I swam competitively in high school against people who looked very much like me, just as so many of these young men who now claim to be young women used to do.  I was never going to compete at the state level but did enjoy the camaraderie with other girl athletes as well as challenging myself to do better every day.  And I loved the fishy freedom of the water.

But now these once-were-boys are swimming against real young women and have a singularly unfair advantage.  I discussed physiological differences in an earlier article — "Female Is a Fact."

So what can we do?  Well, currently, the NCAA and many states are simply standing by and watching sporting records, placement in championships, and Title IX for women and girls crumble into dust.  Instead, I think they should expand Title IX to include gender identity as a discriminated-against class and provide for competition within classes of boys (XY), girls (XX), and other competitors (self-identified as divergent from chromosomal reality).  That would be fair without unduly advantaging or disadvantaging any class of persons.

I don't care to get into a peeing contest over pronouns and all that. Besides, the only direction I urinate is down.

Image: Female swimmer by wayhomestudio.  Freepik license.

Alternatively, compensating for male physiology could be accomplished by augmenting suiting requirements for those competing as females with developed male bodies.  Regulations could require that those male swimmers who "identify" as women strap on a pair of heavy breasts appropriately sized for the swimmer's body shape and density.  That will add drag and interfere with arm strokes, which would allow for a more womanly competitive swimming experience.

Also, including a weighted foam hip belt to simulate subcutaneous abdominal fat and floaties on the upper arms to provide the buoyancy of standard female upper body fat would be needed.  Taping fingers over could mimic a more girlish hand length.  Strapping the lower chest tightly to reduce diaphragmatic power and limiting the men to only one breath every four to six strokes might begin to yield a heart-lung capacity comparable to that which the young female athletes have developed over the years.

Adding four to eight pounds of additional weight for a few days every four weeks, year-round, would top off the true experience of female athletic competition.  Whaddaya say, boys?  You want to swim like a girl?

After all, they handicap horses, don't they?

Anony Mee is the nom de blog of a retired public servant who swam the butterfly on her high school swim team.