# F\>M transgender HS wrestler forced to wrestle girls & dominates - Would he be competitive vs boys **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2017, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809 "2017-02-26T05:44:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/101 "2017-02-28T07:09:45Z")
Assume for a second a woman was talented and strong enough to play in the NFL. Would the NFL allow her in the league? Why yes they would. It’s more or less a meritocracy. Why not just open up all leagues? If you can’t compete in a particular league play in a lower tier league. No gender discrimination of any sort. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/102 "2017-02-28T07:51:26Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > It’s an unfair advantage in the context of competing _against girls_, but it would be completely fair to take testosterone and compete were he allowed to compete against the other boys. The only way to solve the unfairness is to allow him to wrestle boys, which he wants anyway. I don’t think there’s a way to be fair otherwise. There’s no way for Beggs to compete fairly, full stop. The steroids forbid it - the only amount of steroids that prevent your opponent from complaining you only won because you cheated is zero steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/103 "2017-02-28T08:20:58Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > There’s no way for Beggs to compete fairly, full stop. The steroids forbid it - the only amount of steroids that prevent your opponent from complaining you only won because you cheated is zero steroids. Testosterone supplements != steroids ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/104 "2017-02-28T11:56:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My only motivation is to protect the integrity of sports. > > I don’t give a crap if this guy is transgender. That’s not the issue… > > Making an exception for anyone is wrong. Regardless of their reason. > > A choice has to been made. Transition immediately or wait a few years until after athletics are done. > > Caitlyn Jenner delayed her transition to raise a family. It’s a choice. Raising a family meant more to her at that time. Here’s what you’re telling this young person, who has doubtlessly gone through a _lot_ of grief and soul-searching and thought before coming to terms with who they are as a human being and an athlete; You can either give up for the rest of your life the thing you love doing and presumably hope to make a career of, or you can spend your entire career _denying your identity, pretending to be something you’re not, and spending every day of your life being completely miserable because of it_. Would you call _that_ “fair”, in the absence of any evidence that transgender athletes have any sort of unfair advantage whatsoever over cisgender athletes in the same division/weight class? Maybe Caitlyn Jenner managed to balance that duality. Not every trans person _can_. Maybe she was unusually strong-willed. Maybe she grew up in a different era where passing as cis was easier. That doesn’t mean that _every_ trans person can manage that kind of endurance. People have been known to commit suicide because they don’t feel like they’re capable of freely expressing their gender identity. Is it worth it to you that people _die_ to preserve your notion of “fairness”? This whole issue isn’t about hormone supplements. It never was. It’s a red herring. The people who are forcing Beggs to compete in the women’s division would _love_ for the conversation to be about hormones, because it plays into their agenda - force transgender people into the closet, out of the public eye, make the public view them as perverts and “cheaters” instead of as _people_ who deserve to be treated the same as anyone else. It’s the same treatment the right has spent the last century giving to women and gays and people of color - these people aren’t normal, they’re different from us, they can’t be allowed to integrate with us or they’ll ruin everything we hold dear. Colored athletes will have an advantage over white athletes because they were bred for physical labor. Women can’t be allowed into the workplace because they’ll use their sexual wiles to gain undue power. Gays can’t be allowed to openly exist because they’ll convert our children and spread disease. And so on, and so on. Beggs wants to wrestle boys. _Let him wrestle boys._ Don’t force him to wrestle women and then bitch about how he has an unfair advantage. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/105 "2017-02-28T12:27:06Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > There’s no way for Beggs to compete fairly, full stop. The steroids forbid it - the only amount of steroids that prevent your opponent from complaining you only won because you cheated is zero steroids. Except for the steroids the body of that gender produces naturally, right? