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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Sharron Davies and Mara Yamauchi are glorious!

92 replies

Soontobe60 · 06/05/2025 08:20

Have a listen to this BBC OS radio interview on the ban on men in womens sport. They are absolutely glorious to listen to - had the interviewer Mark Löwen tied up in knots and challenged his words beautifully.
From 26 minutes in.
https://t.co/GbsDZMQ5jL

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w173067qhlkv5vw

https://t.co/GbsDZMQ5jL

OP posts:
FatherFrosty · 09/05/2025 09:47

I’ve just listened to it.
well done those ladies on relentless picking apart every tiny normalisation of language that’s slipped in.

Kinsters · 09/05/2025 07:57

If anyone has not listened to the full interview with "Jessica" it is on the same program on 1 May (also at 26 minutes and 30 seconds in). I would suggest you do listen to it (if you can stomach it) just to really drive home how horrifically biased this coverage is. You'll notice that "Jessica's" program doesn't have 5 minutes at the begining devoted to hearing from women. And there's no advertisement at the end to tune in tomorrow to hear from Sharron and Mara.

Kinsters · 09/05/2025 07:52

Wow I just found time to listen to this (having read the twitter summary first) and oh my days. Mara and Sharron were brilliant. What an appalling display of bias by the BBC. As a pp I have also written a complaint about the blatant bias and misogyny. It was galling to hear "Jessica" and coach Steve espouse their thoughts and feelings unchallenged by the interviewer in contrast to Sharron and Mara being asked "but what about the [men]???" no matter what they said. I also noticed the sly dig of "former Olympians". Surely, having competed in the Olympics, Sharron and Mara are simply "Olympians".

I found it especially shocking that when coach Steve asserted that he'd never had any reason to consider this issue until very recently that the interviewer didn't challenge this given the years (decades??) women have been campaigning about this. And also the assertion from the coach that this is a tiny tiny issue for a vanishingly small minority of people but that there are three TiMs that he coaches?!? Wtf. My head was spinning the whole time I listened to that.

Pyjamatimenow · 08/05/2025 19:09

The interviewer was shameful. I thought Sharon and Mara were outstanding in the face of the must infuriating interviewing technique.

Datun · 08/05/2025 19:07

Also, I know it's Mara, I say Maya so much I think it might've been an AutoCorrect 😳

Datun · 08/05/2025 17:38

Under different circumstances that would have been enraging, but Sharron and Maya are so firmly in the driving seat that, just by being normal, he fell into the trap time after time. It ended up being very funny.

It's infuriating, says Sharron, that people keep asking us about the men

Yes, right. Can I just ask you about the men?

You're doing it too!

No I'm not, I just want to ask you about the men.

🤣🤣🤣

BlueEyedBogWitch · 08/05/2025 15:34

God, I enjoyed listening to that.

Bluebootsgreenboots · 08/05/2025 13:48

Agreed @Helleofabore. I just still have this feeling that I must be missing a piece of the puzzle because it’s so bleeding obvious to me that it’s wrong.

Helleofabore · 08/05/2025 13:46

Bluebootsgreenboots · 08/05/2025 13:15

I had a look at that tweet @Helleofabore. It has blown my mind slightly and I’m having a problem putting my brain cells back in order.
How on earth did we get to a point where man after man after man thought he could put on a skirt and take a tablet and have people championing him as a woman ? I know those of us who spend time here have seen it before, but I still just can’t process it.

I suspected that there must be clusters around the UK. It is like the Flying Bats in North Sydney football League. But here in the UK, news was not getting out. Which is strange, because there must be team mates and opposing team players who knew this was happening.

Either they are fearful of speaking out, or they are enjoying the benefits of having male players on the team so they can win.

And when I saw the report of a 60 year old male, I thought.... do these people not see the disparity??? What 60 year old female goalies are playing in teams that are not age category teams, ie. just in the general female teams?

It really does show there has been so much dishonesty in how FA have conducted themselves here.

