Fox News – A New Zealand weightlifter—who has competed in men’s events in the past– will become the first transgender competitor to qualify to be on the country’s women’s weightlifting team for Tokyo 2020.

“I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders,” Laurel Hubbard, 43, said in a statement.

In 2015, the International Olympic Committee changed its rules to allow transgender athletes to compete as long as their testosterone level is below a certain level and maintained for a year.

The determining criteria is as least five times more testosterone than a biological woman.

Some critics insist that Hubbard will still have an unfair advantage in the women’s super heavyweight category in August.

The Guardian, citing IOC guidelines, reported that athletes who transition from male to female are allowed to compete in events without surgically removing their testes.

The paper reported that some recent studies show power gained during male puberty can last.

Hubbard lifted 628 pounds in two lifts to qualify in the women’s super-heavyweight division.

New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Kereyn Smith said it’s clear Hubbard has met all the criteria to compete in Tokyo.

“We acknowledge that gender identity in sport is a highly sensitive and complex issue requiring a balance between human rights and fairness on the field of play” … Click here to read more. 

Gender identity pioneer regrets his role

In 2016, James Shupe was at the center of the transgender debate. Today, he regrets his role.

In 2016, James Shupe became the first person in the United States to legally have no gender. Today, the current Ocala resident, says it was all a big mistake.

Declared neither male nor female, he changed his birth certificate to read “sex unknown.” He also changed his name to Jamie.

The Oregon court’s decision in favor of Shupe’s argument became a touchstone for some in the movement challenging gender norms.

Shupe, who recently had his birth name and sex restored, blames lifelong mental illness for his original crusade.

In the end, the change in his gender status did nothing for his mental health. Instead, he became enmeshed in the debate on gender issues, sinking him deeper into despair.

A U.S. military veteran, Shupe’s mental health led to his discharge in 2007. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder, Shupe also started cross-dressing while in the military and became addicted to pornography.

The thought of being a woman became part of his sexual fantasies, he said.

Several years later, he started hormone therapy with the goal of surgically transitioning to a female and filed a lawsuit to have his gender status changed. But along the way, he realized he was only pursuing a fantasy, he said.

The non-binary gender status was a compromise. He didn’t feel comfortable as a man but didn’t want to be a woman. By then, however, his case was making headlines … Click here to read more.