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Original poster

Journalists reporting on LH given 20-page guide on how to report on trans athletes

41 replies

Tisha0 · 02/08/2021 12:34

From www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/what-time-does-transgender-weightlifter-laurel-hubbard-compete-tonight/news-story/428139b691228ebc9c65c14c0a9fda40

“Hubbard was the last of the 10 competitors out as they lined up to be introduced to the crowd. There were cheers and loud applause for many of the weighlifters.”

“When Hubbard’s name was announced, she gave a short wave and there was a warm smattering of applause — however it wasn’t the most raucous reception of the night.”

“Spectators are banned but there are hundreds of people — if not more than 1000 — inside the convention centrre where the event is taking place in front of a whopping crowd for what’s allowed.”

“Journalists from around the world are packed in, and have been given a 20-page guide on how to correctly report on transgender athletes.”

“The guide says reporting trans athletes have an unfair advantage over their rivals is “misinformation”.”

OP posts:
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Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/08/2021 23:07

I just can't get my head around anyone being able to dish documents out to the reporters gathered to watch an event!

I'm really surprised that's allowed at all.

As we have seen many times, different standards often apply when it comes to this issue and its supporters.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/08/2021 23:04

And if protecting women's rights is equivalent to 'fighting against transgender equality', then 'fighting for transgender equality' must be equivalent to removing women's rights.

Yes. But "there is no conflict" Hmm

Faffertea · 02/08/2021 22:42

@NiceGerbil
They never seem to think of the Streisand effect do they? By telling everyone about FPFW they’re just inviting everyone to find out more.

NiceGerbil · 02/08/2021 22:15

I just can't get my head around anyone being able to dish documents out to the reporters gathered to watch an event!

I'm really surprised that's allowed at all.

ChakaDakotaRegina · 02/08/2021 22:00

Was there any guidance about women’s rights? Normally we have a few human interest stories about the first woman from
Iran being in x category or a women in a modest outfit being able to compete.
Considering homosexuality is illegal in so many countries and women are so downtrodden around the world I’m so disappointed that we’ve had to focus on males in women’s sports instead.

ChakaDakotaRegina · 02/08/2021 21:54

@ChateauMargaux

FFS I was ranting about this while angrily chopping vegetables and I have sliced the end of my fucking finger off.. ..
Ouch! Hope you (and your dinner) are ok!
FindTheTruth · 02/08/2021 21:43

Good points Gerbil and Ovahere.

GLAAD gloating
twitter.com/glaad/status/1417131075936178187

NiceGerbil · 02/08/2021 20:53

The libel etc thing for me is a side issue.

If I was writing a document for a global audience I'd think know your audience and not go off on one about a org that is totally irrelevant to them.

It makes them look silly IMO.

NiceGerbil · 02/08/2021 20:48

I'm really confused.

I wouldn't have thought that handing out stuff whatever it was about, to all the journalists, would be allowed?

If the ROC handed out documents to the world's news while they were about to watch an event with an ROC competitor would that be allowed?

If it's all ok won't the journalists be inundated with masses of leaflets about any number of things?

Also

They went to the trouble of translating them into all the languages of the countries that journalists may be from?
That feels... Unlikely.
Assuming they didn't...
I wonder if they thought of it at all?
Or just targeted western media?
Or expected everyone to read English? Which as journalists may be reasonable. It still feels a bit... Not sure of words.

They directly wrote a section about a group in the UK they think are awful?
Seriously?
That's bizarre.
Why carry a warning about an org in one country that most people in that country haven't heard of (I assume but.. pretty confident).
Why the fuck would a reporter from well. Pretty much anywhere apart from the UK give a shit?
And these are sports reporters!!! They felt it important to inform sports reporters that a pretty niche org in the UK are meanies?!

That's just utterly weird tbh.

Did it occur to them that this section might encourage some of them to have a look?! Which they would otherwise not have done.

Whole thing- it's definitely happened right?

TalkingOutYerArse · 02/08/2021 20:19

@RedDogsBeg

Just coming back to answer BlueberryCheezecake and see you've beaten me to it with your excellent response Ereshkigalangcleg so I'll just reiterate it:

They were not formed with "the express purpose of fighting against transgender equality" they were formed with the express purpose of protecting women's rights to safety, privacy and dignity in spaces appropriate to their sex, as well as safeguarding women's other sex based rights

Now two questions for you BlueberryCheezecake:

What equality do trans people in the UK not have?

If fighting to retain the rights of women based on their sex class are deemed to be fighting for trans inequality you agree that trans rights are a direct threat to women's rights and will thus remove rights from women?

Absolutely.
ChateauMargaux · 02/08/2021 20:03

FFS I was ranting about this while angrily chopping vegetables and I have sliced the end of my fucking finger off.. ..

RedDogsBeg · 02/08/2021 19:58

Just coming back to answer BlueberryCheezecake and see you've beaten me to it with your excellent response Ereshkigalangcleg so I'll just reiterate it:

They were not formed with "the express purpose of fighting against transgender equality" they were formed with the express purpose of protecting women's rights to safety, privacy and dignity in spaces appropriate to their sex, as well as safeguarding women's other sex based rights

Now two questions for you BlueberryCheezecake:

What equality do trans people in the UK not have?

