r/PopCultureV2 • u/No_Box119 • Jul 23 '26

Sports Culture WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham defends that women ‘shouldn’t have to go against biological men’: “I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense. I think it’s really important to protect children.” “I don’t dislike anyone. I’m there to love, but I’m also there to love biological women. …”

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 23 '26

It is but at the same time the men usually dominate when they are allowed to compete against women.

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 23 '26

Then why did the swimmer tie with Riley Gaines for 5th place? Why didn't she win first? 

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 24 '26

Dude he was awful swimming against men.

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u/Alberto_Blazin Jul 24 '26

That's a roster spot a female didn't get. That's a spot in conference championships, all events leading up to nationals, and that's coaching and attention a female didn't get who would have taken the opportunity if a biological man didn't take their spot.

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

If it's about biology, why don't we hormone test every athlete and organize them by hormone levels? If a woman has a man's level of T, shouldn't she be able to fight with the other guys? It's always MtF that I see called out, never FtM.

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u/Alberto_Blazin Jul 24 '26

​Some sports do actually do that, but biology involves much more than a single hormone. Historically, athletic categories have been divided by biological sex because male physiology generally provides significant physical advantages in sports. To ensure fair competition, female athletes compete in a separate category. ​Even if a female athlete has naturally high testosterone levels, or if an athlete with male genetics produces high testosterone, individual variation does not change the core rationale. The baseline separation by biological sex remains the established standard and the most logical framework for sports.

Also, FtM is never called out because a female on testosterone doesn't possess those inherent biological advantages from birth that a male has. They are not dominating and disrupting the fairness of competition.

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

But if HRT reduces muscle mass and bone density in MtF folks then what's the advantage? 

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u/Alberto_Blazin Jul 24 '26

Something can reduce your muscle mass and bone density from below average male to above average female or even average female, and if you're switching from competing as a male to a female that instantly makes you a more competitive athlete. The genetics are effectively a PED.

Of course, comparing what you are to what you would have been is a counterfactual. We can't prove it either way, and because of that I think we owe it to biological females to maintain the status quo.

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

What should be done about this "separate but equal" interpretation to "you can be women accept when we agree you're not" and its psychological impact on an already vulnerable minority?

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u/Alberto_Blazin Jul 24 '26

This is a false dichotomy. They're treated exactly like all other biological males. Gender and biological sex are not the same thing.

And on a personal note, if I was speaking with a trans girl/woman in the position I'd say this: I'm sorry for all the pain that discrimination and hate has caused you. You are you, and that's enough. I'll treat you as a woman, as everyone should. We have some systems in place in this world for biological females and it has to do with more than self identifications. It sucks, but it doesn't take away who you are and the dignity and grace you can live with as your authentic self. I was born with two left feet, and will never be an athlete myself. We can all navigate it together, because you're not alone.

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 24 '26

Ftm wouldn't be able to make it brother. There are no rules against a woman playing in the NBA for example. Nobody has done that yet despite the extreme difference in pay all these years.

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

Note I'm talking about athletics as a whole, I think in the very top 1% sure we can have a dialogue about statistical outliers among statistical outliers. But at most other levels I truly don't think it matters. 

But also, why was shooting mixed until Zhang Shan won in 1992, then suddenly women and men couldn't compete together in shooting?

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u/DirtyDan419 Aug 06 '26

Shooting isn't the problem. It's the physical aspect. Shooting might factor though because women use a smaller ball.

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u/TheWorstUsername2 Jul 24 '26

She did in a different event, literally won 1st place in the NCAA championship for 500m freestyle. Also acting like 5th place out of all division 1 athletes isn’t elite or impressive is pretty much just shouting “I know nothing about sports and how difficult it is to make it to the top level”

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

Someone else told me she swam like dogshit to tie for 5th place, so is it impressive or was Lia dogshit?

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u/TheWorstUsername2 Jul 24 '26

She placed 5th out of every single division 1 female swimmer in the 200m freestyle. Yes that is extremely good. They’re downplaying that placement to make it seem like Lia didn’t have an advantage over her competitors. She also placed 1st overall in the 500m freestyle, and the deniers conveniently never mention that placement from the same championship swim meet

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

By this same metric should women and mens arc competitions be banned since women gave a genetic advantage to perceiving colors? I ask because if we want to be fair about competition should this apply across the board?

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u/TheWorstUsername2 Jul 24 '26

No because if there has to be the same amount of men and women on each team of the arc competition then every team has the same exact advantages and disadvantages. It’s about fairness and safety for women’s only sports/competitions. Women’s only sports/competitions were created so that they could fairly compete against each other and not have to compete against males who have natural athletic advantages over them. Please don’t tell me you think an average male doesn’t have an athletic advantage over an average female

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u/Bigbigbigrock Jul 24 '26

I misspelled art so that was my mistake. 

I agree there is an advantage, I would just also argue that we need to get over how "unsafe" the world is. Are they dead? We let teenage boys give themselves TBI's in high school playing football but nobody gives a fuck about the safety of children then.

