Nobody cared about trans people 15 years ago. We were hardly in the public eye. This changed in recent years following a right wing media campaign worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Many in support of the regulation may have never met a trans person. Many do not understand our healthcare, and despite people’s willingness to claim men cannot “turn into women”, such people don’t share trans people’s experiences, and thus cannot speak for us. 

If the issue were about fairness in women’s sports, it seems a group of experts would be capable of determining a science based group advantage that might exist for trans women. Doing so would be consistent with modern medicine, as most doctors agree trans healthcare is legitimate and saves lives. However, this is not the objective of the regulation in question. In fact, briefly perusing the comments in support reveals the rabid nature to which some people are obsessed with us. It doesn’t help women and girls to deny trans women’s existence. It shouldn’t be in the name of women’s safety that we exclude an entire group of athletes based on ignorant principles. I might add, despite all the attention trans women get as a subject of political debate, no one gives a rat’s ass about the existence of transgender men. This is because, once again, regulations like these aren’t genuinely concerned with transgender medicine and women’s well being. The issue is simply a matter of spreading bigotry, and it’s wrong.