２０２４パリオリンピックで大いに論争になっている話題

現在パリオリンピック真っ只中ですが、女子ボクシングの競技で男性の染色体XYを持つ台湾とアルジェリアの選手が女子ボクサーとしてリングに上がりメダルを獲得している話題について書いてみました。世界的に論争になっている話題ですが、みなさんは自分の意見で英語で話したり書いたりできますか？社会的な関心ごとを英語で考えて話す、書くことは良い練習になりますよ。

Is it okay for transgender women to compete in women’s sports?

Too much emphasis on inclusion and equality for transgenders is disrupting not only our society but also the world of sports. As the Olympic Games continue, a controversial commotion is occurring worldwide over the women’s boxing competition. Two transgender women are participating: one from Taiwan and the other from Algeria. Both are still in the tournament, and as they continue to win their matches, the controversy seems to be growing even more significant.

Reportedly, they both participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, however they didn’t win the medals. This time though, an Algerian transgender woman beat up an opponent so badly that the opponent stopped fighting in less than a minute. I don’t know the reason for her quitting the fight. I guess the Algerian boxer was too strong, or maybe she wanted to express her protest competing against a transgender woman who has a male body. I truly understand that view. Whether transgender women are strong or not, they shouldn’t be treated equally as genetically proven women. In most cases, they have advantage over biological women because they tend to be more muscular and bigger in size due to skeletal differences between men and women.

IOC president Thomas Bach said “We have two boxers who are born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman and have competed for many years as women,”

This is such an extreme perspective. First of all, they are not born as women. I don’t know how they have been raised. But the first statement is enough to say that he is so much willing to take side with transgender equality. I’ve always been skeptical about the transgender movement, marching for the rights of marriage equality and the same legal status as ordinary married couples of men and women. Now that they even want to compete in women’s sports, and IOC accept their wishes. Woe to IOC that allows participation of transgender athletes.

What if transgender women break world records in track and field? Does IOC approve such results as official? Each sports association establishes the approval process for transgender athletes’ participation in international competitions. They monitor testosterone levels, a type of male hormone that affects muscle tissue growth and can improve overall competitiveness. Regardless of testosterone levels, there is a fundamental problem with men participating in the women’s sports. I am not against transgender athletes participating in sports as long as they are competing against other transgender athletes. I don’t know how many transgender athletes are out there. But they should understand the differences between biological women and transgender women and recognize that they are not entitled to participate in women’s sports. Therefore, if they want to compete, they should compete with others of the same gender. It’s as simple as that!