Opponents say [Washington state] voters were persuaded at least partly because the initiative and its boosters exploited deep-seated prejudices and misunderstandings about transgender people to erode their rights.

  • BonesawIsReady@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I know people think we seperate men and women’s sports out of safety for women, but historically the reason was they just didn’t want women doing things (shocker i know). People just started thinking it was for “female safety”.

    In their minds tho, it’s a man playing with women, which is a legitimate concern to them. Even people who think positively about trans people will cite that as their concern, just like you have.

    Kind of insane thinking that not wanting to date a trans person makes you transphobic. Thats like getting upset a former slave owner doesn’t think positively about black people after slavery ended. Expecting people to suddenly wake up and feel differently about something is not a successful strategy.

    People dont want to hear this because to flip sides quick, in THEIR minds, anything less than full trans support means you are actively calling for a trans genocide. And nothing can change THEIR minds either. Politicians love this. We will be stuck in an eternal tug of war where they will never have to address other issues and this one will never be resolved.

    IMO the solution for now, which isnt fair to the trans community, would be that if you are trans then you give up competitive school sports. Intramural, YMCA, bar league, etc etc are still fine. You can still play, just not in competitive high school or college sports. And that would be a sacrifice each and every trans person would make.

    Because the right celebrates they finally kept “those pesky trans kids” out of their sacred sports… and then what? Do you think they would want trans kids out of school altogether? Slippery slope fallacy style? I dont think they would get nearly as much support for that as they currently have for the sports topic.

    Racism still exists but its gotten much better after the racists started dying off and younger kids saw skin color was not a reason to hate people. The same will happen with trans people. Right now its “weird” or “scary” for some people, but their kids will be a bit more open to it. Theres no way to speed this up. Sometimes we have to endure the circumstances of our time.

    • Phanlix@lemmy.zip
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      4 days ago

      Dude separation of men and women’s events goes back to ancient Greece. The first olympics thousands of years ago was segregated by sex. Maybe Christo-fascists framed it that way but honestly it’s always been because pound for pound a woman just doesn’t compete with a man and it’s inherently not fair.

      And yes seriously, I didn’t want to have a relationship with a trans person and multiple people labeled me as a transphobe over it which is totally not the case. I was friends with her before and after she transitioned and it was… weird for me and something I didn’t want. That to me was particularly insane, like, what more do you want from me?

      I’m glad you at least have a sane and middle of the road thinking, and can see that there are at least levels to support.

    • Cherries@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      We do not need to give in to fascist demands. The actual solution is to simply dismiss these concerns as rightfully inconsequential. It is the equivalent of politicans running on a policy of women’s volleyball uniforms.

      You claim the slippery slope wouldn’t happen as you directly describe the slope you’d slip down. If any credence is given to the bullshit of, “trans folks should be banned from sports” then that will absolutely, 100% be used as reasoning to ban them from other parts of life.

      Anti-social behavior like racism or sexism didn’t improve over time as old people naturally died off. The were actively defended and rights were directly fought for. What you describe as endurance is actually capitulation.

      • BonesawIsReady@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Then we can keep focusing the national spotlight on trans athletes for the next 20 years as nothing changes. I dont think anything will convice the “we should protect women in sports” crowd.

        I know my solution is not fair to trans athletes, and if you want to frame it as “capitulation” you can. But if all trans people, as a group, decided they would no longer play competitive high school sports then that would be the end of the trans athlete debate, and anyone still pursuing it would be seen as a conspiracy theorist. And eventually people will get annoyed with them as they pass legislation that only hurts cis girls like that Washington state bill will. And maybe, eventually, people will begin to question what the big deal was in the first place, and FINALLY let trans kids play high school sports.

        You can give ground without giving up entirely.

        • Cherries@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          Convince them? We don’t need to do anything of the sort because these delusional freaks are a vocal minority. Most people don’t give a fuck about what trans people are doing. Instead of trying to convince the trans community to give up their right to free expression and bodily autonomy, why don’t we tell these anti-trans weirdos to fuck off?

          Your idea is absurd. Abortion access is widely popular, should we try to convince women that they should give up their access to healthcare and bodily autonomy just to maybe get it back later because we have to appease the anti-choice crowd? Should we ask black people to give up their water fountain access because of a few people’s “legitimate concerns”? Should immigrants not be allowed to own pets to defuse the President’s claims that they eat cats and dogs?

          These rights need to be defended because they are everyone’s rights. If it can be stripped away from a minority, it can be stripped away from everyone.

          • BonesawIsReady@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Yelling at people online will only alienate more people from the cause.

            Have fun yelling though i guess, at least it makes you feel better im sure.

            • Cherries@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              Your idea is stupid and would make society worse. I think stupid ideas should be alienated. Your feelings on the matter are inconsequential when juxtaposed with the actual harm trans people face. Suggesting stupid ideas like, “give up rights, it’ll be temporary, trust me bro” does more harm than your feelings being hurt.

              • BonesawIsReady@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                Go on, keep yelling. Are trans people better off now? You are a terrible person actively hurting their cause and you even could be running a psy op trying to push people away from trans causes.

                You will accomplish nothing but harm for trans people.

                • Cherries@lemmy.world
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                  3 days ago

                  Trump already implemented your idea. He banned trans athletes in Feb 2025. The NCAA complied with the executive order. Things have only gotten worse since Trump implemented your very smart idea. Maybe you should just capitulate more and things will eventually get better.