Introduction
The current question is whether transgender women belong in women’s sports or whether these personas should compete in the men’s section. This question is political, ideological, and, above all, biological because any discussion about the differences between women and men must be decided from a physical perspective. The transgender society believes that transgender women are women, and sports should be shared. However, biologists and many sociologists are convinced that this viewpoint leads to the deterioration of the patriarchal system of society. The biological advantages of transgender women are the same as men’s, allowing them into women’s sports is a significant threat.
Summary
Abigail Shrier’s article The Transgender Threat to Women’s Sports provides a series of arguments and evidence that support the idea of excluding transgender people from women’s sports. Shrier’s main idea is that the biological advantages of transgender women prevent girls from pursuing their dreams and achieving high honors in competition (Shrier, 2020). The author cites credible sources, including a clear biological rationale; a link to a website comparing female and male results. In addition, Shrier provide evidences that point to the oppression of girls: they are related to the social impact of including transwomen in sports.
Credibility Assessment
The paper’s author is Abigail Shrier, a journalist and writer: she has degrees in philosophy and has a law degree. Shrier is a freelance journalist for The Wall Street Journal and has been a regular contributor to discussions of the transgender plan since 2020. In many ways, she is a savvy professional who uses scientific terms and critiques transgender theory based on research and interviews. The article The Transgender Threat to Women’s Sports was published in October 2020 in Newsweek’s Opinion section. The report is a summative source, citing evidence from Shrier’s book, Irreversible Damage, using additional sources. The author uses the website Boysvswomen.com as support, mentions Olympic runner Allyson Felix, and the issues of social and athletic scholarships for transgender people at universities and colleges (Shrier, 2020). The evidence Shrier cited is sufficiently reliable and in the public domain.
Analysis
Shrier’s article sparked much controversy and discussion due to the benefits of transgender women. The transgender society believes that oppressed small groups cannot have advantages. Still, Shrier suggests looking at the situation from a biological perspective and understanding that young women “wouldn’t stand a chance” (Shrier, 2020). The author begins the narrative by briefly highlighting the problem and consistently providing arguments. The narrative is logical because it organizes paragraphs with facts to support the main idea.
Shrier’s article is credible because each example does not carry an offensive message but only offers the reader facts with links to primary sources. Shrier argues for the one-sidedness of competition because transgender women have advantages: for example, they have more testosterone and more lung capacity. The examples of female champions are effective: the Williams sisters fought men, after which Serena claimed she did not know it “would be so hard” (Shrier, 2020). Shrier cites a study conducted in Connecticut, stating that giving transgender women scholarships based on sports, and taking them away from girls, is unacceptable. In addition, the author offers a solution to a current problem in women’s sports: an alternative to prevailing conditions could help.
Conclusion
In summary, Abigail Shrier’s article demonstrates that the problem of transgender people in women’s sports is of acute concern to society. Shrier’s work is credible because it contains evidence and reasoning with sound criticism. The author does not use insults and offers a solution to the problem, rather than completely excluding transgender people from athletic competition. Shrier’s article confirms that the documented biological advantages of transgender women prevent girls from achieving honorable honors in sports and society.
Reference
Shrier, A. (2020). The transgender threat to women’s sports: Opinion. Newsweek. Web.