Real Life Experiences Of Transgender Women By Michelle Castillo

Imagine going through life believing that you were born into the wrong body. This is how a transgender feels as they go through life. A transgender is a person who whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to male or female sex. This topic is very controversial due to many arguments about the differences between the male and female physique. The natural biological differences between males and a females play a huge role in this controversy. These difference become serious issues when athletes want to compete for their non-biological sex. Michelle Castillo, a freelance writer and editor, believes that once a transgender athlete completes at least one year of hormone therapy, then the athletes should be eligible to compete with the

She shares the reader a story of a transgender women named Chloie Johnson -who was denied admission to a female CrossFit fitness competition due to her sexual orientation. The letter that CrossFit sent Chloie Johnson stated that she was not allowed to compete due to the fact that she was “… born, genetically - as a matter of fact - with an X and a Y chromosome and all of the anatomy of a male of the human race. Today, notwithstanding any hormone therapy or surgeries, Chloie still has an X and Y chromosome.” Due to the fact that Chloie Johnson had been born as a male, she was denied the opportunity to compete in the CrossFit strength competition. By sharing this story, Castillo gives the readers a chance to pity Chloie Johnson and to feel anger towards the close-mindedness and discrimination of the CrossFit company due to Chloie Johnson’s biological sex. As well, by Castillo sharing the story of Chloie Johnson, it gives the audience a chance to live through the transgender vicariously. Another example in which Castillo creates a shocking experience for the reader is when she states that “The NCAA in its ‘Transgender Handbook’ debunked the notions that people born male would have advantages over females, and that men would pretend to be trans females in order to have a completive advantage.” This addition to her article was very crucial to her argument as it disproves

An important fact that she includes in her article is that “A 2005 review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine argued that there is no evidence that a preponderance of muscle equals a superior talent for sports.” Not only did she cite exactly where her sources came from, she provided the reader with statistics that challenged my original view points. As well, according to Castillo, research indicates that “people who transition do not retain the athletic benefits from the original gender”. One last example from Castillo in which she provides the reader with helpful facts, she stated that, “In 2011, the NCAA allowed transgender athletes to compete on the collegiate level- even if they haven’t had the surgical procedures.” This fact really helped the reader understand the actual rules of the NCAA for transgender athletes. Due to Castillo providing her readers with more facts and statistics than Senett, she created a stronger argument for her