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Deborah Frances-White and trans-women in sport

130 replies

RitaFairclough · 07/03/2019 18:25

I think DFW is marvellous and I love the Guilty Feminist. But I just read her comment on Twitter about the sport debate and I am wondering how any feminist can really support that position.

I am too scaredy cat to comment on twitter because I use it for work stuff, but I would like to present the following scenarios...

You are a 12-year-old girl and you are really fast at running. You win medals and you dream of being at the Olympics one day. You can even beat the boys - for now. When you are 13, or 14, a trans-girl arrives in your races. She is much taller than you and she runs faster. She wins the medals, and the sponsorship. You know however hard you train you will never beat her. You give up running.

Or

You are a 12-year-old boy and you’re good at running. But by the time you’re 14, your times are slipping and you’re not winning any more. Your coach suggests you say you’re a girl and try your luck in those races. You’re not keen but your parents are pushy and your coach is too, and once you’ve done it once and won a medal easily you start to see the benefits...

I just can’t see any way in which girls or women don’t lose here.

Deborah Frances-White and trans-women in sport
OP posts:
ZuttZeVootEeeVro · 07/03/2019 20:09

I felt sorry for Deborah when she tried to talk about her infertility and other issues, but found it difficult to do that and remain inclusive. I pitied her because she's so desperate to please men, she couldn't put her needs first.

But now she is trying to shame girls into budging up for boys and men. She is trying to teach girls that boys feeling are more important than theirs. She's has a platform and advertises herself as a feminist. She's not someone to be pitied she is a disgrace.

IfNotNowThenWhy · 07/03/2019 20:01

Or just, you know, look down?Confused

TowelNumber42 · 07/03/2019 19:59

If a boy is confused as to why people think he is a boy then he needs some solid adult support to help him understand that it is OK to reject the stereotypical male ideal and instead live his life in line with his own personality and preferences.

BertrandRussell · 07/03/2019 19:54

Read the thread.Yay- i’m not!

Lumene · 07/03/2019 19:53

She has accepted the premise of girl brain and magical thinking. All the rest of the illogic flows from there.

A boy who wants to be a girl is still Male.

BertrandRussell · 07/03/2019 19:52

I am the only person in the world who doesn’t rate The Guilty Feminist.

TowelNumber42 · 07/03/2019 19:49

I hope Martina, Sharron and Kelly comment too.

AyeRobot · 07/03/2019 19:31

If you include boys, you exclude girls.

Defend that inclusivity with your feminist hat on, I dare you.

SlipperyLizard · 07/03/2019 19:24

What a ridiculous tweet - it doesn’t even make sense! If she thinks that boys who “feel” like girls should be able to compete in girls’ races, she should really just come out and say it straight.

Then everyone will be able to see why her feminism is “guilty” - guilty of not centring the very people it is meant to be about.

adultFemaleElf · 07/03/2019 19:19

Her target audience is men.

TheCuddlyOctopus · 07/03/2019 19:18

I used to really like her podcast- and there was an episode where she usefully mused a bit on gender vs sex. I totally lost it with the abortion episode the other week though which started off with a massive super-woke disclaimer. I literally cannot think of an issue which is less about identity and all about biology.

ValWiggin · 07/03/2019 19:15

The comments are good:

mobile.twitter.com/DeborahFW/status/1103633507161702401

Troutfin · 07/03/2019 19:15

@BigGreenOlives Smile

Lottapianos · 07/03/2019 19:14

'One of the things I teach him as a parent is that you can't always get what you want. '

This should be BASIC parenting stuff, but too many parents decide that it's too much hard work

adultFemaleElf · 07/03/2019 19:12

Someone gave me her book, God it’s such drivel. I read a chapter and gave up.

adultFemaleElf · 07/03/2019 19:11

I hope she does feel guilty, some feminist she is..

IfNotNowThenWhy · 07/03/2019 19:10

I don't know who she, is but a 12 year old boy who is genuinely confused about what sex he ACTUALLY is has bigger problems than winning at sport or not.Confused
Is that what she is saying? That there are 12 year old boys who feel like girls and therefore we should all say "ok dear" and let them beat the girls?
Why? I have a kid not much older than 12. One of the things I teach him as a parent is that you can't always get what you want.

Lottapianos · 07/03/2019 19:06

Yet again, how bloody disappointing. I agree there is a lot to admire about DFW although I find The Guilty Feminist total cringe and could only cope with about an episode and a half before swearing off it forever more

BigGreenOlives · 07/03/2019 19:05

At exactly the same time @Troutfin

BigGreenOlives · 07/03/2019 19:04

I’ve stopped downloading or listening to the Guilty Feminist Podcast as she refers to women as being cis. I’m not cis and I’m not going to be cissed by someone.

Troutfin · 07/03/2019 19:04

I stopped listening to Guilty Feminist when she 'corrected' her own use of the term women to cis-women. Fuck that.

nauticant · 07/03/2019 19:02

Deborah Frances-White is an idiot. A useful idiot, so long as you're not a woman.

placemats · 07/03/2019 19:01

She still wants to please men so therefore says that. Any man worth his salt would dismiss it as misogyny.

adultFemaleElf · 07/03/2019 19:01

What about the girls Deborah??!

I’ve seen her talk, it seems inclusivity is more important to her than standing up for women.
I think she’s of the woke generation that thinks women have equality now and should look after everyone else and stop whinging.

WokerThanWoke · 07/03/2019 18:57

DFW lets men tell her what she can and can’t say about her own body on her own flipping podcast.

As the youth say, I just can’t.