Literally the only time in a decade I have gone anonymous. 999 times out of 1000 if i have an opinion i will put my name and identity to it.
Not on this one though. You are brave for doing so.
Here's the thing. IMO.
It is complex and nuanced.
At one extreme you have transphobe bigots who say "whatever's on your birth certificate, that's what you are". They're wrong. It's more nuanced than that. On the other extreme you have people who'll argue "if she says she's a woman, then she's a woman, therefore she can compete in the women's division. Any less than 100% acceptance of this makes you the same as the bigots on the other extreme".
That's similarly foolish even if it is probably well intentioned.
As far as I'm aware, data does not support that any/every trans woman will automatically dominate in women's sport every time. There is some evidence that hormone therapy negates the benefits of having had male testosterone levels growing up. This is subject to debate, but again there is more to it than just that.
There is evidence that a big difference between more elite and more average athletes is that one's potential was recognised earlier and then they were given more attention, more coaching, more encouragement. If we accept this then it reasonable to imagine that having competed and being coached in what were previously considered "men's sports" from (for example) age 6 as a boy and then transitioning in your 30s offers an advantage over a woman who was not given the opportunity to get started as a child and who took up the sport in her 20s or 30s.
Gender is non-binary and I don't currently believe "straight" people transitioning falsely to take an advantage in competition is much of a thing... but if someone is gender fluid might they be somewhat influenced to identify as female for the sake of being more likely to win in the female division rather than fail to place in the male division, and then not really identify one way or the other the rest of the time? Perhaps.
I have seen transphobes post images of a man dominating a woman in sports like wrestling without realising, that's actually what they want. The man has transition from female to male but is forced to compete in the female division due to their birth certificate. That's clearly a ridiculous situation.
Then again you may have the situation where a MtoF trans athlete outsizes every other woman on the rugby field by 1 foot in height and 15kg of muscle...
You may also the situation where an MtoF recreational athlete is still more slightly built than the other women in the division and unlikely to place, but just wants to participate and be accepted.
There is NUANCE HERE that most people aren't interested in acknowledging because they've adopted an opinion at either of the extreme ends of the argument.
Also worth pointing out that most transphobes don't care about women or women's sports. They just want to spread bigotry and hatred. But I don't think it makes a woman a bigot because for example she competes in MMA and doesn't want to take a punch in the face from a formerly male athlete, right?
Anyway. I think the solution is probably pretty simple.
Where applicable, a person should be encouraged to state for themselves "I absolutely require that I be accepted as a woman, I absolutely require that I not be misgendered or deadnamed. However, it's more fair that I continue to compete in the men's division because (for example) I'm so much bigger, stronger, and have had 20 years more training experience than the other women".
I think that's something that needs to come from within the LBGTQ+ (sorry if i forgot a letter) sporting community though and not from straight dudes my age.
Very strong caveat on this opinion: does not apply to cis gender women just because some arsehole thinks they look a bit manly or something.
