"Sophomoric?" asked Alice. "Isn't she a junior?"
The Hatter frowned at her and cleared his throat. "Women's sports were promoted by Title IX to give women a chance to compete and excel; few women had the height, weight, and musculature to emerge as winners against most male athletes. I think offering opportunities for all athletes to have a realistic possibility of winning would benefit from considering leagues divided not by gender, but by category."
The Rabbit looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well," said the Hatter, "take the example of wrestling. There are different classes, based on weight, and, in effect, size. Welterweight, middleweight, heavyweight. Similarly, instead of having men's swimming and women's swimming, divide teams by physical parameters that do not give one competitor an automatic advantage over another. Height, weight, muscle mass, BMI, fat percentage, etc. That way, a 6-foot trans woman could compete against other 6-footers with similar body composition, male, female, cis or trans. Nothing to do with one's gender identity."
"Welterweight swimming, now that makes sense." The Rabbit chuckled, "And heavyweight swimming would be even easier, because the more fat you have the more you float."
"I was doing that just last week to fit into my little black dress," said Alice. "In the sauna, to lose a couple of pounds--swelter weight."
The Rabbit and Hatter could barely suppress their groans.
"Really, my dear Rabbit," the Hatter shook his head. "Has Alice seen a doctor in the past two years?"
"Actually, we were just on our way for our postponed checkups." Rabbit checked his stopwatch. "Come on, Alice. We're late." The Rabbit took Alice by the hand and rushed off down the cobblestone road.
"Your check, sir," offered the server to the Hatter.
"Twenty-five dollars for 3 cups of tea!" cried the Hatter. "That's outrageous!"
The waiter shrugged. "No, that's inflation. Your next essay, Solomon. Here's a pen."
(Article changed on Feb 19, 2022 at 2:21 PM EST)
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