Fallon Fox was born a man, but after gender reassignment surgery in 2006, at the age of thirty, she began considering herself as a woman. Her state issued driver’s license also refers to her as “female.” But as far as competing in MMA for the Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA), should she be licensed as a woman, or is her body still sufficiently male to give her an unfair advantage?
She is currently 2 for 0, and in her last fight she defeated Ericka Newsome in 39 seconds with a knee to her head, as TMZ reported.
Florida State Boxing officials are reviewing Fox’s license to decide if she is properly licensed to fight other women. But as far as the Champion Fighting Alliance (CFA) founder and CEO Jorge De La Noval, she is clearly a woman.
“As a promoter, obviously everyone who comes into my office, what I see is a fighter. I don’t ask anyone what their sexual preference is. What they do with their personal life isn’t my business. She’s a sweet girl. … And where we stand as a company is that she’s a female. She has an Illinois driver’s license (as a female). She’s a female and she’s definitely a fighter. I just don’t see how anybody can revoke her license.”
It might not be as clear as that, however, for such decisions will be asked at every level of competition, including possibly the Olympics. How much surgery and hormones must a man receive to be officially a woman in competitions? It’s a tricky question, one of many tricky questions the transgender status forces us to answer.
I do not think that he should be able to fight women. If you are gay or transgender – so what I don’t care do not hide it be who you are. People are who they are. However, regardless of surgery, he is still a he. He had a penis and cut it off. He will always be a man. If you don’t have a uterus, ovaries, capable of bringing life through your body, etc., you are not a woman. To me, and many others, he still looks extremely “mannish”. Thick waist, man face. He will have an advantage over women fighters because they are still fighting a man. Cutting your stuff off doesn’t change that. Be a man and fight men because you are still a man. Live as a woman, be who you are, be happy, but don’t fight women. Are you afraid to fight you own true sex?
I could care less if she has ovaries or a uterus. I know plenty of women who’ve had to have them removed, and don’t get me started on Jamie Lee Curtis. My question is whether or not the testosterone levels in her body give her an unfair advantage over other fighters. If the answer to that question is no, then let her fight. If yes, then the governing body needs to make a determination as to what extent it’s an advantage and offer an appropriate remedy.