Freeform seems determined to focus on transgender issues this week. First, we have the plight of transgender illegal immigrants. Now, The Bold Type wants us to feel sorry for transgender marathon runners. The marginalized community is truly growing smaller by the week.
The February 6 episode “Marathon” finds the women’s magazine Scarlet covering the upcoming New York City Marathon. Social media director Kat (Aisha Dee) does her part by profiling the runners. In the process, she meets up with her transgender friend Chloe (Ianne Fields Stewart). She soon finds out that Chloe previously tried to compete in the marathon but had an “outdated” registration that still listed her as a man and failed the qualifier because of it, as she explains here.
Kat: Hey, uh, you run, right?
Chloe: Yeah, I love it. Used to run with my dad. Pretty sure that he thought I was still his perfect little son back then.
Kat: Are you gonna run on Sunday?
Chloe: I would love to. I just didn't qualify. Actually, I did. It's complicated.
Kat: Oh. Well, how is it complicated?
Chloe: People screw up salad orders. Imagine the red tape around gender correction paperwork. It's complicated.
Kat: Try me, I might follow.
Chloe: Okay. Um... To get into the race, you have to run the qualifying marathon and when I did I was taking estrogen for over a year. I mean, my testosterone levels were low enough for the Olympics to accept me as a woman.
Kat: So what happened?
Chloe: My registration was outdated. Still had me listed as male. And in that category, my time wasn't fast enough to qualify. Boo.
Kat: Boo.
Considering the average man has about 26 lbs. more muscle mass than and about ten times the testosterone level, it’s hard to believe that Chloe could have erased all that in one year. However, with all the races being won by transgender athletes, it’s no wonder why Chloe would want to compete as a woman. The biological women in the race never seem to factor here.
Fortunately, Kat manages to snag a marathon spot for Chloe after a previous runner suffered an injury. However, Chloe is less than excited to be in the marathon under a different name. For someone who claims to love running and only wanted to run the marathon, Chloe’s quick to lecture the hand that feeds her. It’s almost like she seems to care more about politics than her favorite hobby.
Chloe: Who’s Carrie Morgan?
Kat: Oh, you're gonna run as her on Sunday. She hurt her knee, so you're gonna take her place.
Chloe: Oh.
Kat: Is that-- are you okay?
Chloe: Yeah, um... This is so nice, and I really appreciate it. But... I don't want to run as someone else.
Kat: Oh, well I mean you wouldn't be running as someone else. We would still track you as Chloe Blair. This is just, um, you know, to get you in.
Chloe: Okay. This might sound silly, but it would really suck to have someone else's name on my chest when I ran. My life is still full of people telling me that I can't be me. Old friends, family. Even some doctors. How could I let running, my favorite activity, be something that won't accept me as me? Sorry, I just can't.
Kat: Uh-- I'm so sorry, Chloe.
Chloe: No, no, no, no, I-- I'm just explaining. I know that you tried. Uh--oh, gosh, uh—I will see you later, Kat.
Of course, Kat eventually does get Chloe enlisted under her wanted name as a full participant in the New York City Marathon. Never mind the fact that she was already rejected, Chloe just gets a second chance because she’s transgender. And the magazine cheers her on for being “the woman she is.”
This is basically another example of how the world needs to cater to the smallest demographic of people at the expense of rules and logic. Not even doctors can convince people that gender dysphoria is a problem. Anything less than unbridled praise gets you labeled as “transphobic,” and for liberals, that’s worse than breaking female athletes’ dreams.
