Malazan Empire: Lady Bliss - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

QuickTidal, on 01 April 2026 - 12:40 PM, said:

This is getting very off-topic, so I'll post any future replies in the old Is JK Rowling Satan, Or Just a Demon? Hogwarts Legacy thread where we were discussing Rowling's transphobia before:

https://forum.malaza...cy-controversy/

In terms of testosterone levels, Khelif went through the hormonal equivalent of male puberty and had male levels of testosterone through much of her adult life, including years of weightlifting and other physical training as an elite athlete. If Khelif were not taking testosterone suppressants then she would most likely have an advantage comparable to that of male elite athletes.

The main argument for Khelif not having an advantage seems to rest on studies which found no statistically significant difference in functional strength between trans women and ciswomen. One problem with those studies is that they're very low quality, with extremely small sample sizes and non-rigorous methodologies. In particular, while it is possible to measure voluntary exertion, they fail to do so; and yet they rely on voluntary exertion in their tests of functional strength. The trans test subjects also almost certainly realized that the test results would be used as evidence to determine whether trans women should be allowed to compete in women's sports.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/3/198

And more rigorous studies indicate that testosterone suppression only results in a small reduction in lean muscle mass after one year (about 5%). Large, rigorous studies have demonstrated that lean muscle mass correlates with functional strength. Taken together, this stronger evidence seems to contradict the extremely low quality studies which found no statistically significant difference in functional strength.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC7846503/

However, there is also low quality evidence suggesting that after several years the percentage of lean muscle mass relative to total weight has no statistically significant difference from that of ciswomen. (The phrase "statistically significant" can be misleading in this context: the experimental design is not strong enough to rule out large statistical differences.) This can be reconciled with a small decrease in absolute lean muscle mass by an increase in fat. And since boxing has weight classes, this does provide weak evidence for Khelif not having an advantage. However, none of these studies were done on elite athletes, who tend to work to have extremely low levels of body fat, particularly in sports with weight classes.

So the evidence ultimately isn't definitive, but it's plausible that she has a significant advantage. I stand by my initial assertion that she may have a biological advantage.

https://www.sciencem...isgender-women/

On the roots of JKR's transphobia:

https://secularhuman...athroom-debate/

TL;DR trauma from sexual assault leading to misdirected fear for others.