Michael Sherman: Inga Thompson is one of the most decorated cyclists in American history. She competed at the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Olympic Games with the best result of eighth place in 1988. We're not here to review a generic history of women's cycling; we're here to talk about what happened when she spoke out in defense of women's rights.
My guest today is Inga Thompson, one of the most decorated cyclists in American history.
You might ask, besides being aware I’m something of a bike geek, why am I having a cyclist on the show? Well, we’re not here to talk about bikes or training diets.
We are here to talk about what happened to Inga when she spoke out in defense of women’s rights. Not against bible-thumping religious fundamentalists who think women belong in the kitchen and bedroom making dinner and babies, but against her fellow liberals.
Let me be clear: this is a sensitive and complex issue. Transgender individuals often experience body dysmorphia. Common treatments for dysmorphia include hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgery, which typically entails surgically creating a neovagina, breast implants, facial feminization, and sometimes hair transplants or alteration of the vocal cords.
These physical changes often help alleviate the symptoms, but they do not fundamentally change the physical advantages the transgender—born biologically male—athlete would have over biological women when competing in women’s sports.
This poses the challenge of conflicting rights, which is the subject of this conversation...
What should we do when transgender athletes, with all the physical advantages of being born male, compete against and defeat biological females?