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VICTORY!!! LPGA to change policy on ‘female at birth’

KatieMCR

KatieMCR

Well-Known Member
LPGA to change policy on ‘female at birth’
by Steve DiMeglio on Nov. 30, 2010, under USA Today Sports

Players on the LPGA tour will no longer have to be female at birth.

At a year-end meeting Tuesday before this week’s LPGA Tour Championship in Orlando, players voted to change the association’s constitution and allow transgender women a chance to compete on the tour.

“The players voted in favor of amending the LPGA Constitution, eliminating the requirement that competitors must be ‘female at birth,’ ” LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan said in a statement. “Steps will be taken in the coming weeks to make the appropriate changes in the language of the Constitution.”

The change is in response to a lawsuit filed by Lana Lawless on Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Lawless, a 57-year-old retired police officer who had gender-reassignment surgery five years ago, alleges in her suit that her civil rights were violated when the LPGA rejected her application for tour membership.

Copyright © 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

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News this big deserves a new thread. There was quite a debate when I first posted the news of Lana Lawless suing the LPGA. I am very happy to see this news tonight. I commend the LPGA for doing the right thing, even though it took a lawsuit to do so. Now the LPGA agrees with me, and many others, that there is no reason to keep a transgender woman from competing. This is a wonderful victory for the transgender community.
 
It's only a matter of time until some dude makes the switch just to get into the LPGA.
 
Bronco70 said:
It's only a matter of time until some dude makes the switch just to get into the LPGA.
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This.

Pro sports offers big money. A guy who just misses making it in the PGA could make a pretty good living if only "he" could play in the LPGA.

This might be good news for trans-gender folks, but not particularly good news for women, at least the ones who were born that way with less muscle mass, less height and a higher body fat percentage.
 
Gameface said:
This.

Pro sports offers big money. A guy who just misses making it in the PGA could make a pretty good living if only "he" could play in the LPGA.

This might be good news for trans-gender folks, but not particularly good news for women, at least the ones who were born that way with less muscle mass, less height and a higher body fat percentage.
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I seriously doubt anybody would go through something like what's involved in the process of sexual reassignment to be considered eligible to compete as a woman at the professional level.

I wonder if it had been a woman to man reassignment situation if "he" would have faced as much difficulty trying to compete as a man? Probably not...

edit: trying to find some statistics comparing the number of male to female vs. female to male reassignments, but didn't have much luck. It sort of seems that the male to female is more common though. It's also less expensive, fwiw.
Sex change surgery is expensive. The cost for male to female reassignment is $7,000 to $24,000. The cost for female to male reassignment can exceed $50,000.
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https://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Pa-St/Sex-Reassignment-Surgery.html
 
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The LPGA is in the wrong for doing this, and it's totally unfair to all 'female at birth' players. Men with women's minds who think this is a significant issue regarding their rights are also quite wrong.
 
cjs55 said:
The LPGA is in the wrong for doing this, and it's totally unfair to all 'female at birth' players. Men with women's minds who think this is a significant issue regarding their rights are also quite wrong.
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You mean the same female at birth players who voted to change this policy? It seems to me they don't think it's unfair. Of course they could just be trying to avoid further legal action, but I'd like to think that's not their sole motivation.
 
Bronco70 said:
It's only a matter of time until some dude makes the switch just to get into the LPGA.
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haha how are you a moderator

Gameface said:
This.

Pro sports offers big money. A guy who just misses making it in the PGA could make a pretty good living if only "he" could play in the LPGA.

This might be good news for trans-gender folks, but not particularly good news for women, at least the ones who were born that way with less muscle mass, less height and a higher body fat percentage.
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transitioning from male to female isn't as easy as throwing on a wig and stuffing a sports bra. the social consequences of being transgender alone are enough to negate any money the lpga offers, not to mention that this apparently stipulates that potential competitors must have undergone gender-reassignment surgery before being considered. the idea of discriminating against transgender women because of the possibility that a guy who can't cut it in the pga might go through the rigmarole of transitioning is insulting to the transgender community and to the competitors of the lpga. it's a ridiculous possibility to guard against and it's only spouted by spitballing conservative bigots who watch too much Juwanna Man

cjs55 said:
The LPGA is in the wrong for doing this, and it's totally unfair to all 'female at birth' players. Men with women's minds who think this is a significant issue regarding their rights are also quite wrong.
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ah yes, all good points, thanks for posting

Marcus said:
Do you feel normal and accepted now?
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you're a despicable human being and nobody is going to miss you when you die :)
 
KatieMCR said:
You mean the same female at birth players who voted to change this policy? It seems to me they don't think it's unfair. Of course they could just be trying to avoid further legal action, but I'd like to think that's not their sole motivation.
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I hate to do it, but I agree with MCR. It was voted upon by the players, so what's the BFD? Congrats to this chick, she won her battle.



I'd still rather remove a nut with a dull spoon than watch LPGA, but good for them.
 
Get Down said:
haha how are you a moderator



it's a ridiculous possibility to guard against and it's only spouted by spitballing conservative bigots who watch too much Juwanna Man
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Apparently you have absolutely no problem with making judgmental statements based almost entirely on assumption and conjecture.

My comment wasn't about whether the LPGA should or should not have amended it's rules - personally, I don't care about the LPGA, or who they allow to play - my post was commentary on the possibility of someone trying to take advantage of it.

But thanks for playing.
 
Bronco70 said:
my post was commentary on the possibility of someone trying to take advantage of it.But thanks for playing.
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Bronco70 said:
It's only a matter of time until some dude makes the switch just to get into the LPGA.
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Well, fwiw, your commentary is absolutely ridiculous. If these are the judgments you make, it is kind of funny that you're able (are you?) to function as a moderator.
 
Get Down said:
transitioning from male to female isn't as easy as throwing on a wig and stuffing a sports bra. the social consequences of being transgender alone are enough to negate any money the lpga offers, not to mention that this apparently stipulates that potential competitors must have undergone gender-reassignment surgery before being considered. the idea of discriminating against transgender women because of the possibility that a guy who can't cut it in the pga might go through the rigmarole of transitioning is insulting to the transgender community and to the competitors of the lpga. it's a ridiculous possibility to guard against and it's only spouted by spitballing conservative bigots who watch too much Juwanna Man
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I don't pretend to know what would make this worth it to someone else. You're saying that the amount of money being made isn't enough to make someone want to do this, what if the amount of money did make it worth it? Would you feel differently then? Also, what if it is a person who might consider gender reassignment apart from their sports life but don't feel strongly enough about it to do it for that reason alone and have the surgery because it makes business sense for them? They would have an advantage over their "female at birth" competition, wouldn't they?
 
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KatieMCR said:
You mean the same female at birth players who voted to change this policy? It seems to me they don't think it's unfair. Of course they could just be trying to avoid further legal action, but I'd like to think that's not their sole motivation.
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I would always like to think that is not the sole motivation, but sadly most often it is the sole motivation. That and the LPGA do not want to get into never-ending public debate over the issue and become the poster-child for GLBT issues in the sporting world. It is easier to capitulate, accepting that the people who fit the new rule will be few and far between, rather than deal with the hornet's nest of publicity nightmares if they continued to fight it.
 
It's really a straw man to argue against whether someone would specifically go through a sex change to play in the LPGA. The fact of the matter is anyone who happens to be both transgender and also a serious golfer would be at an advantage over the rest of the field. This sort of caving is counter to the idea of having a separate woman's league in the first place.
 
Hopefully this is the first step towards allowing women to try-out for historically "men's" leagues. Or is that already not the case?
 
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