S12E07: Trans Athletes

[Lantern7]

Wow. Fifty minutes this week, roughly 47 devoted to transgender athletes. After that, the yutz that runs TMZ, then credits.

I think John did a good job with the topic. He understands the concept of the concern posed by activists against transgender participation, but the arguments he presented were solid. Being born male does not make one guaranteed to be better in women’s sports after the gender reassignment process. Of course, Trump and Mike Johnson poke their pointy noises into the subject. As always, they deserved to be mocked. Ditto for the legislature that emailed against trans athletes, but failed to protect girls from potential predators.

Nice bit of timing: today’s Doonesbury was on the same topic. Garry Trudeau is a lot like John, in that both have taken shots at Trump (Garry having done it for almost four decades), and I fear for their safety because of that.

Edited April 7 by Lantern7

[Annber03]

Good lord, the amount of flipping off I did at my TV when Trump was all, "You'll lose all your federal funding!" to the governor from Maine. I know she's the governor and all, but damn, she has far more restraint than I  would've in her shoes, 'cause my response would've just been a string of curse words and telling Trump in any and every way possible to STFU. The moment you try to vioently overthrow a democratic election is the moment you shouldn't be allowed to make decisions of any sort about following federal laws of any sort. Period. End of fucking story. Why the hell was he ever allowed to even run for office again?!?!

And speaking of people who need to shut the hell up, go away, Lance Armstrong and JK Rowling. 

John talked about how this issue became a thing for the GOP after they lost the fight to try and keep same-sex marriage from becoming legal, but I'd go even more recently than that. I'd say it was the overturning of Roe that did it for them - they finally got everything they wanted on that issue and as a reuslt, they've also lost the ability to use it as their culture war wedge issue to campaign on. Hence, transgender people have moved back up the ranks in terms of who they get to use as their punching bag again. And now they have an entire cult of Trump supporters to help fan the flames. 

The thing that kills me the most about the freakout over transgender athletes at the school sports level, alongside the blatant transphobia of it all...kids' sports aren't even meant to be about competition and winning in the first place! Kids' sports are supposed to be about learning sportsmanship and teamwork, and learning the basic fundamentals of how to play the sport in question. So we're freaking out over something that shouldn't even be an issue in the first place, whether transgender kids are playing on a team or not. I've said it before and I'll say it again, for all the griping about "participation trophy culture" nowadays, a whoooooooole lotta the anti-transgender people in sports arguments sure come off like prime examples of participation trophy culture in action. "I/my kid didn't win a game, someone else got a trophy over me/them, it's not faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair!" And to that I say the same thing they're happy to say to other people who don't win a trophy: life's not fair, suck it up. 

Mind, I don't care about sports on a general level as it is, which is one reason of many why I've always found this debate absurd, but from my observations, EVERY sport will have people who will have some kind of advantage over others, simply because there are some people who are just naturally better athletes than others. They train harder, they run faster, they hit a ball a little better, they throw a ball a litlte farther, whatever. You can put all the limits you want on who's allowed to play sports and that's sitll not going to magically put everyone on some mythical "even playing field". 

And the whole "this transgender person hit the ball too hard at me" thing - the idea that the two things are somehow connected, it's just laughably stupid on its face. When I was a kid I was accidentally hit in the face with a ball. I also remember an incident where my dad was playing softball with some friends, and one of the guys on the team hit the ball too hard and it accidentally hit one of the players' kids in the face. Neither incident involved a transgender person. To say nothing of the numerous examples of head and brain injuries we've heard about from boys playing football over the years - and last I checked, none of those stories involved being hit by a transgender person. So...yeah. 

John also mentioned that transgender boys have been caught up in this insanity, too, but the fact that transgender women seem to be getting tbe brunt of hte scrutiny in these stories just further ties into something else I've said all the time in regards to this issue, which is that at the end of the day, all this is is the "But what if I get beat by a girl?" argument, just with a new angle to it. It's just a bunch of people with fragile egos who need to lash out at someone else for reasons x, y, z. That's what it ultimatley boils down to. Like John said, if these people really, genuinely cared about women's sports the way they claim, their anger would be focused on the actual issues that are posing a threat to women in sports. They wouldn't have time to fret about this. 

