This article about the IOC's stance on transgender athletes really helped clear up a lot of questions I had:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/25/ioc-rules-transgender-ath…
March 15th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
The IOC of all entities somehow came up with a decent solution to this?
Well, I'm shocked lol.
March 15th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
That article was confusing to read.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:15 PM ^
You guys are unbelievable.
There's intelligent discussion to be had, but this isn't it; it's not fruitful to vouch for the T and the Q from LBGTQ as mental disorders. It could be compelling to discuss certain instances where genotypic sex becomes fuzzy, like in Caster Semenya's case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster_Semenya)...but as far as we should be concerned we have a young person who is genetically female, doesn't identify as male or female, and we shouldn't be making that a difficult issue for them and be welcoming of a student-athlete who is just being themselves.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:19 PM ^
"but as far as we should be concerned we have a young person who is genetically female, doesn't identify as male or female, and we shouldn't be making that a difficult issue for them and be welcoming of a student-athlete who is just being themselves."
Couldn't agree more, and you managed to express your point with clarity and efficiency (unlike my many wordy posts above). Thanks Lee!
March 15th, 2017 at 11:47 PM ^
March 15th, 2017 at 11:51 PM ^
Word.
March 16th, 2017 at 12:18 AM ^
Pulling out our DSM-5's and diagnosing a Michigan player is something you think is above board? I doubt that'd go over well if we were to label a football player with Narcissistic Personality Disorder for going pro when we didn't think they were ready, or say that the next person who ends gets in legal trouble has a Conduct Disorder, or that the next player who gets in hot water over a girl is a sexual deviant somehow.
In the case that the swimmer DID have a different mental disorder, can you imagine how the article would be received? "Swimmer conquers BPD" would have resulted in much different commentary. If the school were supportive to a player that had extreme Anxiety or Depression or what have you, we'd be saying that ~it's great to be~.
Binary thinking in terms of "gender"/phenotypic sex/genotypic sex as it relates to competitive sports is the correct topic, NOT amateurs discussing whether a kid has a psychological disorder. It wouldn't be white knighting to shut that shit down otherwise.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:50 PM ^
Welp. This thread is pointless now thanks to MGoBrewMom and Baywolves. Might as well lock it up.
It veered off from an interesting debate on sport policy into anti-Trumpism with a hefty dose of right-wing tinfoilism.
Sigh...
March 15th, 2017 at 11:53 PM ^
Yup, this thread would be a great case study for any Sociology or even Poly Sci students. Goes to show great intolerance on both the way right and left.
March 16th, 2017 at 12:15 AM ^
March 16th, 2017 at 12:17 AM ^
but I've met so many girls in martial arts that can straightup beat the shit out of anyone.
Ugh. This could have been a good debate. All you have to do now is say "SJW" to discredit someone on the left or "sexist" to discredit someone on the right. You can still meet in the middle on this issue with science.
March 16th, 2017 at 12:17 AM ^
This thread is funny. Thanks for the laughs guys (and girl).
March 16th, 2017 at 12:25 AM ^