ESPN article on W swimmer G Ryan who is genderqueer / non-binary

Or? huh.

I can't believe this thread has survived multiple incursions into the forbidden zones, but I've gained some insight based on your various perspectives. The only thing I have to add is, I hope G,she,they is happy and successful with her/their performance in the pool. My interests beyond that (at least within the confines of this blog) are singularly Maize and Blue

We as a society have begun to understand more about Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual issues and discrimination. But there is a lot more on the spectrum that needs education and understanding p. LGBTQIAPKD. It's a spectrum that needs more understanding.

Gif fail, I give up.

The team Ryan swims on is commonly referred to as "Team 42" rather than the women's team (it is the 42nd edition of the "women's" team), and emails are addressed using gender-inclusive language such as "Blue" or "All Michigan athletes."

Politics aside, I think it's really cool how the team was able to make very slight changes to make one of its members significantly more comfortable.

I am a "Live and let live" person. As long as issues don't impede my own freedom, I don't care what people do. As long as you don't force me to become you, I'm good.

We know a person who is genderqueer and I support their right to identify with whomever they choose. But I am uncomfortable with the pronoun "they." This isn't a judgment on their identity; it's a grammatical peeve. I wish there was a different pronoun that adequately represented their identity. "They/them" is plural. Does that mean they see themselves as more than one person because they're not one or the other? Was "they/them" a conscious choice, or was it a default choice because there was nothing else? 

 

This thread, and my difficulty with the plural pronoun, made me think about being judgmental and labelling. We have to judge (nicer term: evaluate) to make sense of things. We label for the same reason. On top of that, our country is a binary place: liberals vs democrats; good vs. evil; right vs. wrong. It's so deeply ingrained in us to be "either/or" and with the current political climate, we're becoming more and more entrenched in that way of thinking.

 

It must be very difficult for a person to not be binary in our society. I hope G finds success in their endeavors. 

...helping Michigan win and not cheating?  If yes, then glad to have you and go Blue!

I'm not trying to be rude or disrespectful.  I have nothing against G.  They are free to live their life as they wish.  It will never impact me one way or another.  If I ever meet them on the street, I will happily shake their hand and offer a hearty Go Blue. 

But the article states G was born as a female.  The end.  You are biologically a female.  You swim with the females.  I don't understand the problem. 

If G doesn't feel they are a woman, then I feel for them.  That's different from my human experience.  I don't understand it and I can't imagine feeling as though you do not fit within the established gender definitions.  They have my sympathy.

But the fact is they do fit as it relates to sport.  G is a female anatomically.  G swims with females. 

Trying to turn this into a complex issue of non-defined sporting gender is a futile exercise, one with no solution because the problem you are trying to solve has no definition. 

Transgender or non-binary or however you want to label people experiencing this gender confusion are asking society to be more tolerant and accepting, and we should be.  But they also need to realize the very simple truth that Mens and Womens sports are segregated to prevent the inherent competitive advantage that a male body has over a female body.  It's very simple and straightforward and G should also be accepting of what that binary sporting separation is trying to accomplish.

G can call "men" Gender 1 and "women" Gender A if they want.  I don't care what non-traditional labels you want to assign to make G feel comfortable that they aren't being shoehorned into rigid gender definitions.  At the end of the day, Mens and Womens sports are perfectly fine as-is.  There is no problem with this binary separation.  I have no desire to abolish mens and womens sports because G has a mental dilemma.  G is a female as it relates to sports.  Compete as a female.