Spain is up there on the list of places I'd like to visit before Europe goes completely down the tubes. Not only is there a lot of history there, but the climate and food are supposed to be enjoyable and, if you're willing to get out into the countryside, I am given to understand that you can get by pretty cheap and the people are friendly. But, these days, it seems Spain is falling into some of the same odd notions as the rest of Europe. Until recently, I would have thought that Spain wasn't a place known for social contagions; at least, what little I know about Spain doesn't include a lot of information on social contagions.
Even so, I suppose there's no reason to consider Spain in general to be any less daffy than the rest of Europe. And now a piece of news has come along to indicate that I might be right in that assessment; now it seems that, in Spain, a team of "transgender men" - that is, women - have joined a men's soccer league, with predictable results.
A soccer team consisting entirely of transgender men has made its debut in a regional league in Spain, overcoming administrative challenges and prejudice to become the first all-trans squad to achieve federated status in Europe.
The team, named Fenix FC after the mythical bird symbolising rebirth, played some friendlies and seven-a-side games last season but now competes in the fifth tier in the northwestern region of Catalonia after being incorporated into a local club in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Feliu de Llobregat.
Spain passed a pioneering trans rights bill last year designed to make it easier to change a person's legal gender identity. But intolerance persists, with a record 302 cases of discrimination or violence against LGBT people in Catalonia in 2023, a quarter of which targeted transgender victims, according to data compiled by the region's Observatory against LGBTphobia.
But reality never gets in the way of the agenda.
Captain Luke Ibanez, 19, said he was hesitant about playing for a team with cisgender - or non-trans - men, as he feared he would not fit in or even suffer violence. So when Martinez told him about his idea for an all-trans side, he quickly jumped on board.
"Fenix is a team of trans boys created entirely by trans boys, but I think it's more than that - a family, a safe space where you can be free and express yourself however you want and how you really feel."
Note that this is precisely the opposite of what this issue normally entails. This is a team consisting of "transgender men" - women - joining a men's league. Usually, it's a matter of "transgender women" - men - joining a women's team or league, and the reasons for that are painfully obvious to anyone who is not irretrievably self-deluded: Men, no matter how they "identify," have significant advantages in speed, strength, and endurance over women. These are facts.
I know almost nothing about soccer, except that it's a game played by kicking a little round black-and-white ball about, up and down a field. But I would note that it doesn't appear to be a contact sport, at least not in the sense that American football is a contact sport. But it does appear to be a sport where speed and stamina would count for a lot.
So, you can probably imagine how this Spanish "transgender" soccer team is faring. They are expressing themselves, all right - by losing.
Fenix's first game of the season on Sept. 21 ended with a 19-0 defeat. But for its fans and players, trans men having the right to play their favourite sport on equal terms is far more important than the score.
This seems a pretty decisive loss. One wonders how the rest of their season will go, and it's a safe bet that it will be a lot like this 19-to-nothing patada en el trasero [butt-kicking]. That's because all of the other teams they will be playing are composed of men - men with a significant advantage of speed, strength, and stamina. These are facts.
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Unlike most of the "transgender sports" issues, this incident just comes off as silly, rather laughable, and kind of sad. These players won't be depriving anyone of scholarships, awards, or trophies they may have otherwise earned; they will accomplish nothing other than embarrassing themselves. But hey, at least they'll be free to express themselves, and they can bond as a team in the process of having their hineys kicked.
The same can't be said for most of these incidents. Far more common is the opposite case, with "transgender women" (men) seeking to play on women's teams and leagues, a practice that is hideously and shockingly unfair, for the reasons noted above: Men, even after post-puberty hormone treatments, are larger, stronger, and faster than women. They have stronger bones, more muscle mass, and more lung capacity, and these advantages are in place well before puberty. These are facts.
While we can chuckle at the unfortunate Spanish "transgender men" competing hopelessly in a men's league, we can't forget that the opposite case is depriving young women and girls of scholarships, awards, and trophies that they may have otherwise earned - and some of these women and girls are suffering physical injury as well.
This seems appropriate.