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/106 "2017-02-28T12:48:39Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > The harm is very simple, even if not present today. > Whatever rules the IOC or whatever athletic organization gives about this topic are bound to change. … Well the IOC has essentially promised they will … if and when the evidence supports such changes. [Their guidelines](https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Medical_commission/2015-11_ioc_consensus_meeting_on_sex_reassignment_and_hyperandrogenism-en.pdf) reflect that > [@](#): > > … The overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair > competition. Restrictions on participation are appropriate to the extent that > they are necessary and proportionate to the achievement of that objective … > [and that] > … These guidelines are a living document and will be subject to review in light > of any scientific or medical developments. … So yes, they will be changed if and when available scientific evidence and circumstances change such that is what is necessary for fairness in competition to be preserved. Right now their assessment of the evidence is that > [@](#): > > … 1. Those who transition from female to male are eligible to compete in the > male category without restriction. > 2. Those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the > female category under the following conditions: > 2.1. The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female. The > declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum > of four years. > 2.2. The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum > has been below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to her first > competition (with the requirement for any longer period to be based on > a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 12 > months is a sufficient length of time to minimize any advantage in > women’s competition). > 2.3. The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below 10 > nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the > female category. > 2.4. Compliance with these conditions may be monitored by testing. In the > event of non-compliance, the athlete’s eligibility for female competition > will be suspended for 12 months … This individual’s physiologic replacement doses of testosterone would not have given an unfair advantage to this young man in competition with other young men. His competing in the male tourney would have been fair to him and to the young women who he was forced to compete against as the Texas body went its own way, forcing unfairness into the competition. Rules are dynamic entities. Right now the best evidence appears to be that women meeting those guidelines in section 2 have no unfair advantage in competition. Maybe new evidence will become evident and other criteria will need to be created. Changing the rules based on the available evidence guided by fairness makes sense. Making up rules based on fear that someday the rules could change to be unfair, or out of ignorance … does not. Maybe the IOC is wrong. Could be. But if you believe they have interpreted the available evidence incorrectly then bring the evidence to the table. Arguing that that read of the evidence is wrong based on … nothing … can only be interpreted as phobic discrimination by any rational observer. If that insults any special little snowflakes here, too effin bad. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/107 "2017-02-28T13:35:10Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > There’s no way for Beggs to compete fairly, full stop. The steroids forbid it - the only amount of steroids that prevent your opponent from complaining you only won because you cheated is zero steroids. I agree. The war against performance enhancing drugs has been raging for over thirty years. It’s taken a long time for everyone to finally agree they can’t be tolerated in sports. It took over a decade to finally catch Lance Armstrong. Heck they just busted Maria Sharapova for mildronate, a heart medication. Bending the rules against drugs for a few Trans people will never sit well. Any championships or records they win will be tainted. I’ll be interested to see what changes come after the wrestling case. Hopefully they’ll get this guy in the men’s division where he belongs. I’m just glad he didn’t hurt any of his female opponents. He’s stronger and has more muscle then they do. All thanks to the drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/108 "2017-02-28T14:02:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I agree. The war against performance enhancing drugs has been raging for over thirty years. Beggs has not been taking any performance-enhancing drugs. Performance enhancing drugs are _not_ the issue at hand here. This is a red herring. [PRATT](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Point_refuted_a_thousand_times). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/109 "2017-02-28T15:47:15Z")
[duplicate post] ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/110 "2017-02-28T15:49:06Z")
