[longrema]

I understand the concern that people will change their sex just to have an edge in competition. I think it's kind of crazy, but I guess if you trained your whole life to be great at something and just couldn't make it as a man (or woman) but thought you'd have better luck as the other, then perhaps you might be desperate enough to have sexual reassignment surgery to get the upper hand.

But from what I can tell, that doesn't seem to be the argument here. I know that physically the person may have an advantage, but I for one would not be willing to tell people that just because they feel like they were born with the wrong sex means they can never play competitive sports. And it sounds like the Supreme Court has previously decided similarly.

I suppose I wouldn't be opposed to athletic organizations not allowing people to compete if they only had sexual reassignment surgery to gain the competitive edge. While I think that would be difficult to specify, I could foresee an allegation that was the case leading to an investigation and discussions with friends, neighbors, coaches, etc. Although there would certainly be a disadvantage for people who didn't frequently discuss their desires. But generally speaking you don't just walk outside one day a completely different sex, most surgeons seem to require you to have been on hormones and under the supervision of a therapist as well as live as your preferred sex for a period of time (I believe it's something like one years) before they will do the surgery. That's an awful lot and an awful long time to hide it if it's simply for the competitive edge. Then what? Even if you when, I think becoming a woman/man to win may have a big life impact. Overall, I can't see this particular side of it being a big problem, but some type of ready-made solution would help to quell the fears of those who would believe it.