It's just...so stupid. And the fact that people obsess so much about issues like this, to the point where they were fine voting back in a guy who's currently happily tanking our economy for reasons no sane person can figure out because hey, at least he'll keep us from getting transgender cooties or something, just makes watching everything Trump's doing now that much more infuriating. People are fine with sacrificing our economy if it means their kid might not have to play on a team with a transgender person, and that's just...insane thinking on a whole host of levels. 

Edited April 7 by Annber03

[kittykat]

I've debated this issue with family members to the death it seems and they still don't get it.  They always throw the Lia Thomas example because she won one event and Peyton and the Volleyball injury.  It's so infuriating so I'm glad John touched on both of those specifics.  Not that I'll be able to bring this segment up. What are trans athletes supposed to do, just suck at sports so they don't get national attention?  

I did karate as a kid and sparred with boys and girls. I beat and got beaten.  I knew the risks and certain sports people understand the risks of getting hurt.  Your odds of getting hurt in a high risk sport don't skyrocket because you're going up against a trans person.

And puhleeze if they really want to address women's sports talk about the low funding they get, the conditions of practice fields, bad scheduling as mentioned and of course pay discrepancies at the professional level.  My high school luckily did well by our female teams.  We had a great basketball and volleyball team so they got the prime night slots.

The most infuriating thing is how many people buy this narrative.  I see so many I'm left leaning but don't believe trans women should be in sports arguments on social media.  Does it really affect you that much?  Come on! That the right were able to spend so much money on demonizing and it worked.

Edited April 7 by kittykat

[smittykins]

3 hours ago, kittykat said:

What are trans athletes supposed to do, just suck at sports so they don't get national attention?  

 

Some people have suggested that trans athletes have their own leagues to make it “fair.” 🙄

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, Annber03 said:

And speaking of people who need to shut the hell up, go away, Lance Armstrong and JK Rowling. 

Add Trey Parker and Matt Stone to that list, because all of the South Park episodes about trans people either mock them or try to show how allowing them to compete in sports can be exploited.

[SeanBug]

The part that broke me was the young people talking about how they loved participating in sports and it was like a second family.  I participated in track, volleyball and was a cheerleader from 6th grade thru high school and I know how that sense of family helps young people come into their own. 

Like they say, the cruelty is the point. They're just kids, and like a commenter above said, sports at younger ages is about learning how to be part of a team, sportsmanship, and as if this needs to be repeated, having fun. 

I loved the young woman in FL defending her friend. 

The mom saying her daughter wasn't that good at softball.  And of course the field is a muddy mess. Can't someone start a  GoFundMe to pay a construction company to re-grade that field so it drains properly. 

 

[peeayebee]

@kittykat, great post. So many good points you made.

I was going to say that the right are using trans athletes as a scapegoat, but maybe the better term is a stalking horse? They need some kind of boogeyman to get the base riled up. Undocumented migrants are another.

There are definitely tall female volleyball players, so that woman's complaint about the trans woman being tall was a little ridiculous. I know she also said the player was stronger, but wouldn't there be ciswomen players who work out a lot to make their spikes harder?

 

[iMonrey]

I commented last week the issue wasn't so much with tasers as it was with police brutality. Likewise, I believe this issue isn't so much about trans athletes as it is about our obsession with sports.

II can't quite grasp how so many people feel so strongly about something that affects so few. I guess it's because I've never cared about team sports and never understood the interest. 

Even my siblings, who are not right wingers, have said they are against trans women in sports because they have an unfair advantage. To which I replied, how big of a problem do you really think this is? How many trans women are playing pro sports? Three? 

Like every single man in the entire world is stronger than every single woman. As if the weakest man in the world is still stronger than the strongest woman. Hello, being born male doesn't automatically make you stronger than women.

You must have to be really, really invested in sports to give a damn about this. How else could it be such a wedge issue it even registers with anyone? Especially in today's world with everything that's going on from wars to economic hardship. But sure, let's obsess over trans athletes like that's just as important. Because, SPORTS! Sports are so important!

You'll notice, of course, nobody is crusading against trans women competing in chess club or debate.

[ebk57]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

You'll notice, of course, nobody is crusading against trans women competing in chess club or debate

Um.... 

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/1194593562/chess-transgender-fide-pushback

 

And, I respectfully disagree with you.  This is not about sports at all.  It's about hate and they've found a way in.  There are many people who are vehemently against trans people in sports who know nothing about sports.  They just know what the hate mongers have told them. 

