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It really does require a longer response, because the "common logic" you're applying is both narrow and shortsighted. It's a logic that really needs to be addressed in and outside the realm of sports and that is of one equating gender identity/identification and sexual preference. They are not one and the same. Again, it would really take an essay to get my point across, but I'll just leave it at this because I'm really trying to make it to happy hour:
1. Is being attracted to women a requirement for being a man? Does that one quality outweigh every single other thing about a person to suggest that they be physically required to inhabit another space from someone who does not share that quality despite, in Collins' case, 13 years of professionalism without one mention of negative issues relating to that quality?
2. Would a straight male athlete feel more comfortable with Britney Griner sharing their locker room in place of Jason Collins?
Really, I invite you to think about those two questions and think about the answers you come up with and then try to compare it with the "common logic" you came up with and see how easily applicable it is.
The reality, I hope you'll find, is that this kind of logic is really flawed because you're applying very strict definitions of gay male, straight male, gay woman, and straight woman into really broad generalizations of how you think people will and should react to them not taking into account any other aspect of the individual outside of whether they prefer the D or the poon.
I obviously understand the difference between gender identity and sexual preference, as I think most people do. But I don't think that changes my opinion as it relates to my hypothetical. From your response, I think the difference in our opinions may come from the fact we each believe the male/female bathrooms or locker rooms serve different purposes. From what I can tell, you think the male/female locker rooms are there to separate gender identities (male, female). I think we have male/female locker rooms to separate sexual preference, i.e. we separate locker rooms by sex because of the fact that in general individuals are sexually attracted to the opposite sex.
As for your 2 questions/points:
1. No being attracted to a woman is not a requirement to be a man. I have never said it is, so I don't know why this is relevant. My point was that a man being attracted to a woman/man can have an effect on how comfortable the other men in the locker room feel about getting undressed. Yes, this one quality can affect how the other people feel, and in my opinion this one quality is why we have male/female locker rooms.
You obvoiusly do not agree that sexual preference is why we have male/female locker rooms. But if it is not, then whey have male/female locker rooms? What do you think the reasoning behind male/female locker rooms is? If not sexual, it seems like we should just have locker rooms, not male/femal locker rooms.
And I never said Collins did anything wrong...just that I can understand why the other players would feel uncomfortable. Just like females would feel uncomfortable if I shared a locker room with them.
2. Yes, I feel that a straight male athlete would feel more comfortable sharing the locker room with Griner than Collins, assuming we knew 100% that each were gay. THis may be different on a player by player basis, but I know for a fact there are players who would prefer to get undressed in front of a gay female over a gay male.
As for you saying I'm using broad generalizations, I guess I am. But in my hypothetical the only thing that matteres was whether the other players knew if the gay player liked the D or the poon. For my hypo, there was no need to not be broad. Obviously, I am not taking into consideration any other aspects. Players may not know any other aspects when the situation arises. Obvsiously, you could come up with some examples of straight males that have certain characteristics that make it to where I would not want to share a locker room with and maybe examples of gay males that I would want to. That doesn't change my hypothetical. Remember, I even said that I believe Collins would never hit on, oogle, etc the other male players. Indeed, he hasn't in 13 years. That does not change the fact that the other players would feel uncomfortable. In my hypo, the only thing that matters was the sexual preference as it related to how the other athletes felt.
Cliff notes: I think there is a male/female locker room distinction bc of sexual preference. You think it is for some other reason, but I can't think of what that reason might be. This causes us to have different opinions on whether it causes disruptions if a gay male is in the male locker room.
