A record number of athletes openly identifying as LGBTQ+ are competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, a massive leap during a competition that organizers have pushed to center around inclusion and diversity.

There are 191 athletes publicly saying they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary who are participating in the Games, according to Outsports, an organization that compiles a database of openly queer Olympians. The vast majority of the athletes are women.

That number has quashed the previous record of 186 out athletes counted at the COVID-19-delayed Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, and the count is only expected to grow at future Olympics.

“More and more people are coming out,” said Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports. “They realize it’s important to be visible because there’s no other way to get representation.”

    • UraniumBlazer@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Most cis sportswomen have naturally elevated “masculine” hormones. Trans women see many physical changes (like fat redistribution and changes in muscle n fat mass) after commencing hormone therapy. Therefore, the “advantage” that they have over cis women is negligible. It is in fact comparable to the advantage that some cis women have over other cis women (the hormone thing that I mentioned in my first sentence).

      But no, being assholes towards trans people is cool, and there clearly aren’t other issues to worry about. /s

      • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Recently I read that for men who have gone through puberty, their hitting strength is 162% of that of women. So seems like some things do give you a massive advantage. But I guess that’s why they have those gender rules for boxing at least.

      • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        There is an undeniable trend of mtf athletes breaking female records. Trying to hide from that does noone any good.

        • gmtom@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Trans athletes have been accepted in the Olympics since 2004, yet not a single one has so much as qualified for a games since then, despite having such a “big advantage”

          And globally the only trans person to ever get a professional title was a div 1 swimmer in the US.

            • gmtom@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Ah okay, my information is clearly out of date, but I think my point still stands as she came 7th

              • excral@feddit.org
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                3 months ago

                No, not at all. There was also Quinn who won a Gold medal at the same Olympics. And Laurel Hubbard won silver at the World Championships and gold twice at the Commonwealth Games but was 43 years old by the time of the Tokyo Olympics.

                Additionally, you have to consider that the current rules regarding trans athletes are only in place since 2015. Before it was required to undergo sexual reassignment surgery and have your gender legally changed. And even after the changes, many trans athletes couldn’t compete at the Olympics because the governing bodies of their sport are more restrictive. So even if trans athletes have a “big advantage”, there are plenty ways to explain their lack of presence at the Olympics.

      • vga@sopuli.xyz
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        3 months ago

        Females have larger gametes. Males have smaller gametes. Just because this doesn’t apply to 100% of cases doesn’t make this an accepted definition – everything has exceptions in nature. 98-99% is good enough for a categorization though.

        Does this affect how transwomen do in women’s category? Probably 98-99% not (hah), since IOC has declared this all works just fine?

        Still it’s still a bit controversial, e.g. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/11/577.full?ijkey=yjlCzZVZFRDZzHz&keytype=ref this study showed one set of cases where hormone treatment removed most differences in transwomen vs women but they remained significantly faster runners.

        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7846503/ this seems to show that transwomen lose very little of their biological advantage. "Rather, the data show that strength, lean body mass, muscle size and bone density are only trivially affected. "

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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          3 months ago

          Who made this the accepted definition? Because you haven’t shown me who came up with it and who agrees with it.

          Also “doesn’t apply to 100% of cases” is not a way to scientifically define something, so I doubt it’s accepted. But feel free to prove me wrong since you came up with links that don’t support your claim.

          • vga@sopuli.xyz
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            3 months ago

            Who made this the accepted definition?

            Evolution, as far as we can tell.

            But feel free to prove me wrong since you came up with links that don’t support your claim.

            I usually approach these things from the point of view of trying to reach truth together, not from the point of view of trying to use sources as hammers to beat down your opponent. Are you different from me in this way?

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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              3 months ago

              Sorry, ‘evolution’ is a process and does not come up with definitions. Scientists do.

              Since you apparently can’t find any scientists who agree with you, I think it’s safe to say you’re wrong.

              • vga@sopuli.xyz
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                3 months ago

                Since you apparently can’t find any scientists who agree with you

                I’m not sure what we’re conflicted here about, so let’s clarify: Are you saying that I cannot find any scientists to agree with me on my claim that males have smaller gametes and females have larger gametes? Also: what’s the standard we’re aiming at here? What do I need to find to convince you that I’m right? Do I need to find a live actual scientist that answers this question for me, or do you need a scientific paper or something? I’m guessing that a basic biology book is not enough for you, since this fact definitely is in every one of them.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                  3 months ago

                  You said it is “an accepted definition” for both, but that there are exceptions, which is not scientific. Definitions do not have exceptions in science. If the definition is not universal, the definition is thrown out and a new one is found. That’s how science works.

                  • vga@sopuli.xyz
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                    3 months ago

                    but that there are exceptions, which is not scientific

                    Why would you say that? How do you define “scientific”? Might you be conflating it with some pure form of science, like mathematics or pure logic?

          • Timii@biglemmowski.win
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            3 months ago

            Don’t be obtuse. It’s considered a malady in males, hence the full term “Male hypogonadism”.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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              3 months ago

              Your definition of female:

              “Does not contain male levels of testosterone post maturity.”

              That includes men with hypogonadism.

              It’s not my fault that the medical term doesn’t agree with your definition.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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          3 months ago

          So you’re not female if you have Swyer Syndrome.

          In Swyer syndrome, individuals have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome in each cell, which is the pattern typically found in boys and men; however, they have female reproductive structures.

          People with Swyer syndrome have female external genitalia and some female internal reproductive structures. These individuals usually have a uterus and fallopian tubes, but their gonads (ovaries or testes) are not functional. Instead, the gonads are small and underdeveloped and contain little gonadal tissue. These structures are called streak gonads.

          Not a woman, right? Despite not even being able to tell even when you see them naked, right?

          How about XXY people? Men or women? Because they usually look like men, but at least one got pregnant.

              • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Your own quote tells me that people with chromosomal abnormalities tend to be sterile, so no. XX makes you a woman. XY makes you a man. Abnormalities are just that, abnormal. Trans people have problems and cutting them up is not the solution.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                  3 months ago

                  That is not how science works. There is not “exception to the rule” in science. That’s not how it works. If you can’t come up with a scientific definition that biologists agree with you on, just admit it. None of you seem to be able to. You think you know the science, but you can’t back it up.

                  • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.world
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                    3 months ago

                    that’s rich coming from the side that consistently fails to define what a woman is. I gave you a definition that can be used on 99% of the global population.

        • elfpie@lemmy.eco.br
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          3 months ago

          Are you saying we can’t know if someone is male or female just by looking at them and that there are other options according to the discussion below?

          • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            There are clear visual markers, but in the age of misguided mutilations chromosomes are the clearest indicator we have.