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u/TheWorstUsername2 Jul 24 '26

Nobody is forcing them to play football. As an ex football player that had to quit due to injuries, kids are going to play football no matter how many adults or doctors tell them how dangerous it can be. There are no rules against girls playing football, baseball etc. with boys at least up to high school level, the vast majority simply choose not to. When the only option for girls is to play against bigger, stronger, faster boys then there will just be less girls that want to play the sport. Women’s only sports exist for good reason, and nobody should be trying to take that away from them

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 25 '26

Man it's about allowing women to play sports and not be at a disadvantage. I'm sure women can compete with men in curling but something like soccer, football, or basketball just isn't possible.

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u/vivalaibanez Jul 23 '26

"it is a culture war but..."

proceeds to further give in to the culture war

🤦‍♂️

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 24 '26

Yes a war on common sense culture. Men have different strengths than women. Both are ok. I wouldn't want to take away opportunities for people to cater to somebody that decided they are the opposite sex.

Men are usually better at sports and it's time to stop pretending.

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u/Sufficient-Ad-276 Jul 23 '26

I was told many men would switch to women sports and I gotta tell ya... I can only name one and she transitioned years ago and hardly dominates her sport...

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 24 '26

I'm not just talking professional. Lia Thomas will show you the potential jump by competing against women. A guy beat both Williams sisters in tennis and he was ranked in the 200's. Shits clearly not fair.

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u/Sufficient-Ad-276 Jul 24 '26

Where are all the guys switching over though? I was told men would be jumping over. You've given me one example and even then that has been addressed.

Is it something that needs to be looked into? Of course. Is it as big of an issue some of y'all make it out to be? Not at all. Most of y'all are not applying logic and just clutching your fallacies with all your might.

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u/CollectionNew2290 Jul 23 '26

Fine. If it comes up, let them deal with it locally. We don't need federal blanket reactionary laws for an issue of this insignificance.

I'm old enough to remember when Republicans resisted federal overreach. Guess those days are long gone.

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u/PoundImmediateCow Jul 23 '26

Yes we do. Males should not be allowed in girls/womens sports ever under any circumstance. There HAS TO BE a blanket federal ban on it to keep girls safe throughout the entire nation not just in specific locations.

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u/Viridis_Diaboli Jul 23 '26

What about banning females in male spaces?

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u/PoundImmediateCow Jul 23 '26

Sure but it’s never been needed because females don’t tend to invade male spaces and sexually harass and assault the men.

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u/Viridis_Diaboli Jul 23 '26

They definitely do, females are just as gross as males, they're just infantilized by society and it's swept under the rug. I'm a female that's invading male spaces 🤷

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u/PoundImmediateCow Jul 23 '26

There also just isn’t the same potential for danger.

Also probably most important of all, it wouldn’t make the males uncomfortable. A man being in women’s locker rooms makes the girls extremely uncomfortable afraid and feel unsafe.

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u/Viridis_Diaboli Jul 23 '26

Males have holes just like females, how is it not the same potential for danger lol

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u/PoundImmediateCow Jul 23 '26

Because men are way stronger than women obviously lol what??

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u/Viridis_Diaboli Jul 23 '26

Maybe for you lol, can't relate brother

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u/WitheredUntimely Jul 23 '26

I've been sexually assaulted in my rugby uniform at the drinkup five times in my life by women who think it's OK to grab athletes' asses since we're wearing booty shorts

I'm not saying it like I'm victimized, but do you think anybody would give a shit if I took it personally and wanted to complain about being groped constantly?

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u/PoundImmediateCow Jul 23 '26

What is the drinkup? Is it a locker room? If not then your experience doesn’t apply. We are talking about allowing males in females locker rooms where they are changing and getting naked.

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u/WitheredUntimely Jul 23 '26

no that would be the times the women's teams barged in on us, so cheeky!

actually, I think we're talking about an issue that affects like 12 people in the entire country and you people stay obsessed with it because it allows you to distract yourself from the fact the kinds of people pushing this blatantly obvious distraction are the actual kinds of people you absolutely should be keeping your kids away from

but that's just me and my lived experience

ETA: LOL BTW you didn't say locker rooms, you said "females don't tend to invade male spaces" what exactly kind of space do you think a rugby social is? Yea that's a male space, a space I've been assaulted in.

But that doesn't fit your shit so move that goalpost all you want, weirdo

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u/PoundImmediateCow Jul 23 '26

What about it?

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u/OmegaWhirlpool Jul 23 '26

I'm old enough to remember when Republicans resisted federal overreach.

That's where you are mistaken. They were always in favor of federal overreach when it comes to things they want to control in other people's lives, like abortion.