[DoctorAtomic]

14 hours ago, Annber03 said:

John talked about how this issue became a thing for the GOP after they lost the fight to try and keep same-sex marriage from becoming legal, but I'd go even more recently than that. I'd say it was the overturning of Roe that did it for them - they finally got everything they wanted on that issue and as a reuslt, they've also lost the ability to use it as their culture war wedge issue to campaign on. Hence, transgender people have moved back up the ranks in terms of who they get to use as their punching bag again. And now they have an entire cult of Trump supporters to help fan the flames. 

I actually think it goes further back because the false narrative you hear about trans women is what they were trying to say about demonizing gay men in the 80s (pedos, predators, oh the children!). None of it was true then, but they have more traction in terms of a fox news and social media now that can ignite the flames of hate further. I can buy that the marriage equality decision turned their focus, and maybe overturning Roe just emboldened them more. 

Given that we know this has nothing to do with sports, for the sake of argument, I would say that the NCAA is a private entity that regulates eligibility for its members. If the members are following the rules, then that's the end of it. Take them to court if you feel that strong about it. On the high school level, I thought the school board would make rules on this. 

Boise State University forfeited two volleyball matches against San Jose. But the university never said who actually made that decision. 

Seriously, is a trans girl fencer that more skilled than a cis girl fencer? 

I don't know for me, if I was a cis girl, I'd be like, I don't care who you are, I'm beating you. Come get some. "Whine whine whine, I came in 5th place!" You kidding me? No problem with parlaying that 5th place finish into a right wing media darling though. That's a first place fame whore in my book. 

The fundamental problem is that there's no pushback on this issue. You can frame it as a local decision or passing laws about trans athletes is government overreach, or that it's not about sports. 

My joke is that some dudeflake was flirting with a hot girl at the coffee shop and then later found out she was trans and lost his damn mind. And that's why we're in this mess. 

I still don't know why the Harry Potter lady is so compelled to constantly weigh in on this and why she thinks anyone cares what her opinion is. 

 

 

 

 

[SeanBug]

7 hours ago, peeayebee said:

@kittykat, great post. So many good points you made.

I was going to say that the right are using trans athletes as a scapegoat, but maybe the better term is a stalking horse? They need some kind of boogeyman to get the base riled up. Undocumented migrants are another.

There are definitely tall female volleyball players, so that woman's complaint about the trans woman being tall was a little ridiculous. I know she also said the player was stronger, but wouldn't there be ciswomen players who work out a lot to make their spikes harder?

 

Gabrielle Reece is 6'3", and a cisgender woman.  She got a scholarship to play volleyball at FSU, played in the Olympics and then played professionally. She's been a sportscaster and now has a podcast.  

I have seen her play, and I guarantee she could spike a ball so hard if it hit you, you'd wake up a week later. 

So Payton's argument about trans women athletes having an unfair advantage is ten lbs of bullshit in a five pound bag. In her prime I'd put Gabby up against any trans woman or man. 

But of course this isn't about fairness in sports, or "protecting" women, or whatever bullshit the right claims. It's about keeping the base of Republican voters stirred up about something they don't even understand. Just like in the 80s the GOP figured out they could pretend to care about abortion and saving unborn children, blah blah blah. Until Lee Atwater came up with this little scheme to create wedge issues, the Republican Party never gave two shits about abortion. 

 

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I actually think it goes further back because the false narrative you hear about trans women is what they were trying to say about demonizing gay men in the 80s (pedos, predators, oh the children!). None of it was true then, but they have more traction in terms of a fox news and social media now that can ignite the flames of hate further. I can buy that the marriage equality decision turned their focus, and maybe overturning Roe just emboldened them more. 

Oh, yeah, you're right, this has always been an issue for the right on some level or another - your comparisons to the other issues the right loves to campaign on are spot on.

Just that I think we're seeing a particular ramping up right now because it's still one of the few culture issues left they can use to scare their base, since they've lost on so many of the other ones they ran against (or, in the case of abortion, got their way and now can't use it as an issue anymore - they're hesitant to even talk about it in terms of defending their restrictions and bans, because they know it's that unpopular). 

