Noah Bard - Week 9: Lia Thomas Make History but Causes Controversy

    On Thursday, March 17, University of Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas made history by becoming the first transgender woman to win a D1 NCAA swimming competition. Thomas won conference titles in the 500, 200, and 100 freestyle with a season-best time of 4 minutes 33.24 seconds in the 500 freestyle. Although not everyone celebrated her success, countless protesters held signs reading “say no to males competing as females.” This isn’t the first time Thomas has faced hate with her own teammates writing a letter to their university to disallow her from competing. The letter wrote “biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over her competition in the women’s category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female." Some of her teammates have also cited that they feel uncomfortable in the locker room when Lia is there.

    Many other people also feel that she has a biological advantage. When Lia Thomas went from competing boys to girls just last year her rankings sky-rocketed significantly. Her rankings went from #462 to #1, the best girl swimmer in the world. I think it’s ignorant to say that she became a significantly better swimmer in such a short period of time. This only leaves one answer which is that she does hold a biological advantage against her peers.

Although she might not win every race as seen in this competition, she is certainly placing first place in the majority of her races. I don’t think she’s “taking away” the place from other girls as she has the right to be there. Although it’s certainly not fair as she has a biological advantage.

 


Sources: 

  1. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2022/03/18/lia-thomas-trans-woman-win-ncaa-swimming-championship/7088548001/

  2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/03/20/lia-thomas-ncaa-swimming-championships-questions/ 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMar 22, 2022, 11:05:00 PM

    I am very proud of all the achievements made by Lia Thomas and other members of the transgender community. That being said, I feel like this topic is a highly controversial one as it is a fact that Lia Thomas and other people born with XY chromosome will likely hold a biological advantage over women born with XX chromosome. I really don't know if it is fair for her to compete in the women's division, but I think the answer to that will come in the upcoming years as this debate continues to be discussed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael HakimMar 23, 2022, 8:23:00 AM

    To me, it isn't fair that she is competing versus the girls. Because biological males have so many physical advantages compared to females when it comes to athletics, it is just unfair to allow someone to compete. The fact that she skyrocketed that much in rankings when she transitioned proves enough. This is a common thing that often occurs when trans females compete with biological females. To me, this ruins the integrity of female sports and all that women have accomplished over the years.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMar 23, 2022, 8:27:00 AM

    As a swimmer, Lia is obviously very talented and she works hard to achieve success. However, I do not believe it's fair for her to be competing in Women's sports because she holds a biological advantage over many of her teammates.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ben Nikpour - Week 10: Oscar Viewers are Dropping

Image
     Before a few days ago, I did not know much about the Oscars. I knew it was an award show, but besides that, I was basically clueless. It wasn’t until the Will Smith and Chris Rock situation that I spent the time to look into what the Oscars are.       For some background, the Oscars, properly known as the Academy Awards, are awarded to artists in the film industry. The first show was in May of 1929. At its peak, in 1998, the Oscars brought in over 55 million viewers; that same year was the release of one of the biggest movies of all time: Titanic. Since then, viewers have been dropping. In 2020, the Oscars had their lowest amount of viewers with only 24 million people watching the event. In 2021, the Oscars broke their 2020 record of lowest viewers by only bringing in less than 11 million people. This year the Oscars brought in close to 17 million viewers which is an improvement but not by much. Award shows like the Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, ...
Read more

Noah Bard Week 1 - The Misunderstanding of our Modern-Day Gladiators

Image
   When I hear the word gladiator, I Immediately think of the Colosseum and humans being eaten by lions. However, times have changed, and so has the term gladiator. I’m talking about the sport of MMA, and more specifically, UFC fighters. Besides the few million crazed fight fans out there like myself, the current consensus about MMA is that it’s stupid. At face value, it’s a very sensible conclusion to make. Why in the world would anybody want to risk their lives on national television, or in that case at all? Well, here’s why.      Every day before that bell rings, these men and women are mastering the art of fighting. It takes much more than just supernatural athleticism; it ultimately comes down to the fighter's mental fortitude. Every slight move in the eyes, feet, and hands of your opponent must be taken into account to win. It’s a common stereotype to think that fighters aren’t very smart and not only because of what they do for a living, but oftentimes it...
Read more

Ariella Green Week 7: The Airport

Image
  Ariella Green Week 7: The Airport      Don’t ya hate going to the airport?       I absolutely can not stand going to the airport. As I’m sure most of you know, I am very organized and like to plan out everything. When things don’t go according to the plan, it stresses me out.       Thursday morning, I assumed I would have an easy experience flying from PBI to JFK on JetBlue airlines. Little did I know, there would be many little bumps along the way that I had to deal with while trying to catch my flight.       First, we arrive at the airport at around 10:30 for our 11:45 flight. I personally believe that you should always give yourself enough time at the airport, so you don’t have to rush at the gate or if you want to make a purchase. We also had to face the challenge of finding somewhere to park, which is nearly impossible sometimes. After searching for a while, we found...
Read more