| Permalink Archive for the 'Sports' Category
100% Woman
July 29, 2006 | 
Sports
I recently got digital cable, and I’ve been spending a lot of time watching Logo, a 24/7 gay channel. I’m watching Real Momentum: 100% Woman right now; it’s a documentary about mountain biker Michelle Dumaresq. She’s transgender, so there is a lot of controversy about whether she should be allowed to compete against women. This is not an isolated case - there is actually a long history of debate about this issue.
Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about it. In all other arenas, I would expect transwomen to be equal with non-trans women. But in sports, where physical elements do contribute to winning and losing, is it really fair for someone who may have greater strength to compete against women? I honestly don’t know the answer to this. There’s a scientist in the documentary who says that hormone therapy eliminates any “unfair” advantage, but it’s hard to overcome popular perception, and Michelle Dumaresq will probably always have this controversy following her.
My favorite scene in the documentary isn’t related to gender. It was when Michelle had suffered a bad crash, and she was being worked on by medics. She had her head turned away and her eyes squinched shut, and she was saying “I love downhilling” over and over to herself. Ouch!
Sheryl Swoopes comes out about lesbian love Alisa Scott
November 1, 2005 | Sports
WNBA superstar Sheryl Swoopes has kept a secret for seven years, only now she’s “quit pretending.” [link]
My comments: I’m not sure if I should be surprised by this or not. There have been rumors since the league’s inception that all WNBA players are gay. And yet Swoopes had left her sexuality a mystery for so long that I wish she’d come out sooner.