Which, of course, begs the question, if they (rightly) lost on those other issues, you'd think that'd clue them in that theyl'll eventually lose on this one, too, and thus they should probably start adusting their worldview and quit harping on so much about this, but clearly logic is not their strong suit in general, so... 

[DoctorAtomic]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Which, of course, begs the question, if they (rightly) lost on those other issues, you'd think that'd clue them in that theyl'll eventually lose on this one, too, and thus they should probably start adusting their worldview and quit harping on so much about this, but clearly logic is not their strong suit in general, so... 

No, I think it's how they can win elections. Project 2025 lays out the plan for keeping power. Not really anything policy wise. What actual policies have there been since Reagan? Not whether I agree with any actual policy, but what has there been since cut taxes, spur growth, deregulation? That's yet to work. Even Saint Reagan drove the economy into a recession. He had the USSR to work off at least. Now, we're capitulating to the USSR. 

I know it's easy for me to say, but this trans issue goes away completely if someone famous goes out with a trans girl. That's what happened with marriage equality basically. Well, Will & Grace too. So maybe someone needs to do a sitcom with a trans lead. 

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

So maybe someone needs to do a sitcom with a trans lead. 

Working up to it. There are a few shows I watch where a character is either trans or nonbinary. The shows don't make a big deal out of, just referring to them as they/them. (So maybe that's just nonbinary.)

Of course there was Laverne Cox in Orange Is The New Black. Not a lead, but a major character who was very sympathetic.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

So maybe someone needs to do a sitcom with a trans lead. 

 

14 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Working up to it. There are a few shows I watch where a character is either trans or nonbinary. The shows don't make a big deal out of, just referring to them as they/them. (So maybe that's just nonbinary.)

Of course there was Laverne Cox in Orange Is The New Black. Not a lead, but a major character who was very sympathetic.

Oh gosh. You guys need to check out Clean Slate on Prime. It’s literally what you’re describing. Including Laverne Cox. And George Wallace. Not that George Wallace. The other George Wallace. Norman Lear's last project, I think. So yes, someone did. 

Edited April 8 by SoMuchTV

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm thrilled George Wallace is still getting work. I used to watch his stand up all the time. 

The television landscape is difficult now because I never heard of that show. I was in grad school when Will & Grace was on, so I wasn't watching primetime tv because I was living with 4, 5 people and pregaming. But I still knew about Will & Grace. I knew about Ellen too. I never watched, but they were that big. 

So I was saying a show on that level now. What's really big? Severance? White Lotus? I don't watch those shows but I know of them. A show at that level having a trans character. imo, a standard network sitcom with the lead being trans would be what works. Wacky hijinks. The neighbor always trying some scheme or another. Clueless boss. All that. 

Clooney blew it for everyone by getting married. If he took his trans girlfriend to the Democratic convention, this would be solved. 

[Affogato]

11 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm thrilled George Wallace is still getting work. I used to watch his stand up all the time. 

The television landscape is difficult now because I never heard of that show. I was in grad school when Will & Grace was on, so I wasn't watching primetime tv because I was living with 4, 5 people and pregaming. But I still knew about Will & Grace. I knew about Ellen too. I never watched, but they were that big. 

So I was saying a show on that level now. What's really big? Severance? White Lotus? I don't watch those shows but I know of them. A show at that level having a trans character. imo, a standard network sitcom with the lead being trans would be what works. Wacky hijinks. The neighbor always trying some scheme or another. Clueless boss. All that. 

Clooney blew it for everyone by getting married. If he took his trans girlfriend to the Democratic convention, this would be solved. 

Tv no longer has shows that everyone watches and talks about. It seems like it sometimes, but no there aren’t shows like that. Everything is niche. I think. 

[Affogato]

20 hours ago, ebk57 said:

Um.... 

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/1194593562/chess-transgender-fide-pushback

 

And, I respectfully disagree with you.  This is not about sports at all.  It's about hate and they've found a way in.  There are many people who are vehemently against trans people in sports who know nothing about sports.  They just know what the hate mongers have told them. 

It has always been true that if anyone is competitive they should compete. If a woman can be a pitcher in the Yankees, she should go for it. Women’s teams exist because there is a disparity on the average, in size or strength, etc. or no one would have noticed the need for them, and of course because os systemic sexism when that is irrelevant.  Yes including debate and chess teams. But very few men or women compete in the top tier anyway. 
 

a lot is people feel they can speak on this issue. The board room can discuss the designs of the corporate bathrooms for days, but don’t have anything to say about the safety features of the nuclear reactor. So there is a hue and a cry. 

