AIBU to think it was never that complicated to define a woman.

[Abisequer]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that eligibility for the women’s category of Olympic events will now be limited to biological females, starting from the LA 2028 Games.

AIBU to think the category ‘women’ was never complicated and the obfuscation by certain governing bodies has compromised fairness in sport for women.

Examples of obfuscation include claims that genital checking would be needed or that biological men with lowered testosterone would be on an even playing field with biological women.

AIBU to think it was never complicated to define a woman and a cheek swab is all it takes.

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Agreed. It's only complicated if you're trying to have the definition of "women" include some men.

Of course it was never complicated. I don't understand why some people engage in stupid mental and semantic gymnastics that only serve to destroy women's chance of having any hope of success in sport.

My mum and I had the XX XY conversation over the weekend.

And they still try and sensationalise it with the headline ‘banned'

Why not say what it is, Men will have to compete with men from now on and they will be checked with a definitive DNA check in case they are lying.

Are things changing at last. The ship is turning around I think.

If in doubt just check: which group are being prioritised, heard, cared about, enabled, and the focus of everything, and which group are barely mentioned at all and are scolded, shamed, expected to shut up and put up, and to give space?

It will be sex based, binary, and no one involved will have needed a swab DNA test.

Even today's news reporting would lead you to think the only relevant thing about this announcement is how it will affect men.

The ship is definitely turning.

Although the reporting needs to stop using the words banned.

Being kind is not compromising women’s fairness and safety in any respect.

This and guides and brownies this week. Double win. Even so, I am still in a daze that intelligent people in their millions convinced themselves for several years that gender could trump sex.

It was never complicated, but previously it was politically convenient to pretend it was and to ignore the trolling and brow beating of, and unfairness to, women. This seems to be changing at last, thank goodness.

It's more a giant brick wall that needs taking down one brick at a time.

Eventually when enough bricks are gone, it falls completely.

We just need to keep on going. HEAVE!!!

Possibly this “being convinced” might relate to (1) wanting to keep their jobs (2) wanting to shine their halos (3) not wanting to wade through the doublespeak, threats and craziness that someone else would hopefully sort out.

When it is all sorted eventually, the whole ideology will be looked upon as pure collective madness on behalf of brainwashed and inculcated people.

After the Rio 2016 Olympics the issue of athletes with a Disorder of Sexual Development (sometimes called a Difference of Sexual Development) or DSD came to the fore. In the women’s 800m three male athletes with DSDs won Gold, Silver and Bronze. The three women who were placed fourth, fifth and sixth in the event were cheated out of their rightful medals by sports’ governing bodies and the International Olympic Committee that had failed to protect the fairness and integrity of female categories.

Women’s Olympic Gold medalist.

It is likely now I think to go one of two ways. Either yes, finally and slowly the walls come down - and the legal steps and international picture is painfully glacial, but the direction is back towards sanity all the time because this is not compatible with law and women and children's rights and equality - or we'll see women's rights significantly removed and women's roles in society significantly returned back by a century or so, across the western world.

It's what we're seeing with the SCJ: Philipson and her party have two options. Let the guidance go and let the law continue, or try to ram through a re-write of the Equality Act, removing women's sex based rights (and thereby their equality in law which affects all women, and the access of many to services and resources) as unkindly and unreasonably providing boundaries to men's freedoms and self expression.

At one time, I'd have thought this was the realm of dystopian fiction, but I'm permanently staggered every week at the sheer and unashamed misogyny and normalisation of sexism, it's getting more overt all the time, and the many women who are enabling the destruction of their own rights.

Yes and the reason why they stopped cheek swabs in 1999 I don’t think was very clear.

YABU not to take this feast of self-congratulation over to FWR.

Give me one reason why women should have lost achievements to biological men? It is outrageous.

You will not silence us.

@stripesandspotsanddots

This is a massive issue for any person who likes sports, plays sports, have children who play sports.

It belongs here.

Attempting to silence women fighting back against the removal of their rights - we see you.

I’d be interested in hearing from the 7% that think it hasn’t been over complicated.

What is complicated about a cheek swab and male and female categories?

It belongs here, the busiest board on a predominantly women’s forum.

Most women will be happy about this, why would anyone not be?

yanbu op

I always find the ones telling me not to talk about issues that affect women in sport are the ones that can’t see beyond their own self interest.

They are the type that have their own needs and will trample over women as a sex class in self interest.

I agree that the term 'banned' needs to stop being used.

Male athletes can compete in the male categories. They are not included in the female sports categories.

Yep