Being an athlete is one of the most empowering parts of who I am – it’s WHY I am who I am. You’re born with your given mind and body, what can you do with those things? How fast can you go? How high can you jump? How far can you fly? How many times can you get back up after falling down? Being an athlete is a constant personal competition to prepare you for competing against others. The beauty of competition comes from being on the same playing field. As women, we have to work very hard to get stronger and faster. And maybe, if you can push yourself just a bit further, you can out-train the competition and come out on top.
Having to compete against a man destroys that. I cannot out-train a male body. Why do I want to stand on the start line knowing nothing I could ever do will be enough?
Athletics and competition is about fairness. A women’s category is (supposed to be) exclusionary to all who are not women, to give women an equal playing field. You can have fairness, or you can have inclusion, but you cannot have both.