[Shrek]

26 minutes ago, Affogato said:

Tv no longer has shows that everyone watches and talks about. It seems like it sometimes, but no there aren’t shows like that. Everything is niche. I think. 

So I was listening to Howard Stern yesterday & he was talking about the White Lotus finale and happened to mention that even though everyone was supposedly talking about it the viewing figures were only around 1 million viewers per episode, which backs up your thoughts on the subject.

[Affogato]

40 minutes ago, Shrek said:

So I was listening to Howard Stern yesterday & he was talking about the White Lotus finale and happened to mention that even though everyone was supposedly talking about it the viewing figures were only around 1 million viewers per episode, which backs up your thoughts on the subject.

I don’t know how many subscribers streamers have, compared to each other, but Apple is small and probably relatively sophisticated.  Here is a link for severance, concentrating not on viewership,  it online engagement. 
 

https://televisionstats.com/s/severance

Severance (TV)

Severance Stats

Tuesday April 8, 2025 • Severance ranked as the #3most popular show online and was the #1 most popular TV show on Apple TV+. The current engagement score for Severance is 85.29. The Television Stats algorithm evaluates online audience activity and engagement across various platforms, including search, website traffic, and social media. These values are calculated each morning, taking into account the entire activity from the previous day.

[iMonrey]

21 hours ago, ebk57 said:

And, I respectfully disagree with you.  This is not about sports at all.  It's about hate and they've found a way in.  There are many people who are vehemently against trans people in sports who know nothing about sports.  They just know what the hate mongers have told them. 

Well, yes, but my point is they've found a way in with women's sports by spreading this idea that women's sports are being flooded with men who are pretending to be women just so they can play women's sports where they have an advantage they wouldn't have in men's sports. Which makes a lot of people go "hey! that's not fair! I am against that!" because they think it's some huge, widespread problem. 

Like I said, my siblings are not right wingers, but they do like sports (although they don't even follow women's sports as far as I know). So this has far-reaching appeal as a wedge issue, not just with the right. It works, because, sports. 

[DoctorAtomic]

There was also a segment on White Lotus on 'Press Play'. 

So, yes, tv isn't like it used to be, but I haven't seen a second of White Lotus, and even I'm aware of it. We know Game of Thrones was in the zeitgeist when it was on. Shows can still make an impact. 

[Affogato]

3 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

There was also a segment on White Lotus on 'Press Play'. 

So, yes, tv isn't like it used to be, but I haven't seen a second of White Lotus, and even I'm aware of it. We know Game of Thrones was in the zeitgeist when it was on. Shows can still make an impact. 

Yes they do but as we’ve learned um not necessarily with the same populations and they may not cross streams. If you watch fox news and post in truth social your mileage may be different. 

[catsitter]

I thought it was a shame to concentrate so much on school sports and amateur sports and leave out professional sports. In the recent Paris Olympics, there were  big whipped-up controversies about two female athletes who are not trans and not known to be intersex either, but were treated as if they were. One of them was supposed to have failed a "gender test" by the sport's then ruling body (now not recognised by the IOC) but there was no proof of this. Then there was the recent election of a new President of the IOC where this issue was an important factor. But maybe there will be a future episode looking at professional sport?

[SeanBug]

5 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

There was also a segment on White Lotus on 'Press Play'. 

So, yes, tv isn't like it used to be, but I haven't seen a second of White Lotus, and even I'm aware of it. We know Game of Thrones was in the zeitgeist when it was on. Shows can still make an impact. 

Agree. I didn't watch either, but I was aware of them, and aware of certain plot points because you can't read anything on the entertainment industry and not hear about Game of Thrones and the red wedding and the incest. Or White Lotus and the terrible people and as of this season, the incest and murders? 

Even John on this episode referred to HBO as the Incest Channel. 

With the advent of streaming and the decline of basic television, there aren't as many shows that can fall into the "must see tv" category.

[SeanBug]

So a little follow up on how the right disingenuously believes trans women have an unfair advantage of cis gender women in sports. 