It seems like a lot of people in this thread are fundamentally misunderstanding what happened here. BEGGS: I want to compete as a boy! TEXAS: Yeah, no. BEGGS: Please? TEXAS: No. Anyway, you’ll just lose. BEGGS: That’s fine. Can I go wrestle now? TEXAS: No. Says “girl” right here on your birth certificate. So it must be true. BEGGS: I’ll sue. TEXAS: Still no. BEGGS: Fine, I’ll wrestle on the girl’s team. TEXAS: Hey, that’s not fair to the girls! This poor kid is in a Catch-22, and is _getting blamed for it_. > [@Smapti](#): > > Testosterone supplements != steroids Actually, testosterone is a steroid. It just happens to be one that humans produce naturally, like estradiol and cholesterol. It’s not a _steroid_ in the sense that the term was presumably being used - meaning synthesized anabolic-androgenic steroids designed to improve athletic performance - but factually it is a steroid. > [@Grumman](#): > > There’s no way for Beggs to compete fairly, full stop. The steroids forbid it - the only amount of steroids that prevent your opponent from complaining you only won because you cheated is zero steroids. Whether one’s opponent claims one cheated is irrelevant. What matters is whether something actually provides a competitive advantage, and there is no evidence that Beggs would gain an advantage from hormone replacement therapy while competing against boys. Now I will go back to watching **Una** be an awesome advocate for logic and reason in the treatment of trans athletes. But seriously, maybe you need to make a sticky on this because it’s obviously frustrating for you to have to explain the same things over and over. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/111 "2017-02-28T18:17:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I agree. The war against performance enhancing drugs has been raging for over thirty years. Can you admit that is not what is happening here? He is not taking testosterone as a performance enhancing drug any more than ANY CHILD going through puberty is using their own naturally produced testosterone as a performance enhancing drug. Nothing is being **enhanced.** A missing hormone is being **replaced** , to its normal level, for a boy. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/112 "2017-02-28T18:24:03Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Can you admit that is not what is happening here? > > He is not taking testosterone as a performance enhancing drug any more than ANY CHILD going through puberty is using their own naturally produced testosterone as a performance enhancing drug. > > Nothing is being **enhanced.** > > A missing hormone is being **replaced** , to its normal level, for a boy. This is semantic nitpicking. One way or another - whatever one may call it - the testosterone gave Beggs an advantage over the girls who were competing in the tournament. Call it enhancement, call it replacement - the results showed. And yes, it’s not Beggs’ fault - he/her asked to compete in the boy’s tournament and was denied - but it was long overdue for society to address the issue of “Should people get to be whomever they want to be?” ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/113 "2017-02-28T18:31:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > And yes, it’s not Beggs’ fault - he/her asked to compete in the boy’s tournament and was denied - but it was long overdue for society to address the issue of “Should people get to be whomever they want to be?” That says it all- you see it as a choice (“who they want to be”) vs who they _are_. Yes, people get to be who they actually are. It was the fault of Texas to deny him in the first place. He used what option was left for him, after being put in an impossible position. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/114 "2017-02-28T18:34:20Z")
[quote=“Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright, post:110, topic:780809”] It seems like a lot of people in this thread are fundamentally misunderstanding what happened here. BEGGS: I want to compete as a boy! TEXAS: Yeah, no. BEGGS: Please? TEXAS: No. Anyway, you’ll just lose. BEGGS: That’s fine. Can I go wrestle now? TEXAS: No. Says “girl” right here on your birth certificate. So it must be true. BEGGS: I’ll sue. TEXAS: Still no. BEGGS: Fine, I’ll wrestle on the girl’s team. TEXAS: Hey, that’s not fair to the girls! This poor kid is in a Catch-22, and is _getting blamed for it_. [QUOTE] The “final solution” according to some it either: - Ban us from competing at all, in any sport, or - Segregate us into a “negro leagues,” as some have termed it, for only transgender persons. Meanwhile, the IOC and other major sporting bodies…don’t see the problem. > [@](#): > > Now I will go back to watching **Una** be an awesome advocate for logic and reason in the treatment of trans athletes. But seriously, maybe you need to make a sticky on this because it’s obviously frustrating for you to have to explain the same things over and over. Thank you very much for the compliment. It is frustrating, in large part because I tend to hold the SDMB and the people on it to a much higher standard than the comments sections of local newspapers, or Facebook. Sadly, many of the same behaviors (not reading the topic, speaking out with passion on subjects one is ignorant of, concern trolling, etc.) seem to have increased to levels that I would have never thought. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/115 "2017-02-28T18:36:12Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > That says it all- you see it as a choice (“who they want to be”) vs who they _are_. > > Yes, people get to be who they actually are. It was the fault of Texas to deny him in the first place. He used what option was left for him, after being put in an impossible position. You have it framed perfectly, and it’s been evidenced in this thread: at the heart of much (but not all) of the opposition is that core of “these people are nuts, and playing dress-up and trying to game the system.” And so long as that subset believes that, they will never support people like Mr. Beggs. