Lia Thomas was labeled a lightning rod. It's clear that there are some very strong feelings on both sides about Thomas, the trans woman who completed her collegiate swimming career over the weekend by finishing eighth. Some think it's unfair and an attack on female athletes. Others think she should be celebrated the same way as Jackie Robinson, please. I'm here to tell you that the way she's being discussed has a lot to do with her skin color. Just a few years ago, sports was in a similar situation with Caster, and what she went through was inhumane.
The International Amateur Athletic Federation claimed that the South African Olympic champion distance runner was biologically male. She isn't a trans woman and she isn't transitioning. She was a wonderfully built muscular Black woman who dominated the frail and thin white women that she lost to. A group of people told her she wasn't a woman. Something she said was so offensive she couldn't say it right.
The public can do something about it, but it is out of our control and we rely on people at the top to sort it out.
We know how each other feel because we see each other week in and week out.
The rule was changed after the drugs that suppressed her hormones were taken.
Correct, you read that last line correctly.
In a time when people are trying to take illegal drugs to make themselves bigger, faster, and stronger, the IAAF told Caster that she needed drugs to make her smaller, slower, and weaker. In 2009, Time Magazine did a story on the 800 meters world champion, Caster Semenya, titled "Could This Women's World Champ Be a Man?" She was not allowed to compete in the Tokyo Games.
This fight is about taking a stand and fighting for dignity, equality and the human rights of women in sport.
The disregard for the Black woman and the Black female athlete is not new. I don't want to know why she might have been targeted in the first place. Naomi Osaka was booed and Jane Campion chose to belittle the accomplishments of icons like Venus and Serena Williams to make her feel better about herself for working in a male-dominated industry.
I'm not making this about race for those that think so. I'm just pointing out how obvious it is. Imagine how bad things would be if she were black.
People from minority groups fall victim to the oppression Olympics when there is inequality because they are screaming about which group gets treated worse. I'm trying to show you that if society really wants things to get better for women, then progress must include all women.
The responsibility of fulfilling the promises that have been made comes from this era of equality. I don't believe that many of those wishes will ever be granted, as we are living in a post-2020 world where diversity, equity, and inclusion are the hottest trends. When it comes to dealing with society's view on the trans community, how trans athletes are handled will play a major part. This is the reason why the situation has gotten so messy, given that Caster Semenya was treated as if she wasn't a woman at all.
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