David Letterman's Netflix show "My Next Guest" has a new episode with Caitlan Clark.  I'm probably a little more familiar with her than some, as I live in Indianapolis and she plays for the Indiana Fever.   

Watch just a little of NCAA Women's basketball, or the WNBA. And tell me a trans woman would have an advantage over these women. Sure if they were 6'9" and had a 40 inch vertical leap, maybe. But can they shoot 3 pointers like Caitlan? Or score like she does? Against Michigan when she was still at Iowa State she scored 22 points in 2 minutes.  And Iowa State still lost. That's how good NCAA women's basketball is. 

When it comes to elite women athletes, saying a trans woman has an advantage is such bullshit. It's demeaning to cis gendered women, like we can't work out and compete at a level where a trans athlete has an advantage. But then when has the right had a problem with insulting women. It's kind of their thing. 

FFS, Reggie Miller used to say his sister Cheryl was a much better basketball player than he was. And Reggie was no slouch. 

[purist]

Those two horrible blonde women who were speaking out against trans athletes looked exactly the same to me. Is there a Republican/far-right factory churning them out?

[DoctorAtomic]

Yes. They're threatened if the dudeflakes ever get over themselves and realize that's it's no big deal to go out with trans chicks. So they just all look like 1950s housewives. 

Cheryl Miller was better than Reggie. 

4 hours ago, SeanBug said:

Watch just a little of NCAA Women's basketball, or the WNBA. And tell me a trans woman would have an advantage over these women. Sure if they were 6'9" and had a 40 inch vertical leap, maybe.

Go even further back than Clark. Rebecca Lobo was 6'4 and had all the post moves. 

John correctly pointed out though that none of these trans athletes are that elite that they're going to be getting NCAA basketball scholarships to UConn. 

[SeanBug]

And just to keep the convo going, Daily Show featured a clip of Fox News having a meltdown. Not over the stock market or tariffs. 

Oh no. This was a bigger story. In the UK, in the women's billiards championship, two trans women won. And of course the goons at Fox called them men. 

Can you imagine being the poor interns at Fox who have to spend their day  scrolling thru the internet for stories about trans women so these jackasses have something to be outraged about. 

9 hours ago, purist said:

Those two horrible blonde women who were speaking out against trans athletes looked exactly the same to me. Is there a Republican/far-right factory churning them out?

There is a new phenomenon being called MAGA looks or something.  Case in point: Kristi Noem.  It's like she did a Face Off thing so she wouldn't be recognized when the cops came to arrest her for shooting her puppy. Scroll down for the before and after. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/kristi-noem-is-unrecognizable-in-throwback-pic-before-plastic-surgery/ar-AA1yLjhQ

[SeanBug]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Go even further back than Clark. Rebecca Lobo was 6'4 and had all the post moves. 

Yes you're right. WNBA and NCAA women's b ball are more fun to watch.  Like back in the old days before NBA and NCAA men's  became run and gun, with no defensive strategy or even setting up offense.  I'm from the old school of IU b ball, five passes/motion offense. 

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, SeanBug said:

In the UK, in the women's billiards championship, two trans women won. And of course the goons at Fox called them men. 

I would think that cismen don't have an advantage over ciswomen in billiards. It doesn't take strength or even a longer reach, right? So how could Fox goons find an argument that it's unfair for trans women to compete against cismen?

[SeanBug]

41 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I would think that cismen don't have an advantage over ciswomen in billiards. It doesn't take strength or even a longer reach, right? So how could Fox goons find an argument that it's unfair for trans women to compete against cismen?

You're applying logic where none exists.  All they care about is riling up their uneducated viewers about threats that don't exist. 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

3 hours ago, SeanBug said:

Yes you're right. WNBA and NCAA women's b ball are more fun to watch.

Did you tell them about the fundamentals?! 

[MicheleinPhilly]

And for those people (not people posting here) who think this is all just a big nothingburger that doesn't have real world implications, look at what the administration is doing with regards to funding. 

$175 million in funding cut for the University of Pennsylvania. That's $175 million of studies that won't be performed, post-docs who won't get hired, research that won't be conducted. UPenn is one of the finest medical/educational institutions in the world. They conduct groundbreaking research every single day. This is a massive hit all in the name of being pissed about someone who competed in a few swim meets. 

BTW, Lia Thomas graduated 3 FUCKING YEARS AGO. 

