Transwoman wins women's US cycling race & gets $35k prize

My peaking in the whole subject of trans was about a year ago at a prestigious time trial road race meet where Emily Bridges and another male cyclist pushed the winning female cyclist to Bronze, and effectively every other female competitor down two places.

I have no idea if the Bronze medallist, and every other female cyclist, had prize money and competitive opportunities reduced or even eliminated, prize money, prestige, opportunities to excel.

I do know the Bronze medallist went on Twitter that day to castigate what she called transphobic comments criticising (in so many words) "my beloved new female competitors".

A year on, that peaking is kept simmering by stories like this. But when you delve into cycling, you see a culture of absolute cheating, doping, and rampant misogyny.

It's quite something for me personally to feel ever more distant from the new "liberal" mindset. I was a liberal myself once, I guess. It's hard to remember when as this infantilising anti Enlightenment movement has been ramping up for many years now. I wish I knew what any sort of solutions might be.

If I had a daughter who has real talent and drive in cycling, and she was crying her eyes out at this story, just what would I be telling her, assuming I didn't want to lie to her?

Post edited by MNHQ

I would like to see this plastered all over the BBC. We'd soon see an end to #BeKind if the general public realised. 50 TW cyclists? So much for this-never-happens.

To get anywhere near the top of any sport a child has to be purely focussed on that particular sport, from the age of about six onwards. That means missing out on just about every other aspect of their childhood. And even then, let’s face it, the chances of ultimate success are minuscule. IMO sport should be for fun and to keep fit and healthy.

The Times & Telegraph both closed their comments I noticed - looks like the sheer weight of negative public opinion needed censoring 🙄

It's been noted that the BBC aren't even covering this on their website. Outright ignorance or outright censorship, I know which one I believe is true.

So presumably blatant cheating is not considered disrespectful?

Sacred caste innit. Excused from the normal conventions of society, sport and fair play in favour of self centred indulgence.

So presumably blatant cheating is not considered disrespectful.

One of the things we can all do is to keep speaking up about this. We know it's the one thing (along with what's happening to children) that most people agree on - that it's wrong, unfair, cheating and will demolish women's sport.

TUCKINGFYP0 has spelled out the career ending consequences for sportswomen who protest - so we're just going to have to keep on talking. Which will no doubt enrage all tedious monitors who got so many posts deleted earlier on this thread.

And cycling has always had cheating, too. This is an easy way to cheat.

Cycling does seem to be particularly seriously affected. Presumably that's because you get an awful lot of men who cycle as a hobby to quite a high standard. So you only need a small percentage of those men to identify as women and suddenly you've got a disproportionate number of above average males entering elite women's competition.

For those that say it is so rare as to not make a difference three-time Olympian and five-time national road race champion Inga Thompson said there are now 50 transgender women in the sport.

The cycling bodies like UCI that are allowing this are basically corrupt.

Wishing this cyclist much publicity and media coverage.

Let the fucking sunlight stream in, pal.

@JellySaurus well of course it only goes one way, it’s STFU women and do as you are told. #beKind = #BeObedient.

Women athletes are left with two choices.

1. Boycott / speak out publicly and end your career ( no might or maybe here, you will get banned from official events and participating in non official events will also get you banned ) and receive death threats, perhaps lose your day job and risk any other future jobs etc
2. Stay quiet and hope you don’t meet a transwoman in your event.

*It reads like a speculative fiction story

I’ve always thought this, Truth. Except it wouldn’t have got published, because fiction has to be at least marginally plausible.*

The Handmaid's Tale?

“ discrimination “ against another player only goes one way, too.

🤔

Thre is a long lots of things you are not allowed to do, such as criticise the events organisers, sponsors or the sports governing body . There are rules about “ respecting “ other players. In the case of athletes under 18, these rules also apply to their parents. They are very strictly enforced.

🤔 Respecting other players only goes one way though.

All of this.

There is such a cost to women, whatever happens. Another of those biological birthrights that men never identify into.

I totally get the pp in that it shouldn’t cost women more to deal with this. I agree.

It’s so frustrating to see, not sure what else can be done by us non competitors than keep talking and hoping press push on it too

Not sure how US will impact events and what would change things there

I understand this. There is a risk to speaking up. It could be career ending. There is also a risk to not speaking up which is that female sports become dominated by males. Female athletes are between a rock and a hard place. Perhaps it will be the next generation of athletes who take this on when males are taking gold in most events or completely filling podiums. Or perhaps by then they will have done such a great job of brainwashing youth that nobody will care anymore that there is no place for women in sports.

What @TUCKINGFYP0 said.

I also think it's wrong to ask women to scrutinise other competitors in this way. I'm not one who believes 'you can always tell' - quite the opposite, and particularly over a short time in sports kit. You'd likely know over time as you get to know other competitors, but the whole point of women's sport is that you don't have to look any particular way to be a woman - it was the point of feminism back in the day, and what sport gave to me when I was a big brawny teenager. Cara Dixon looks much, much more feminine than I ever did. That glorious freedom and acceptance should remain, but it shouldn't be exploited at women's expense. Cara Dixon should be competing as a male.

Apologies: Austin Killips is an American man and the race was in America.

Killips won a medal in the women's cyclocross at the US National Championships and is now seen as a potential contender for the US women’s team at next year's Olympic Games in Paris
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/300866982/transgender-cyclist-austin-killips-wins-major-womens-tour-in-united-states

Some of you don’t seem to understand how things work in elite sport ( I’m not taking about cycling here but more generally ).

Athletes are tied by contracts with the sports governing body , which they have to sign if they want to be selected to compete at National, European or international level.

Thre is a long lots of things you are not allowed to do, such as criticise the events organisers, sponsors or the sports governing body . There are rules about “ respecting “ other players. In the case of athletes under 18, these rules also apply to their parents. They are very strictly enforced.

So an athlete can’t just pull out a competition because a transwoman is competing . If they don’t have a medical note they will be asked why and their reasons will be judged as “ discrimination “ against another player. It will be treated as if they said “ I’m not playing against her because she is black / Jewish “. The sport will take disciplinary action.

There is NO OPTION to just decide to not compete in certain events , let alone to stand up publicly and say why. Their career will be over - everything they have worked and sacrificed for for perhaps 15 or 20 years.

No one on here as the right to demand than of another woman. Especially keyboard warriors who do nothing for women’s rights expect post on twitter. Go out and sacrifice your own job/ home / children’s place in school / safety / whatever - don’t demand that others do it.

It reads like a speculative fiction story

I’ve always thought this, Truth. Except it wouldn’t have got published, because fiction has to be at least marginally plausible. I can happily suspend my disbelief in time travel, dragons etc, to enjoy a story. But not human beings behaving in psychologically unbelievable ways. A small number of men claiming to be women, OK. The rest of the world pretending to believe it and changing laws to prevent dissent? No way.

If I’d been a publisher or film-maker 20 years ago and someone offered me this story I’d have turned it down because no one’s going to suspend that much disbelief.

Duper's Delight.

And 'you're beautiful when you're angry, darling'.