Kathleen Stock, Vogue & Bridges - the perfect Sunday morning read

Thanks OP. Spot on!

@Isheabastard EB has everything you say but what he also has, which you and I don’t, is a pelvis that is designed to transfer power from A to B. That cannot ever be changed.

I remember reading an article a few years ago about why the Uk cycling team (men’s presumably) were doing so well in competitions.

It might have been this, or a rehash of it. I heard it on the radio.

https://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains

But elite athletes don’t just materialise into the top categories - they come through the grassroots.
Why would girls put all that effort and sacrifices if they have to constantly put up and accommodate, and get passed over, by boys in dresses?

Well done Kathleen

Why is this an error? Are women in grassroots sport not allowed to have single-sex criteria? Does fairness only matter if there’s an Olympic medal at stake?

That's very good to hear. So, no more men in women's Parkrun?

Stock has made the same error that it seems so many commentators have made about the new BC, CTT and UCI policies. It doesn’t just apply to the elite category. It applies to ALL competition from grassroots racing up. It doesn’t matter whether you are racing at WorldTour level or a weekend warrior at your local town centre crit or club 10, the policies apply.

Thanks for sharing @MrsOvertonsWindow

I love Kathleen Stock. And it's absolutely the right approach to ridicule this farce, just as Ricky Gervais has done.
It will be laughed at in years to come, that we had to resort to science to avoid being called a bigot by suggesting men might have a physical advantage over women.

Also, what about all those gay players in the game? With all the pinkwashing going on, there's been fewer players coming out in four decades (poor tragic Justin Fashanu the most pertinent example) then I have fingers on one hand.

Professional sport is toxic male culture writ large, gambling addictions, huge homophobia, and endemic misogyny, from coaches (hallo, Mr. Spanish transgressor of boundaries) etc.

Of course, pink bootlaces should do it...

😳 what an absolute bell end!

This is excellent.

In 2022, EVAW wrote to the FA and Premier League imploring it to improve how footballers treat women and girls and, in particular, “confront a culture of gender-based violence”. It believes recent events are cause to strengthen that call. “Given the seriousness of sexual violence and the way high-profile cases involving footballers influence our wider culture and attitudes, clubs and institutions must stop looking at players solely in terms of the multi-million-pound revenue they bring and start taking responsibility for fixing a problem they’ve helped create,” Simon said.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/footballs-nasty-truth-its-badly-failing-women-fcdp36zpk

Thankyou for the article.

I remember reading an article a few years ago about why the Uk cycling team (men’s presumably) were doing so well in competitions.

They said the coaches looked at every tiny aspect of racing and tweaked it to just gain a few milliseconds of advantage. I can’t remember what they were but guess it was things like shaving legs etc.

Anyway all those tiny tweaks ended up accumulating in a winning advantage.

So Dr Stocks comment about male puberty made me think of the same with regard to Emily Bridges.

EB possibly has the same hand span as another elite woman athlete. Or the same calf size as one of the other women competitors. Perhaps the same height, weight, leg strength, VO2 capacity etc, etc.

But EB will be the only one who has them all. And all those minor (or major some may say) advantages add up to having an overall unfair advantage.

I am against EB racing as a women. I’m not sure my comment adds anything to the argument, but when I read the Dr Stock piece I remembered the other article.

Wonderful article. Absolutely nails it. Shows Vogue's utter vapidness . Being a woman to Vogue is surely nothing more than a simple matter of aesthetics and / or the money to invest in your appearance.

I'm no sports expert but surely a lioness could have been on there?!

Has there been any response at all from Vogue?

The piece closes with a rousing commitment to fight British Cycling’s decision “in the courts and the streets”.

it's delusion on an industrial scale. Do they really think that people 'in the streets' will back them?

Bring it on, they're going to get a nasty shock.

I have no time for Vogue and the like. And this is a fantastic article.

EB et al certainly are “defining and redefining” what it is to be a woman.

I’m long passed being polite- they and their proponents can piss off.

Great article, and the mention of Hannah Mouncey gives me an opportunity to link to Mouncey’s screenshotted tweet here twitter.com/RukhsanaSukhan/status/1387420970332262406?s=20

Kathleen Stock writes like an angel. This piece justifies this month's Times subscription all on its own.

Thanks OP! I love Kathleen Stock.