Let’s say we were talking to one of the people opposed to trans women in sports, and we asked them this: “What about cheerleading? Should trans women be allowed to do that?” Assuming they didn’t just respond with “no, trans cheerleaders would be fine” (ha!), do you think they’d bother to come up with a different excuse, or would they just continue to stick with the “athleticism advantage” hogwash?
Of course I understand cheerleaders compete too, and surely it takes athleticism to support your squadmates on your shoulders or throw them into the air to do backflips or what have you, but (bearing in mind I don’t actually know anything about the subject) I would expect cheerleading routines to be judged primarily by things like coordination, teamwork, energy, and choreography, with athleticism being a minor or secondary factor.
Not that it matters, of course. We already know that no matter what hypothetical we presented them with, no matter how far-fetched the excuse, they’d come up with something. They feel, consciously or unconsciously, that trans people are scary, disgusting, and wrong, and that is their bottom line. Everything else is rationalization, a way to feel morally superior, telling themselves they’re defending women’s rights while in fact doing the exact opposite. As others have pointed out, if any of these people actually cared about women’s sports, they would be talking about any of the many, many difficulties female athletes actually face. Being outcompeted by trans women isn’t one of them.
In Search of Secrets 