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| Why won't they let her fight? |
Transgender Americans are just starting to gain a foothold to get the rights that are afforded to them similar to the ones people who have remained the same gender their entire lives, but with that foothold, there's a lot of resistance. It's not surprising that sports, the last bastion of the macho-as-a-rule, are the most resistant to change. Homosexuals have made better strides towards getting full protection under law that "normal" people have (normal in quotes because really, what the fuck is normal anyway? It's not straight/cis/white/male, that's for damn sure), but the same number of active athletes in the four major sports leagues in America who are out of the closet is the same number of women who have been President and people who have walked on Mars.
So, if homosexuals can't even get a foothold in sports without staying closeted, what hope do the transgendered have? I mean, we live in a country where a state, Arizona, is trying to pass legislation that would bar transgender human beings from using public bathrooms, posting guard at doors to check ID for gender authentication. I mean, how are we going to expect the talking heads in MMA to accept Fox in their ranks when we've still got legislators who think it's a good idea to check driver's licenses at the door as a condition of going to the bathroom?
Of course, those in favor of keeping Fox from fighting in women's MMA are arguing out of concern of the other fighters, or so they say. The most visible and vocal opponent of this is comedian, UFC color commentator, and noted misogynist with a podcast Joe Rogan. In this clip, he argues against Fox's inclusion in women's MMA using some pretty awful language, but also using some seemingly salient logic.
Now, it's true. Fox has male bone structure. She's nominally bigger than most women even in her weight class. However, does anatomical advantage automatically translate to dominance in the sport? No matter how many examples of dudes in other sports with size advantages who failed miserably as a counterweight that anatomy doesn't mean everything, people are going to continue to hide behind the concern for women fighters who were always women. Nevermind the fact that Cyborg Santos is two inches taller and the same weight. She's allowed to show her dominance in the Octagon because she was born a woman.
That's the thing that gets me. It's the concern trolling. I don't know if everyone who makes the argument is sincere about the condition of Fox's future opponents, but I do know there's enough evidence that the guy leading the charge might not be as genuine in his concern for fighters like Santos, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, or anyone else and is just looking for justification for his own bigotry. I could be wrong, but Rogan has shown me nothing that he's anything more than a meathead who would rather keep his boys club without any icky girls.
Oh, and the first person that tells me "Listen to his podcast, dude" can shove it up their own rear ends. Don't defend this guy. Instead, maybe Rogan should probably say something that would make me want to hear more of what he has to say rather than calling women cunts for not wanting to be sexually assaulted by Rampage Jackson, making funny faces when his boss announces that the next season of their reality show will be coached by girls (watch the fucking video, he starts making incredulous faces far before Dana White says anything about men and women living together in the same house, and even after the fact, oh no, men and women be fuckin'! WHO GIVES A SHIT?), or showing his own transphobia by throwing slurs at Fox before showing "genuine concern" for other fighters.
I'm not saying everyone is Joe Rogan. I know people who have the same arguments as he does without being total pieces of slimy human garbage like he is. But what I'm saying is that the concern for other women fighters is misplaced. Bone structure doesn't win fights. Fighters win fights. We don't know if Fallon Fox is even a good fighter because she's not being given the chance. And hell, what does that say about the caliber of fighter that Santos, Rousey, and the rest of the active corps of women's MMA that they are being given no shot to beat Fox because her body type is different? It reeks of preconceived biases, misapplication of science, and this insidious notion that the purity of a sport that will die out long before humanity does (and that's true of every sport, more than likely) matters more than the condition of the people playing it.
Fallon Fox is a woman. She should be allowed to fight other women. That's the last word that should be spoken about this subject, but it won't because society at large hasn't even welcomed the transsexual community with open arms yet. Why should we expect the world of sport, which has always lagged behind on issues such as these with the possible exception of Branch Rickey making the bold move of signing Jackie Robinson at least a whole decade before the Civil Rights movement really kicked into high gear? Maybe MMA needs a Branch Rickey to give someone like Fallon Fox a shot, because lord knows if it were up to Joe Rogan, Fallon Fox would be dead in the ground before anyone ever thought of letting trans fighters in MMA.