Chris Tina Bruce, a 43-year-old transgender bodybuilder, competed for the first time as a woman on Oct. 29, finishing second out of two contestants in the Border States Classic Bodybuilding competition. From the Huffington Post:

The 6-foot, 3-inch Bruce dropped 40 pounds for the event, and while the organizers were OK with a former male competing as female, she admits she was nervous about the reaction her participation would engender.

Chris Tina Bruce, a 43-year-old transgender bodybuilder, competed for the first time as a woman on Oct. 29, finishing second out of two contestants in the Border States Classic Bodybuilding competition. From the Huffington Post:

The 6-foot, 3-inch Bruce dropped 40 pounds for the event, and while the organizers were OK with a former male competing as female, she admits she was nervous about the reaction her participation would engender.

Although she ended up coming in second in her event, Bruce says she still feels like a winner.

“I came in second and I understand why they couldn’t give it to me,” Bruce told The Huffington Post. “But I was treated with respect. People, including the other contestants, asked to pose with me. I went in there expecting the worst, but there was no booing.”

We often hear arguments against male-to-female transgender athletes that they have too much of an advantage over the women they could be competing against. In the video below a competitor of Bruce’s talks about the perceived unfairness. The reporter says Bruce has not has gender-reassignment surgery, which means she would be ineligible to compete in the Olympics. However, Bruce says she has undertaken a hormone transition.

An interesting debate indeed…

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