August 3, 2021

"I've tried really hard not to tell people what to think... because, really, I trust people to consider the issue and form their own opinions... but some people take emotions as the starting point for how they feel about the situation..."

Transgender Olympian Laurel Hubbard gives an interview: 

Posted by Ann Althouse at 6:59 AM
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1 comment:

Ann Althouse said...

Yukon Cornelius writes:

"I was dismayed because the interviewers did not ask about her strategy in the snatch, of going heavy and going up in weight after the first failed attempt. That is what I found most curious about her performance.

"Instead, the interviewers seemed to want very much to make Hubbard a transgender activist, a shining beacon to all gender-nonconforming youth struggling in the darkness of the cis-world's incomprehension and enmity. Hubbard demurred from the role being thrust upon her. As with many people who have transitioned, she seems to genuinely want to simply be accepted as the gender she feels is her true gender -- a woman -- and to participate in a sport she enjoys. She wants to be recognized and lauded for being able to lift vast amounts of weight, not for breaking gender norms. The interviewers did not seem pleased with her refusal to play along.

"Somewhat tangentially, her resistance to being an activist and just wanting to be an athlete also allays the small voice in the back of my mind that she deliberately failed in her event. Perhaps due to age, perhaps due to the pressure and attention of being in the Olympics (not just from competing at such a high level but also as a lightning rod for the cultural storm over transgenderism, a role she does not seem to want), perhaps due to other issues unseen, she just had a bad day. They happen to all athletes. I hope she continues in the sport and we see her again in future competitions."

8/3/21, 2:45 PM

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