Stuff co.nz 12 June 2021 – Steve Stannard
Family First Comment: Here’s a simple biology lesson about why sports should remain girls-only and boys-only (as per birth)….
The upshot of this is that a grown man has a skeleton, that when accompanied by muscle, moves in a slightly different way than a grown woman, providing an advantage for men in many things physical. This is partly why men run, jump, and throw further and faster than women. Add this male sex-related advantage in physical pursuits to the subtle but important effect of sport during puberty, and you have a male adult with an advantage in that sport; an advantage that will never go away even when testosterone declines.
These days I visit the blood lab every couple of months to give a sample so the doctor can keep an eye on my health.
Without fail when the phlebotomist sees the size of the veins on my arm they say “I can’t miss that!” And I don’t think anyone ever has. Getting my blood is like shooting fish in barrel.
As a teenager I used to paddle kayaks. Not in sprints like Lisa Carrington, but in ultra-marathons, up to 100 miles long.
Much blood had to flow through those arms as I grew and my blood vessels grew large as a result. I haven’t paddled kayaks for many years and my arm muscles look like those of a cyclist, but those big arm veins I developed as a teenager have endured.
It’s a salient illustration of a permanent adaptation to my body resulting from the ‘’stress’’ of exercise during my developmental years. Bones, although less obvious, are another example, and they are very sensitive to exercise during adolescence.
The upshot of this is that a grown man has a skeleton, that when accompanied by muscle, moves in a slightly different way than a grown woman, providing an advantage for men in many things physical. This is partly why men run, jump, and throw further and faster than women.
Add this male sex-related advantage in physical pursuits to the subtle but important effect of sport during puberty, and you have a male adult with an advantage in that sport; an advantage that will never go away even when testosterone declines.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/300330438/athletes-biological-advantages-cannot-be-countered-by-testosterone-restrictions
