shall we discuss Michelle Dumaresq? What do you think of the controversy surrounding her? Do you think she should be allowed to compete in women's mountain biking? Here is a fairly balanced article about her for those who are unfamiliar:

I am not a competitive person I believe that she is a woman and should be able to race, but it's easy to say that because I am not competitive and have never been competitive. My girlfriend thinks differently, she believes that while she is a woman, Her muscle structure is still that of a man and it isn't fair to the woman who were born woman to compete with her. She does win a lot of races.

Is it fair? I don't know. In the small scope of the MTB competition, does Michelle have any unfair advantage? I don't know. I don't know what "medical testing" they'd use to determine if she had an advantage or not. Don't professional athletes go train up in high altitudes because it boosts their red blood cell count and lung capacity? Is THAT fair? I don't know. I'm not a competitive person, and I really don't give a crap about sports. I am sure that Michelle's paid more than enough dues in her life. Let her ride, say I.

I don't know that much about it beyond what you posted. Seems to me that she should do whatever she likes.... I do question the physical differences and if they would give a competitive advantage. I would need more information. I would have to say if the person had/did/took something that gave them a competitive advantage over others created/creating an uneven playing field that should be accounted for. If there is no way to give some sort of a handicap then the person should race with their peers.

When Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France, the buzz was that chemotherapy might have given him an unfair advantage. Having gone through rigorous chemo myself, the accusation was laughable to the point of total, drop-down on my knees and howl absurd. I say, let her ride.

I think At the professional level chromosomal analysis is needed.I think her birth gender gives an unfair competitive advantage.

I agree with your points. The problem is that now that she has transitioned, she is DQed from competing in men's mountain biking either. It is unclear if there is any physical advantage. I saw a show about her and an MD argued fairly convincingly that any physical advantage she may have had would have been undermined when she began taking testosterone-blocking hormones (I think I have that correct). It is a very interesting situation.

I wonder if that is correct Seems like things such as lung capacity,cardiac output might have already been developed by the time she started the hormones.

I can also see the point of the women competing against her, tho a couple of them got downright nasty and got themselves suspended.

Andre the Giant had a physical condition that caused him to naturally produce huge quantities of human growth hormone yet he was allowed to compete with others who had the standard amount and would have been considered to be doping if they took extra. . I think this is a little different to me because in my mind the presence of testosterone ( which all men and women naturally produce in wildly varying levels and some athletes dope with including I bet some biofemale ones). The issue for me would be the different skeletal and muscle mass development during puberty. It's not so much that I would think of testosterone as the unfair advantage because anybody could dope with it and people including women have different testosterone levels anyway it's the fact that one person would have a different frame and size than others. It's almost like two boxers in completely different weight classes having to compete with each other.

its a mix though was Andre just big or at all skilled? If he was skilled and big I'd also wonder. I think he was just big. If Michelle was a competitive male in the same sport then transitioned... hum. I have more questions. Really, personally, I don't care. I have little to no stock in competitive sports. If I were a racer beside Michelle and losing I'd also wonder a whole lot more. Also, when saying "the person" above really I mean anyone. If you take steroids or other enhancing drugs its also messing with the field of play. Same with the questions in the Olympics with China? I think it was? Using underage gymnasts. Its cheating. Is Michelle "cheating" just by a factor of who she is? I don't know. It is an interesting question.

I wonder why only some sports have weight and size classes? I guess in boxing it's because one person might get seriously injured. Still that seems to imply an understanding that there are different sizes of people and two differently sized people might not be able to compete fairly. I'm not that upset about this case because from what I've read many, many athletes take testosterone because people can have different levels naturally and it's a naturally occurring substance excreted over time that won't set off a drug test like steroids. She might have less than the other women at this point and some might even be doping with it.

There's always the 2010 Gay Olympics in Cologne, Germany for her to compete in, as an alternative.