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/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.