Bluebootsgreenboots · 08/05/2025 13:15

I had a look at that tweet @Helleofabore. It has blown my mind slightly and I’m having a problem putting my brain cells back in order.
How on earth did we get to a point where man after man after man thought he could put on a skirt and take a tablet and have people championing him as a woman ? I know those of us who spend time here have seen it before, but I still just can’t process it.

SueSuddio · 08/05/2025 09:50

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 06/05/2025 10:05

This, from Dennis Kavanagh:
Hello and welcome to the a neutral BBC show in which we discuss "Are terfs complete scum?". In this episode, we'll begin crossing live to a terribly sad transvestite (TST) who cannot play in women's sport because of evil terfs. I began with the question "are terfs evil?"
2/ TST: "Yes"

BBC Drone "How evil would you say they are?"

TST: "Very"

BBC Drone: "For balance, some of the evil terfs say women have higher injury risk when massive blokes calling themselves "Barbara" play sport, is there an epidemic of transphobia?"

TST: "Yes"
3/

BBC Drone: "Well, there you have it. A compelling and, some reasonable people might say disgusting display of hatred by evil terfs. For balance we will now cross to a drag Queen"

Drag Queen: "Hi"

BBC Drone: "How evil are terfs in your view?"

Drag Queen: "Very"
4/

BBC Drone: "There are, unfortunately, some awful terfy women who haven't apologised for the Supreme Court Judgment yet. We are joined by Sharron Davies MBE now who has been particularly unapologetic. Sharron, let me start with a neutral question, how do you sleep at night?"
5/

Sharron: "Pretty well thanks now that woman don't suffer increased injury risk and have a chance at the tiny percentage of money that goes to female sports"

BBC Drone: "Can I ask you to stop being so toxic please. Do you not realise how sad that transvestite was?"
6/

Sharron: "I just don't care. Women are entitled to sports."

BBC Drone: "Can I just pause you for a moment please and ask you stop ranting. I just said a transvestite we found is really sad. Have you no heart?"

Sharron: "I'd like to talk about women"
7/

BBC Drone: "Could I ask you to dial down the toxic transphobia for a second please. Do you not understand that not only was a transvestite sad, we also found a drag queen who is also sad"

Sharron: "Nothing can counter male advantage in sport. This is about fairness"
8/

BBC Drone: "Are you not even going to apologise for the Supreme Court or behave like a proper woman and care about sad men?"

Sharron: "Can we talk maybe about polling athletes which the FA failed to do?"

BBC Drone: "Excuse me, are you hard of hearing?"

Sharron: "Eh?"
9/

BBC Drone: "I just told you a transvestite was really sad and you seem to want to talk about fairness in women's sports for some reason"

Sharron: "Yeah that's right"

BBC Drone: "So what you are saying is that you are you are basically Hitler then?"

Sharron: "Excuse me?"
10/ We end this report with a confirmation that at no point have any of the women we interviewed apologised for their views or the fact that transvestites are sad. Speaking neutrally, it seems this toxic debate fuelled by evil terfs like unrepentant Sharron just will run and run.
11/ Thank you. And now for the thought for the day which is presented by a drag queen followed by antiques road show also featuring drag queens and then a legal discussion "are terfs evil or just mad?".

Absolutely nailed it Dennis Kavanagh.

That's exactly how it sounded to me.

It was literally like an episode of Brass Eye.

JulesJules · 08/05/2025 08:56

Yes, Sharron and Mara were brilliant. Dennis's thread on Twitter is hilarious.

I've submitted a complaint to the BBC regarding the bias in the coverage of this.

DuesToTheDirt · 07/05/2025 22:08

It's enraging isn't it. (And I don't even care about football!)

EdithStourton · 07/05/2025 20:08

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 06/05/2025 10:02

Haven't heard the interview but I assume this is connected. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1919482434132881636.html?utm_campaign=topunroll

That is really funny,

NB If you've not read Sharron Davies' book 'Unfair Play', I'd recommend it.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 07/05/2025 19:39

That's the one. Scandalous.

Helleofabore · 07/05/2025 19:35

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 07/05/2025 18:23

The elephant in the room was the fact that Jessica might not have been good enough to make the male team. I saw something on Xitter earlier about males playing in female teams in the London area and it was eye-popping - the numbers, the fact that they were the top scorers or similar. How many women have been displaced by these cheaters?

