Hannah Arensman speaks out

The DT, like all newspapers now in a dying industry, is scrambling for stories that fit the views of its existing readers and may gather more clicks. I think it's possible to agree with some of its stories without thinking it's some massive force for good.

It's weird that some posters worry about subscribing to the DT because they think it is right wing (right wing is a crime?) while having no qualms about subscribing to the Guardian which is left wing. The DT is not really that right wing. It is right of centre but pretty much only on political/economic issues - less right than the Guardian is left, if you see what I mean - and is certainly no friend now of the Tory party. But for the issues we care about in feminism and gender - women's rights, women's sports, women's spaces, also women in business - it is firmly on women's side.

Does anyone remember the ‘red book’ for their child after they gave birth? I would regularly get my kids checked out to make sure they were okay. There was a red book for male children and a red book for female children Because they’re different.

I do think what needs to be clear is that someone who has an Olympic place has already won. Like Laurel Hubbard. I think there are something like 14 spots in the Olympics for women weightlifters - that's 14, total, in the world. Laurel Hubbard got one of those and is an Olympian for the rest of their life. Their shitty post injury performance at 20 years older than the other competitors was extremely poor but they had already taken that place.

In that case the Olympic authorities wilted under the spotlight and issued a wild card place to the young champion of colour that Laurel's selection had excluded. It was just a mess.

It's interesting to reflect on the different levels of awareness in different sports. Transwomen are making an impact in all sports that allow their inclusion, but some are more visible than others. Self ID is more damaging than lowered testosterone, but it's all a problem.
I do think solo sports are easier for women to speak out in - it's certainly not 'easy' for those brave women who are doing it, of course - but in team games it is very hard to speak out, when others on the team don't want you to rock the boat.

Why on earth should sports be split by gender? There’s logic to splitting them by sex, no justification at all for splitting by gender.

The replies to the tweet are quite heartening and, it's not a Stonewall ratio, but....

Apparently it’s ‘hate’ to speak out about males in women’s sport now.
https://twitter.com/stopfundinghate/status/1659860177514819584?s=46&t=5tHsrgY5T97exTqeFD4LWg

They really just want to squish women don’t they, under a veil of ‘just be kind ladies’’

It is, what it always has been. Misogyny. Plain and simple misogyny.

Go do one!

Censoring the press - such a regressive Victorian approach 🙄

Stop Hate haven't learnt after they tried to get the Co op to stop advertising in the Spectator. The ideologically captured Co op pitifully agreed but the Spectator promptly banned the Co op from advertising with them for misusing their commercial influence to stifle debate. 😂

https://twitter.com/spectator/status/1301862714894147584

This, Stop Funding Hate are trying to instigate an advertising boycott of the Telegraph for running the story

twitter.com/StopFundingHate/status/1659860177514819584?s=20

What a courageous young women, how very sad that this has been taken away from her and everyone in the sport is just sitting by and letting it happen.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the Olympics next year. If countries enter trans identifying males into women's events they will almost certainly win. It will then go one of two ways - governing bodies just allow men to complete in womens sport and it's obliterated or it's all stopped and we go back to sport bring by biological sex.

If this goes on too long then young women will not enter sport to this level, if it then changes , a few years down the line, then women sports will have been set back years and years.

I really do not understand how anyone can say this is right. I really don't understand why he wasn't disqualifying for that act of violence in that race.

Archive-to-read yet to work & switching to flight mode doesn’t work for me.

The answer is https://12ft.io/ @NitroNine.

Poor woman. I don’t cease to be appalled that men competing and winning against women is actually allowed in 2023.

We teach our children to compete fairly and to be “good losers” and to understand that “not everyone can win” - and then some adult males in top-level sports totally trash this through their deliberately and blatantly unfair behaviour 🤷‍♀️

I also think cycling is not about upper body strength and so the muscle development required to be very fast means that men and women's bodies don't look dissimilar when they're in their 'bug' outfits.

I personally think there are more male competitors in female classes of sports where you can make more money lower down the rankings - cycling and golf being prominent. I presume the surfers also get deals, being cool role models, and it happens there too. But in tennis it doesn't happen (much, yet). You're more visually exposed in tennis though, unlike in cycling as you said @Xiaoxiong.

I also think it's one where because of the helmet, sunglasses and cycling clothes it's sometimes harder to see in photos that someone is trans compared to something like swimming. In videos you can tell or on the podium, but in photos of races everyone looks like a bug in a helmet anyway and unless they're in a pack or a peloton it's not immediately obvious there is a size difference when someone is photographed alone.

Women's cycling seems to be the field with quite large numbers of trans athletes taking the podium places and the winnings? What is driving this?

It's one of the sports where men have the largest advantage over women, it's easy to get into and allows TW to compete as women without much limitation.

The shape of men's pelvis transfers energy more efficiently because the angle between the thigh and the line of the pedal is smaller.

That particular 'community defense organisation' are a very real concern.

One of their members was killed while attacking an immigration facility. That's the only terrorist attack they've executed so far- their main hobby seems to be threats and intimidation.

Women's cycling seems to be the field with quite large numbers of trans athletes taking the podium places and the winnings? What is driving this?

Nitro - it's already archived if you search. Yes, I'm really shocked he didn't get disqualified for that. The video is so clear. And obviously he was targeting her because she'd spoken up. Just another violent man

Killips is the cyclist who threw their bike at Aresman during the race after a couple of “accidental” collisions, yes? (Archive-to-read yet to work & switching to flight mode doesn’t work for me.)

I’m still somewhat baffled as to how they weren’t disqualified for quite blatant cheating. It was like Dick Dastardly careering around the course, but ofc the violence wasn’t cartoonish, it was very real. And Muttley wouldn’t lower himself to such shenanigans. I realise the collisions might be hard to prove blatant as they were but picking up your bike & lobbing it at another cyclist is clear evidence you shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the sport.

Thanks. I might sign up and give it a try.

Much to my surprise I've found it excellent on trans issues. The comments are generally good.
Their sport section (and women's sport) is brilliant. Politics - not my take on things but they have some excellent reporting generally and it's easy to pick and choose - and to have my opinions challenged .