An opinionated guy walks into a bar...
It was probably around 23:00. Most the regulars had gone home, and my partner and I were sat at the bar, chatting the usual stuff with the barman. I was on my second bottle of wine, which I find much easier on my body than lager these days.
A guy walked up to us. Quite stocky, a lot of facial hair. I vaguely recognised him as the one who did something to annoy Marcus a few nights before, though I can't remember what it was.
'Sorry about what happened the other night. Marcus had a word with me about it.', he said to my partner. Whatever happened, he seemed profusely apologetic about, though I had the impression he was trying to start a conversation. Sure enough, he did.
'I think it's wrong that parents are telling young kids to be transgender. It's like a social contagion.', He opined. It was a slightly weird subject to bring up unsolicited. Maybe he saw it happen that day, and wanted to get it off his chest.
'Well, yeah, I sort of agree. Kids shouldn't be encouraged either way. They should be allowed to decide for themselves, and be supported.'. My reply was non-committal. I'm neither a parent nor a teacher, so it's not exactly my department.
For some reason, he then brought up the subject of transgender women in sports, and how they have an unfair advantage over other female sportswomen. I don't know why he was telling me this, because I really couldn't give a flying toss about sports.
'Well it depends, really. If you're talking about a trans woman who's been on estrogen for a year or so, things aren't that simple.', I replied.
'No. They got broad shoulders, muscles and stronger bones, though.', He insisted, shaking his head. The fact he was speaking to a petit trans woman, who most likely knew a damn sight more about female biology and what oestrogen does, seemed beside the point for him.
'Honestly, if you took oestrogen for a year or so, you'd lose a lot of muscle mass and bone density. There's no way, for example, I'd be able to compete against a female Rugby player, or any female sportswoman who's been training hard.', I insisted.
He pulled his phone out, and literally within five seconds - no Google search, by the way - had a picture of what looked like two women playing Rugby. One looked smaller, because she was in the distance, and the other much larger because she was in the foreground. That much was very obvious. Neither of them looked remotely transgender.
It dawned on me that he must have rocked up with a prepared list of anti-transgender talking points, having learned I drink there most Friday nights. Unfortunately for him, the talking points fall apart in the context of facts and first-hand experience.
'Look at this! Look how small that woman is compared to the other one! Are you telling me the trans woman isn't larger or more muscular?', He said, showing me the image on his phone.
'Uh, what? Neither of them look very transgender to me. I'm pretty sure both of them were born female.'.
I reluctantly made the point that should have ended the argument:
'If a transgender athlete has taken oestrogen long enough, their muscle mass is about the same as any woman, and they wouldn't really have a physical advantage. Honestly, it's not just my opinion. This is coming from first-hand experience and from what three doctors, including an endocrinologist, expressedly told me.'.
By this point, the 'debate', such that it was, had developed into a three-way shouting match, with my partner having a few strong opinions of his own, but I was very much in control of the situation, because the guy was evidently talking shit.
My partner started getting a little pissed off with the guy. The barman knew where the 'debate' was going, and he threatened to throw the guy out if he didn't knock it off.
Maybe he went home a little more educated, and perhaps with a different understanding of transgender women than the Corporate Media gave him. I hope so.