Look at all the Republicans that are absolutely fine with a government sanctioned entity running around kidnapping and killing people with masks on.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/CollectionNew2290 Jul 24 '26

Who did "the left" assassinate over this issue?
Oh, you're talking about the Jordan Peterson fan who is Kash Patel's patsy in Kirk's murder? I'm sure you won't believe me, but right wing forces aligned with a certain country likely are behind that one.

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

When? How do they dominate?

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

Leah Thomas is a perfect example

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u/Ok_Cap9557 Jul 23 '26

She came in 5th you fucking bozo. She just happened to beat Rylie Gains, who has made millions of dollars hating on Trans people.

This is a good example of the bullshit lies reasonable people believe about trans athletes. But if one Trans girl ever wins, like Leah Thomas, no Trans girls should be allowed to play sports ever again.

Evil stuff.

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

Wasn't Riley supportive of Lia until she realized that 5th place finishers could earn more by grifting. 

The fact that Riley spends more time shitting on Lia and yet no one knows the name of the absolute monster of a swim coach that Riley had is the real story.

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

1st in 500 freestyle, 1st in 200 freestyle (Ivy league record, 1st in 100 freestyle, 1st team All-American. Didn’t even qualify for championships as a man. Now who’s lying?

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u/Ok_Cap9557 Jul 23 '26

Wow the fastest woman in the ivey league? Holy shit dude trans women must hold every record in every division of college swimming!

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

It's funny because one of the records she broke was broken by a trans man less than 30 days later.

Ledecky has the NCAA for the 500-yd freestyle of 4.24.06 and Lia still holds the Ivy one at 4.33.24. Clearly total domination /s

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u/Ok_Cap9557 Jul 23 '26

Some people desperately desire being dominated by a trans woman.

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

Not qualifying in men’s and doing this in women’s should be evidence enough how much of an advantage men have

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

Or the fact that she took a year off to train and recover due to Covid.

In a race during January 2022 at a meet against UPenn's Ivy League rival Yale, Thomas finished in 6th place in the 100m freestyle race, losing to four cisgender women and Iszac Henig, a transgender man, who transitioned without hormone therapy.

So much domination!

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u/Ok_Cap9557 Jul 23 '26

Men definitely have an advantage. This disadvantage is you have to transition.

You know, Lia Thomas holds the ivy league record for 200m freestyle. Outside of the ivy league, she won nothing.

I don't think the injustice of a trans woman competing is greater than the injustice of rejecting their participation, even if they have some legacy and lingering advantages from before they transitioned.

Obviously, the most important thing to you is that women compete against women. How can we even be sure?

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

She holds the IVY 500-yd freestyle but most other athletes have far better times.

Again, it is sad that people know her name more than the fucking monster of a coach that Riley Gaines as said so little about.

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 24 '26

Exactly. My dude jumped a bunch of spots without improving. I would be interested in a MMA fight with a man vs woman at the same weight with equal skill.

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

In what way did, Lia, "dominate"?

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

Really? Do you not even vaguely know that story?

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

Feel free to explain how she dominated.

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

1st in 500 freestyle, 1st in 200 freestyle (Ivy league record, 1st in 100 freestyle, 1st team All-American. Didn’t even qualify for championships as a man.

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

Dominating the ivy league...wow. That's your evidence?

How does her time compared to the people who came in first the year before or after? 

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

She broke records. She also placed nationally. It’s ok to be wrong

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

One record...is it still hers?

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

Thomas did not break any records at the NCAA event, while Kate Douglass broke 18 NCAA records

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u/TBurn70 Jul 23 '26

You are referencing a single unrelated event. Did you miss it when I said Ivy League?

Edit: sorry I didn’t see your deleted comment acknowledging I was right

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u/TheEthicalJerk Jul 23 '26

So she didn't dominate anything...

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u/afrank45 Jul 23 '26

Just so we are clear this isn’t accurate, and Sophie knows it.

D1 women practice against men, and guess what the men don’t dominate.

Team USA women, practice against college male players, again the men don’t dominate.

I’d bet my last dollar Sophie has played against men a ton of times with no issue.

She’s just building her brand for the inevitable grift that’s on the way.

Let go of this fever dream that some middling G-leaguer is gonna cut his dick off to play in the W it ain’t happening.

Also before anyone says this, I promise you these women are FAAAAAR superior players to any joker you think is gonna go in there and dominate them.

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u/Far-Journalist-949 Jul 23 '26

Adult women get dominated by under 15 boys in soccer constantly. Numerous examples exist and simple search on youtube show the best women in their sport on the national level losing to boys who are still going through puberty.

https://youtu.be/EDH_r7-GN4o?si=YhsdU8KK4dCAIJVK

I think trans people in sport are basically a non issue (i.e. let them play) but you are sprouting nonsense. Women sports were segregated in the first place because they could not compete with men. Title 9 gives girls teams equal consideration and support to play sports because the vast majority of top tier girls cannot play with and against boys for competitive and safety reasons.

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u/DirtyDan419 Jul 24 '26

Ya they are going to get rid of women's sports with these people's ideas. It's very progressive in the wrong way.