If fighting to retain the rights of women based on their sex class are deemed to be fighting for trans inequality you agree that trans rights are a direct threat to women's rights and will thus remove rights from women?

OldCrone · 02/08/2021 18:33

@Ereshkigalangcleg

They were not formed with "the express purpose of fighting against transgender equality" they were formed with the express purpose of protecting women's rights to safety, privacy and dignity in spaces appropriate to their sex, as well as safeguarding women's other sex based rights.
And if protecting women's rights is equivalent to 'fighting against transgender equality', then 'fighting for transgender equality' must be equivalent to removing women's rights.

Of course, in fact, transgender people already have equality in the UK, as well as a few additional privileges which nobody else has (nobody else can alter/falsify their birth record). There is no reason why males who identify as transgender should also have the privilege of competing in women's sports or entering single sex spaces designated for women.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/08/2021 18:21

They were not formed with "the express purpose of fighting against transgender equality" they were formed with the express purpose of protecting women's rights to safety, privacy and dignity in spaces appropriate to their sex, as well as safeguarding women's other sex based rights.

OvaHere · 02/08/2021 17:57

I'm not sure I'd be too worried about the defamation aspect. At the end of the day it's advertising for any journalists around the world who may not yet have heard of FPFW.

Which of course is the genius of being an org called Fair Play For Women because the name immediately tells you what it's about. Put into the context of being in a booklet designed to excuse males in female sport it becomes even more apparent.

Jaysmith71 · 02/08/2021 17:40

Yeah but in what jurisdiction?

A document authored in the US and published in Japan.

US libel law falls before their sacred First Amendment. You must prove the person knew the statement to be false and intended for it to be harmful.

BlueberryCheezecake · 02/08/2021 17:38

@RedDogsBeg

Who wrote/is responsible for that guide? I would say FPW have a more than fair claim for defamation and libel.
Which part is untrue?
Jaysmith71 · 02/08/2021 17:35

"I can't fathom the mindset of these American Women throwing women and girls sports under the bus..."

It's a culture war litmus test over there, where both sides of the argument use 'sex' and 'gender' interchangably and synonimously.

FindTheTruth · 02/08/2021 16:55

I can't fathom the mindset of these American Women throwing women and girls sports under the bus; Dr. Lindsay Pieper, Dr. Jaime Schultz, Dr. Libby Sharrow, and Athlete Ally staff members, Dr. Anna Baeth, and Anne Lieberman

ChateauMargaux · 02/08/2021 16:34

@Mollyollydolly.. I totally agree and said as much to my children. It's really made me sad. I just want to celebrate the achievements of women and not constantly be swearing at the latest piece of shitty information that is coming out. Hubbard, Mboma, Masilingi and Barnett should all not be taking the place of XX competitors and every bloody journalist who fails to stick to the facts that sport is segregated to allow women to compete on a level playing field (in the words of the IOC) and that naturally occurring testosterone that is in the male range is there because of XY chromosones and no matter what they call themselves or no matter how their genitals appear, it is unfair to allow them to continue to compete in the female competition. Aaarrgghhh!!!

And no, the other transathletes are not coming under scrutiny because they are female competing in a female competition and no one at all has a problem with that no matter how they identify or present.

Original poster
Tisha0 · 02/08/2021 16:18

From www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/two-words-youre-not-allowed-to-say-about-transgender-weightlifter-laurel-hubbard/news-story/7ce795b485d4754153dd85d621165f38

“Before competition got underway on Monday night, journalists at the venue were given a 20-page guide on how to report appropriately on transgender athletes. Among the guidelines was an instruction not to use “biological male” or “biological female”. Nor can you say the two-word phrase “born male” to describe Hubbard because: “No one is born with a gender identity. Everyone is born a baby and their gender is assigned to them by doctors and family members based on physical sex characteristics that may not correspond to their gender identity as it develops over time.”
….
“There were also instructions not to report trans athletes as having an unfair advantage over their rivals. According to the booklet, that’s “misinformation”.
A list of LGBTQ+ “athletes to watch” was also provided, as was a rundown of the history of LGBTQ+ athletes at the Games, in addition to definitions of terms such as “nonbinary”, “gender identity” and “cisgender”.”
….
“In the end Hubbard’s history-making appearance was an anticlimax. She failed all three of her lifts in the snatch component of the event – the first at 120kg and two at 125kg – to become the first competitor knocked out, not even making it to the second clean-and-jerk phase.
All those critics concerned Hubbard would have an unfair advantage over everyone else could sleep easy. It proved to be nothing of the sort. She later jokingly referred to her Olympic flop as a “non-performance”.”

OP posts:
Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/08/2021 15:32

It's common practice for the changes to the GRA to be hand waved away as an "admin improvement". This is deliberate.

Jaysmith71 · 02/08/2021 15:29

"Are they nuts?"

No, but they're American, and specifically Californian, so may appear more than dotty at times.

Recalling Maya's lawyers comment about British women being muzzled with a Californian scold's bridle.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/08/2021 15:21

Are they nuts?

No, just downplaying what was at stake in the deliberately disingenuous way TRAs are known for.