Valentina Petrillo shouldn't be allowed to compete in the women's race

[AhBiscuits]

Valentina Petrillo only started transitioning 5 years ago and previously competed as a man. How can that be fair? I appreciate that she did not make the final, but she's taken the place of a woman who has worked her arse off, but couldn't surpass Valentina's natural advantage.

It’s not fair and we should not be compelled to use preferred pronouns either.

The length of "transition" is irrelevant. This is a 51 year old male competing against elite female para athletes much younger (simply because no female para athlete of that age COULD compete).

This is a male who has shoved out female athletes. It's WRONG.

No. It is not fair at all.

And sadly it will continue until the IOC changes their regulations. But at the moment, under this President of the IOC, that won’t happen.

No.

Of course YANBU.

It's not fair that para athletics allow this when AB athletics doesn't.

There should not be a difference.

Para sports classes are to allow for impairments and the effect on performance to create a level playing field.

Being transgender is not a disability.

I think it's a fair point of concern. This is an issue that needs to be thought about going forwards and I think Olympic organisers aren't sure exactly what to do about it. There was some discussion about this before her race. Tanni Grey-Thompson said athletes preferred not to comment/get involved, when asked what the feeling was amongst the other athletes, and who can blame them, given the abuse they might get?

YANBU at all.
At population level, males are faster (and stronger, and bigger etc etc) that females.
That starts even before puberty, but at puberty the differences heighten. And they remain in place irrespective of bringing down testosterone levels.
So it can't be a level playing field for females if some (albeit here middle-aged and mediocre) male starts competing against them.
Like Lauren Hubbard, it's a good thing he was too rubbish (and old) to take a medal but he did of course take a place that was meant for a female. So a female athlete - one who has already had to deal with visual impairment - had her place at the Paralympics taken away.
Unfair, cruel and discriminatory.

… notice they feel very little (no) guilt about thier behaviour - those hormones seem to make little impact on male entitlement.

No males should be in women’s sports. It’s not fair.

He is a disgusting cheating man

The science is actually very very clear that male people who have been through any degree of male puberty have an advantage over female people.

The fact that this male runner is so much older than the female runners shows that advantage.

The IOC has chosen to prioritise philosophical and political belief over the science and the human rights for female people to have fair competition. It is actually a violation of human rights for the female half of the world’s population.

What on earth do you think needs 'thinking about'?

Feelings errol. Feelings.

If the science wasn’t clear there wouldn’t be a separate female category in the first place.

There is no valid argument for destroying the female category.

Trans people are not prevented from sporting participation by retaining sex based categories but females are by the fact that the ioc & other sporting bodies put the feelings of males first.

And to top it all off, Petrillo had the sheer nerve to whine to Italian TV about having been provided with private toilet access rather than having the free run of the women's toilet and changing facilities. Ffs. It's not like Petrillo was being stuck in with the men..

How disgusting that a biological male was allowed to take the place of a blind female. 😡

The fact that he's around 20 years older than the others shows how much male advantage he has retained. It's shameful that female rights are being trodden over like this.

Well that just shows clearly what it's all about. Most females would prefer the privacy.

Men shouldn't be in women's sports. Or changing rooms. Or refuges. Or prisons. Or hospital wards.

The whining about the toilet situation was grotesque as well. Ffs. Taking a female athlete's place because he's not fast enough to run with males (obviously, he's over 50 I think) isn't enough for him. And of course he doesn't want his own toilet that organisers have bent over backwards to sort out. No. What's really necessary is the validation of peeing with females.
What a delight.

No, of course he shouldn't be "competing" in the women's category, for all of the excellent reasons already posted here.

Of course not. The whole world can see he’s a man. It’s shameful

YANBU, obviously.

Obviously not fair! Biology is what it is and men have an advantage in sports. He can transition and be a she but will biologically remain male.

This is not fair and is a mockery to women. He should not race in a women’s race.