God, I hate these people and all of their braindead lemmings. 

[EtheltoTillie]

NM

Edited April 10 by EtheltoTillie

[marina to]

On 4/9/2025 at 8:18 AM, SeanBug said:

There is a new phenomenon being called MAGA looks or something.  Case in point: Kristi Noem.  It's like she did a Face Off thing so she wouldn't be recognized when the cops came to arrest her for shooting her puppy. Scroll down for the before and after. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/kristi-noem-is-unrecognizable-in-throwback-pic-before-plastic-surgery/ar-AA1yLjhQ

It's called Mar A Largo face. Have I Got News For You US did a segment recently on it and the transformations they showed were shocking.

 

[SeanBug]

17 hours ago, marina to said:

It's called Mar A Largo face. Have I Got News For You US did a segment recently on it and the transformations they showed were shocking.

The best part was Amber Ruffin's laugh. 

You all know Kimberly Guilfoyle is Gavin Newsom's ex wife, right? 

[DoctorAtomic]

The total tragedy, as Amber pointed out, is that these women were attractive women. They're borderline mutilating themselves for a pathology. 

[andromeda331]

I put this one off because I knew how infurating it would be. It's hard enough watching school after school, state after state passing laws against trans athletes playing sports.

Once again people are making a big deal over nothing. It's nothing but way to punish transwomen. 

The precious snowflake got tied for 5th with a transwoman. Oh, no, not 5th. I wonder what her excuse would be if a woman tied with her? No way princess wouldn't think she had been robbed. 

Same with the precious snowflake that got hit in the face with the volleyball that somehow ruined her entire life, volleyball career and face. What an idiot. Is that really the only time she got hit in the face with volleyball? Sure it hurts but that's part of playing volleyball. 

The Facebook comment of the woman deciding the girl she saw had to be trans? I guess I shouldn't be surprised people are still doing that. I remember the "she's too tall to be a girl", "she's too muscular to be a girl" and "she's too good for a girl".  

Good for the Florida girl for sticking by her friend. 

And the one wondering why people are so worried about that then predators. Or even having a decent field to play on. You and me both. 

[peeayebee]

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I guess I shouldn't be surprised people are still doing that. I remember the "she's too tall to be a girl", "she's too muscular to be a girl" and "she's too good for a girl". 

Not even having to do with trans, and maybe this is what you're referencing, but people being critical of female athletes who are muscular. Serena Williams and Tonya Harding (esp compared to more feminine Nancy Kerrigan) come to mind. Really, what is wrong with a woman working to build muscle? It offends some people when woman don't stay in their lane. Be slight and delicate.

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Not even having to do with trans, and maybe this is what you're referencing, but people being critical of female athletes who are muscular. Serena Williams and Tonya Harding (esp compared to more feminine Nancy Kerrigan) come to mind. Really, what is wrong with a woman working to build muscle? It offends some people when woman don't stay in their lane. Be slight and delicate.

And hot. Because that's what REALLY bothers people about women like this, be they transgender or not. They're not "hot" enough .  'Cause that's all women are good for, apparently, is to stand there looking hot and sexy enough for straight men's tastes. 

[andromeda331]

14 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Not even having to do with trans, and maybe this is what you're referencing, but people being critical of female athletes who are muscular. Serena Williams and Tonya Harding (esp compared to more feminine Nancy Kerrigan) come to mind. Really, what is wrong with a woman working to build muscle? It offends some people when woman don't stay in their lane. Be slight and delicate.

Yes that's what I was refering too. The woman on Facebook commenting on the girl reminded me of it. As if women don't come in different sizes and shapes. 

[marina to]

On 4/14/2025 at 7:47 PM, SeanBug said:

You all know Kimberly Guilfoyle is Gavin Newsom's ex wife, right? 

I couldn't understand why he had been with her until I saw her before picture. She must have undergone some kind of transformation in both body and soul

[SeanBug]

On 4/20/2025 at 9:05 PM, marina to said:

I couldn't understand why he had been with her until I saw her before picture. She must have undergone some kind of transformation in both body and soul

To be fair, after reading about the shit he has said in his new podcast, Newsom seems to have been hiding his darker side until he thought he had a shot at running for POTUS.   Why do these people think cozying up to the evil of the Republican party is the way to win.