AIBU to think that this has gone way too far?

How is a 5ft3" 14year old girl going to be able to show how good a rugby player she is if she is playing against a load of 6ft boys? She is going to have to work 3x harder and put herself at greater risk of injury than she normally would have.

Maryz as far as I am aware transgender people can compete in the Olympics so that can of worms is already open.

I don't think mixed sports teams is a bad thing, I also think if our children are judged on talent that can only be a good thing for girls. There are some really talented sportswomen out there who are totally overlooked because they are female. If we take biological sex out of the equation then we will start seeing more equality, not less.

I can just imagine the bust up in the Alberta netball team changing room.
'Mary, you are off the team'
Mary sobs. - 'But why miss'
'You are way too hairy'
'My top lip miss ?'
'Well, that's bad, but mostly your balls'

It's like a carte blanche for every perv going to get into the women's/girl's changing rooms isn't it? I'm not suggesting that trans* people are pervs BTW - merely that pervs exist.

God, I remember the swimming lessons at Primary school - boys were obsessed with getting into the girl's changing rooms.

I wonder how this will impact girls who's religion /culture forbids mixed sport and being in any kind of state of undress near males? It's going to be terrible for them

cdtaylornats, this is often raised as a concern by women, only to be told that no teenage boy or man would bother going to the trouble of identifying as the opposite gender for that reason. Thanks for being honest

As a woman and a feminist my main concern are womens rights, not transgender. And rightly bloody so.

I was outraged by some of the purely delusional comments I read on twitter regarding female prisions.

As someone mentioned up thread, why is it always our rights and needs that get thrown under the bus?

So I can identify as a burly Native American chief in his 50s called Rosemary?

Oh I like this game

Given the option at about 14 my entire class at school would have identified as 9-foot tall green penguins if that's what it took to get in the girls shower.

We have a gender neutral toilet at Uni. I only know since I accidently used it my first day there. Felt like I got a few odd looks from the group I was with. It wasn't until a few weeks later when we all felt more comfortable with each other one of my new mates asked if I knew.

Bit odd really but I suppose it avoids issues of safeguarding etc. in other environments.

It goes on to say: "Some individuals may not feel included in the use of the pronouns 'he' or 'she' and may prefer alternate pronouns, such as 'ze,' 'zir,' 'hir,' 'they' or 'them,'

There is no fucking chance in hell I'm standing in front of a class and calling a child 'zir'. So teachers are now supposed to remember all thirty kids and whether they want to be him, her, zir, hir, or Princess Snarkpants from the planet Zortron? This is getting stupid.

A 46 year old father now identifies as a 6yr old girl Now I've heard everything. I didn't realise trans* now applied to one's age now too. The world is officially mad.

YANBU. It's ridiculous.

I disagree, boys and girls have the same amount to 'lose' if you look at it that way.

I wouldn't want my son sharing a toilet or changing room with someone biologically female, nor would I want my daughter sharing with a biological male.

I wouldn't want my child who is currently identifying as the opposite gender,and has been, quietly, without a drama, for many years to be in the position of being forced into one room/toilet or the other, and my child has been using separate facilities for all that time.

My child could be in any one of your childrens schools and you would never know. There is a lot of scare stories in the press, the reality is very different.

'With regard to everything else (sports, classes etc) schools shouldn't be separating children according to their sex anyway, yet I see it a lot.'

They shouldn't? Physiologically, males past puberty have a big advantage over females past puberty in a number of sports, such as how they dissipate heat and the percentage of muscle mass they have and even the angle of their femur from their pelvis.

'if any child who identifies as transgender wants to use the toilet/changing room for the gender they identify as the separate room/toilet can be used by those uncomfortable with sharing.'

So the 12-year-old biological female having her period or who doesn't want to show her body to a 12-year-old biological male is the one who has to hide herself and isolate herself because she doesn't feel safe or comfortable? The problem is hers that she doesn't want to share her private space with biological males and she is made to be singled out for that? Fuck that.

Absolutely ridiculous and dangerous for the girls

Does this mean that segregation on the basis of sex for certain things (changing rooms, toilets, hospital wards) no longer matters?

Hospital wards are already separated by gender. It's in the 2010 Essence of Care white paper.

I always think about a very funny MNer who wrote "ok fine, I'm going to identify as an overweight Glaswegian bricklayer called Brian"

Made me chuckle it did, and makes about as much sense.

I might identify as a beautiful purple unicorn. Which bathroom should I use?