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/116 "2017-02-28T21:52:08Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I had injuries that would have healed quicker with steroids. I couldn’t take them. That’s the rules of athletics. It sucked but I knew the rules when I joined the team. What injuries did you have that would have healed more quickly with anabolic steroids? Or are you under the impression that cortisol steroids are banned in sports? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/117 "2017-02-28T22:04:21Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > You have it framed perfectly, and it’s been evidenced in this thread: at the heart of much (but not all) of the opposition is that core of “these people are nuts, and playing dress-up and trying to game the system.” And so long as that subset believes that, they will never support people like Mr. Beggs. Are all perceptions of self equally valid and just though? I don’t have an issue with people who change the way they look based on self perception to a point. But what about stuff like people who are anorexic because they perceive themselves fat? Should society not have an opinion or look for something to fix the wiring or chemical balance in the brain for something that causes harm to the body? With transgenderism if the choice is suicide or severe depression or treatment I think it’s better to be treated imo and I think society shouldn’t bully or be cruel. But would it be better if there were a magic pill that would change the perception? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/118 "2017-02-28T22:31:31Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Are all perceptions of self equally valid and just though? I don’t have an issue with people who change the way they look based on self perception to a point. **But what about stuff like people who are anorexic because they perceive themselves fat?** Should society not have an opinion or look for something to fix the wiring or chemical balance in the brain for something that causes harm to the body? > > With transgenderism if the choice is suicide or severe depression or treatment I think it’s better to be treated imo and I think society shouldn’t bully or be cruel. But would it be better if there were a magic pill that would change the perception? It’s not a matter of perception, it’s a matter of _who they are_. it’s not something to be “cured”. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/119 "2017-02-28T22:54:32Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It’s not a matter of perception, it’s a matter of _who they are_. > > it’s not something to be “cured”. It is a matter of perception. Italics notwithstanding. You mean to tell me all body dysmorphic disorders shouldn’t be treated at the perception level? You mean to tell me that a sex change operation and additional treatment causes no harm to a body? Obviously, some brain wiring is involved with this as it’s the brain doing the perception. Why is it taboo to suggest that treating the brain could be an option in 50-100 years? What makes a biological entity what it is? The physical construct of that entity. Now I’m not saying don’t do the transition if that’s what you want. But if a choice were available what would people choose? My guess is some would choose to treat the brain some other parts of the body. And there is nothing wrong with discussing that. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809/120 "2017-02-28T23:21:18Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > It is a matter of perception. Italics notwithstanding. You mean to tell me all body dysmorphic disorders shouldn’t be treated at the perception level? You mean to tell me that a sex change operation and additional treatment causes no harm to a body? Obviously, some brain wiring is involved with this as it’s the brain doing the perception. Why is it taboo to suggest that treating the brain could be an option in 50-100 years? > > What makes a biological entity what it is? The physical construct of that entity. Now I’m not saying don’t do the transition if that’s what you want. But if a choice were available what would people choose? My guess is some would choose to treat the brain some other parts of the body. And there is nothing wrong with discussing that. Why this and not homosexuality? Or religious or non-religious tendencies? Or unwanted political opinions? Or anything else going on with someone’s personality or identity? Why is some sort of magical pill appropriate for transgenderism but not for any of these things? Maybe some transgender people would choose this, just as maybe some gay people would choose to not be gay. But this seems as firmly in the realm of science fiction as for any of these other categories, and thus as irrelevant to the issue in the real world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-m-transgender-hs-wrestler-forced-to-wrestle-girls-dominates-would-he-be-competitive-vs-boys/780809.md?page=7)