This tweet Gaspode?

https://x.com/hecheateddotorg/status/1919972652027961691

Where they discuss how in the league there is 3 of the top 4 goal scorers in the women's games that are actually male players? And they have played not that many games compared to the exceptional female players in the list to achieve those scores so their goals per minute rate is very high?

Oscar "Oskia" Summers (Clapton Firsts & Reserves)
Tom "Tammy" Hymas. (Clapton Reserves)
Justin "Justine" Sauri White. (I think this one also is on this team and a Peckham team)

The Clapton team also has Paul "Paula" Griffin (aged around 60 years) as a goalie.

In Manchester Laces team there is:

Tamsyn Elkie O'Connor (who also used to play semi-professionally in Norway as a woman) as a goalie
Matthew "Emma" Smith (also a goalie and is a BBC Sports journo)
Plus a few more.

I found that a remarkable collection of information. Whoever gathered it found 11 in just 2 teams.

And they listed more. I would predict that that number of 20 was someone low balling to minimise the numbers.

https://x.com/hecheateddotorg/status/1919972652027961691

Bluebootsgreenboots · 07/05/2025 19:04

That was a good interview. I loved Mara’s point about mental health needs not being a justification for women to run in the kids category, so why should men run in true women’s.
Did anyone else notice the odd editing after the interviewer asked for examples of season ending injuries? SD said (paraphrase) ‘there have been broken legs and there have been teams that opted out of playing a side with men on it’. It really didn’t sound as if the teams opting out point was made then, it was as if she’d said that in answer to another question. I wonder if she listed other examples of injuries and that got cut out. If so, I wonder what she actually said.

GailBlancheViola · 07/05/2025 18:43

The elephant in the room was the fact that Jessica might not have been good enough to make the male team. I saw something on Xitter earlier about males playing in female teams in the London area and it was eye-popping - the numbers, the fact that they were the top scorers or similar. How many women have been displaced by these cheaters?

Quite.

But of course to the males playing in those teams and those cheering them on that is not relevant because as Sharron stated it is only women and girls being displaced and disadvantaged.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 07/05/2025 18:40

Indeed. It would be nice if it could be acknowledged, though, that a mediocre male athlete/player may be able to make a female team simply by dint of being taller, stronger etc, not necessarily by being more skilled.

borntobequiet · 07/05/2025 18:31

The elephant in the room was the fact that Jessica might not have been good enough to make the male team.

The men will have to make their game inclusive of all men, regardless of differences in claimed identity, presentation, pronouns and ability. Let them make room for a change.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 07/05/2025 18:23

GailBlancheViola · 06/05/2025 20:00

KnottyAunty and within that section the TW was asked about changing rooms and claimed they always arrived fully changed and left in their kit and when asked about playing in a man's team came out with how they couldn't possibly do that and change with the men - well if you arrived fully kitted out when playing in the women's team what is so difficult about doing the same when you play in the correct team for your sex?

The difference between the way the interviewer was in the first interview and that with Sharron and Mara was stark, as ever. Quite frankly he was all but grovelling on the floor with the TW in the first interview.

Anyway, Sharron and Mara where beyond excellent.

The elephant in the room was the fact that Jessica might not have been good enough to make the male team. I saw something on Xitter earlier about males playing in female teams in the London area and it was eye-popping - the numbers, the fact that they were the top scorers or similar. How many women have been displaced by these cheaters?

Soontobe60 · 06/05/2025 22:03

KnottyAuty · 06/05/2025 18:37

Email address above was wrong - here is the web portal you have to use if you want to comment on the sexist questioning:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints/make-a-complaint/#/Complaint%20Summary

Thanks @KnottyAuty

OP posts:
ThatsNotMyTeen · 06/05/2025 21:30

They were brilliant 🤩

heartsinvisiblefury · 06/05/2025 21:14

Amazing!

Shadowsunray · 06/05/2025 21:08

They were absolutely brilliant! These captured journalists need to be challenged every time.