There is no issue, just have biological boys wrestle biological boys, the same with girls. And what is wrong with the Puritan Victorian view of gender? I mean your faith does not accept homosexual behavior - is that too a Puritan Victorian view?

http://bahai-library.com/compilation_homosexuality_bwc

I think shunyadragon said Ba-bye to Bahai.

No, he is still a Bahai, I think...

The problem occurs in this instance because the "boy" in question is a biological girl, but is receiving hormones (i.e. testosterone) that increases his strength and muscle mass giving "him" an unfair advantage over the non-transitioning girls that "he" is wrestling against. Of course the other girls (mostly their parents) are protesting that it's an unfair advantage (which it is) for someone on male hormones to be allowed to compete against girls.

Yes, it seems terribly unfair.

This is one of the places where I feel transgender rights issues become extremely difficult.

In general, advocates of transgender rights (myself included) like to note the distinction between biological sex and cultural gender roles. It is argued that one can perfectly recognize one's biology while still identifying with the particular cultural gender role of one's choice.

However, the division of sports is not a matter of cultural gender. It's a matter of biology. There are biochemical and morphological differences between biological males and females which make it appropriate to split competitions along these lines.

In general, I think that biological males should compete in Boys'/Men's divisions, while biological females compete in Girl's/Women's divisions. However, the question of testosterone treatments is a very important one.

In many-- if not most-- competitive sports, testosterone is treated as a regulated substance. My experience is particularly in Mixed Martial Arts, where quite a number of fighters-- including teammates and friends of mine-- have been put under a great bit of scrutiny for excessive testosterone levels. This is a well known issue in both Men's and Women's divisions, and even people who have legitimate medical reasons for high test are often pegged by the USADA or other anti-doping regulators. While I certainly feel compassion for someone like Beggs, the fact of the matter is that testosterone is most certainly a performance enhancer. I absolutely agree with the one father mentioned in the article who objected to Beggs' competing on that basis.

I have an old school friend who is a professional mountain biker. He was being treated for low testosterone levels, and was working with the local anti-doping agency, keeping them fully notified of the treatment and levels, and applied for medical exemption (and was informed by them that he could keep competing while awaiting the decision).
The medical exemption was turned down and he stopped the treatment immediately, but for one race his levels were slightly above normal (the treatment he was on does a slow build-up) and got whacked with a two year ban.

This is a girl who is taking ihormones to win. That is already illegal in every sports league. No conflict at all

So, in your opinion, Beggs should have to choose whether to continue with transitioning and not competing, OR halt the transitioning hormones in order to continue competing?

If so, then I agree with you. Because as you say, (like it or not) Testosterone is a performance enhancer.

We can't always have everything we want...

There's nothing difficult about it, just bar them from competing. Problem solved.

The Baha'i view is a spiritual law forbidding homosexual acts ONLY. Letters from the Universal House of Justice are clear and specific. The Baha'i Faith does not advocate laws discriminating against homosexuals nor Transgenders in the secular world.

Also the Transgender issue is absolutely not an issue in the spiritual laws of the Baha'i Faith concerning homosexuality, and in reality not the subject of this thread.

Beware of seer's warped view and selective citations concerning evryone or anyone who does not believe as he does. This includes anything concerning science.

The Baha'i view is a spiritual law forbidding homosexual acts ONLY. Letters from the Universal House of Justice are clear and specific. The Baha'i Faith does not advocate laws discriminating against homosexuals nor Transgenders in the secular world.

Also the Transgender issue is absolutely not an issue in the spiritual laws of the Baha'i Faith concerning homosexuality, and in reality not the subject of this thread.

There is a problem here of Discrimination, Equal Rights and Civil Liberties, which are Constitutional issues and again if it was up to some states they would likely still have slaves, and feudal labor practices.

THe wrestler, of course, did not want to compete against girls. The treatments were medically legal and accepted under the Texas athletic guidelines.