It's started in Irish dancing too. 14 year old trans child wins world qualifying event

Always the same thing.

One side: this is unfair, all girls are suffering because of this, there's a reason girls need their own category, and girls are losing opportunities and places in the girls' competitions in order to let boys have freedom of self expression and use their resources

Other side: ah bless, poor boy, give him what he wants, it's nice to be nice, don't make him sad.

Basically a belief that girls should suffer and lose so that boys never have to deal with boundaries that make them sad.

@Greyheart1 I agree.
Clrg aren't fit for purpose and haven't been for decades.

I've stepped away from teaching and have refused to register with them this year. I refuse to subject my kids to their antics any longer.

Girls do in their heavy shoes - they're known as blocks. They're allowed to dance this step aged 12 upwards.
It's not a step danced by boys.

As an aside do they go on their toes like ballet dancers (per the photo) ? If so that's a massive risk for a male body.

No such thing as a trans child

There is also the mental edge of the girls taking part feeling nervous/anxious/confused and possibly angry at being told to accept the boy.

As someone who has been involved in Irish dancing my entire life as a dancer and now a teacher I find this frustrating and confusing.

Firstly, boys and girls have very different styles. when judging you look for different things. I'd be interested in how they were judged and whether they were judged as a girl or a boy?
Secondly, traditionally it's always been much easier to qualify for the worlds as a boy due to the significantly lower numbers. In my region I think every boy qualifies as the numbers in the groups are so low whereas the girls groups are more competitive.

Although clrg are an absolute shit show so nothing surprises me!

Irish Central is a US based site and FB page. I deleted it ages ago. Full of shamrockery and misinformation.

Well, Irish Central very definitely has a particular view on this issue and it’s not supporting fair competition for the girls (their rights barely get a mention) 🤯🤬

Sean Nós dance is the style I grew up with - occasionally you'd get some girls at school who entered competitions and they wore the old style flowing dance dresses with Celtic patterns on them (no wigs, no cosmetics). Those girls put in so much effort and practice, so much leg strength and stamina is needed for the leaps and for the steps. I was always impressed at how strong they were but competing against male dancers isn’t a level playing field. Irish dance made them good Camogie players too: strong legs and stamina 😊

On the subject of Irish dance itself - it's not all wigs and fake tan, that's just a highly stylised version of it. And now you mention it, yes it very drag-ish! Ordinary people wearing ordinary clothes also do extraordinary Irish dancing:

Ah, sure, lookit. Isn't that it?

Yes of course, but only certain people...

It might be both idk

There seems to a flurry of firsts for males in whatever the sport

I don’t agree with any males in female sports

I follow the dance school's Instagram (a relative does Irish dancing) and it's extremely obvious who this boy is.

@Greyheart1
I’d be happy (with no dogs in the fight, as it were) to see it - much prefer their rules; & not having a sex scandal is always a bonus 😁
Members leaving might be what does it - having that freedom to choose is where Irish Dancers are ahead of lots of other athletes.

Oh & a trans category wouldn’t make them happy: they want to be “validated” by getting to dance with the girls. In a trans category they’d be back dancing against boys & they might not win, having lost their unfair advantage.

I didn’t realise they’d not even had to learn anything new - that really does make it so much worse!

Slightly off-topic, but for all the people convinced Irish Dancing = Satan’s Own Fake Tan Mitt, lots of people compete under WIDA so no make-up (inc fake-tan) for U12’s & no wigs (then only a bun wig until you’re 15) & once you’re allowed a dress it’s to be of a more traditional style. WIDA have had a “trans non-binary” adult compete - but pretty clearly in the correct sex category. I can’t find anything saying people are allowed to dance according to their genderfeels either 🤔

Returning to our sheep: really fecking hope CLRG & various affiliated organisations turn the ship around & sail back into the waters of sanity. The extra strength, stamina & power boys [& men] have is an advantage, especially in hard shoe dances. Males have more fast twitch muscles which are basically exactly what they need for the small fast steps: it’s the same reason men find petit allegro so easy in ballet & even [relative] beginners can knock out entrechats & sometimes royales with ease.