Why are women athletes NOT objecting to the takeover of their sport?

[loveyouradvice]

This is something I don't understand... I am not sporty but passionately care that men are invading women's sport and taking places that should be theirs (women and girls)....

Apart from one brave Brazilian woman (basketball? some ball sport) I HAVE SEEN NO ONE - neither women athletes nor their managers - mount a serious petition/campaign to change things to ensure that women and girls sport stays FEMALE.

Why is this?

I seriously don't understand... I can understand a few not being brave enough but not all, especially since there is safety in numbers and working collaboratively would achieve so much more- especially since SO MANY are being affected and there are some feisty women in sport.

Excellent question, especially with the background of the procession re women's suffrage going on today.

Because even in numbers they'll be labelled transphobic and be dropped from their sponsorships, dropped from invitation events and so on. They won't be able to afford to continue in the sport and that will be that.

Ah yes, the procession which is open to anyone who identifies as a woman

Just a guess but I imagine if women were still disenfranchised, identifying as one would be rather less popular.

Because even in numbers they'll be labelled transphobic and be dropped from their sponsorships, dropped from invitation events and so on. They won't be able to afford to continue in the sport and that will be that.

THIS

For the same reason that so many women are terrified of speaking out about women's identity and legal rights being removed. TRAs will try to get them sacked, will call them transphobes, may try to assault them, will harass them online, may put on masks and intimidate them, will try to stop them talking online and meeting to discuss concerns ... and the list goes on.
Sportswomen are mainly young women and the their whole sporting careers could be ended.
Until and unless politicians are prepared to stand up to the trans monolith and stop them harassing and bullying women, nothing will change.

Why is it only up to female athletes?
Male athletes are often paid more than women in the same sport and more easily forgiven if they say something controversial/unacceptable.
How can male sport make itself more inclusive?

Because they've been bullied and gaslighted into silence.

Look at the Transgender Trend crowdfunder, the vast majority of donations are anonymous. That isn't because people are ashamed of donating they are scared of the repercussions. It's the same principle with sport, women are afraid to speak out.

They are sponsored, by prvate individuals, companies and sport bodies and national agencies, like Sport England/Scotland etc.

If they speak up as individuals they will be pilloried. They have to speak up en masse, preferably with a male spokesperson (and yes, I know how that sounds, but it is still the sporting reality, sadly). I know that women's rugby is due a lot of a shout, shortly. There have been a few nasty injuries at both grass roots and junior elite levels.

When your livelihood depends on you being 'saleable' it is hard to step out of line - for men and women in sport!

Fear of reprisals/being labelled/banned
Conditioning to 'shut up and play nice'

I was talking to the mother of a young, up and coming sportswoman this week about this subject. She said ‘oh it’s just a fad, There are lots of trans in her school, but they aren’t interested in sport.’ Then I got the whole, ‘you didn’t strike me as being like that and anyway DD is very inclusive’
Told her to look on MN, awaiting to see outcome if she did, and suggested her daughter may be less inclusive if her place on the girls team is taken by a boy. To be fair this particular sport is very male biased, but she hadn’t got a clue that it could even happen.

I’m sure Lynsey Sharp (Scottish middle distance runner) made some twitter comments and got completely crucified for it unsurprisingly. She was up against 2 or 3 athletes thought to be intersex after IAAF decided to drop the requirement for testosterone to be under a certain level. Not quite the same as transgender but certainly intersex athletes have a clear advantage here (through no fault of their own)

I looked into this during the Commonwealth Games and the issue of the weightlifter and found that other countries' weightlifting federations and female weightlifters were objecting. I think/hope that we are simply not aware of what is going on behind the scenes. If it is so plain to us that men competing as women is wrong, how much more amplified must it be to the athletes who are (or could potentially be) affected?

Possibly because at the top level it hasn't impacted them yet. Also most sportspeople are very cautious about what they talk about these days with one eye on anything that can affect their image and marketability. Look at Beckham. For all his fame, how many truly controversial subjects has he ever got involved in?

All the above reasons are absolutely correct. What I think I am struggling to articulate is how is it that we are sewing banners and marching to commemorate the granting of the franchise for some women (very important I know) including transwomen in this (one of the participants mentioned how important LGBT rights were in this!), when women's sport, women's spaces and recognition of women's achievement etc is all at risk.

Thank you to Man Friday, WPUK and all the others who are working to prevent self id being enacted, but as women are 51% of the population, how has it come to this? A bit of a rhetorical question. I suppose the real question is what can we do about it all?

I think young people are being gaslighted; they lack the confidence of older women (possibly); they have a lot to lose; and frankly I guess they are keeping their heads down and working on their sport.

It's utterly shitty for them. They need us to stand beside them

Procrastinator

I agree. Straggering irony.

But when TIMs are Women's Officers, when Transwomen are winning awards for women, and are speaking about Women Making History for Amnesty International (and on a less serious note are being put into the Big Brother House in a year that's specifically marketed as a celebration of women winning the vote), it's just one in a long line of ironies

It has also been hammered home for years how much harder transpeople have it than women

.... and women like to be 'nice'

I remember this very well. I suspect there are few female athletes who do not know that what sportswomanship requires of them is very different from what sportsmanship requires of males.
4thwavenow.com/2018/04/15/surly-shirley-and-the-assault-on-womens-sport-then-and-now/

Same reason medics have an anonymous gender critical website, VAWG support workers don't speak out, social workers, teachers, academics and many journalists.

Bullying.

Lynsey Sharp, a Scottish middle-distance runner, publicly criticised the rules about intersex hyperandrogenic athletes running in women’s races.

She was criticising the rules, not her opponents, but of course the media personalised the issue.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/21/lynsey-sharp-caster-semenya-rio-2016-olympics

ecause even in numbers they'll be labelled transphobic and be dropped from their sponsorships, dropped from invitation events and so on. They won't be able to afford to continue in the sport and that will be that.

THIS

I wonder what spectators will think when they go to view womens' sport and several if not most competitors are men identifying as women?

I think only when it gets to that point, will there be protests. As I don't think the world is ready for this at all. Sadly, along the way women will ready have lost their careers

For those men identifying as women who have entered women's events and unfairly won - I wondered what has happened in terms of sponsorship and endorsements? Are they 'up there's in terms of this? It doesn't seem to me that they are. It's hypocrisy.

If they're deemed women hence allowed to enter women's competitions, let's see them hailed as great female athletes in glossy magazine and on billboards, advertisements etc

All of it is hiding in plain sight. I think when it all comes to light they'll be blown out of the water.

Or perhaps when fathers are encouraging their DD in chosen sport only to find she will be at an unfair disadvantage due to competing against boys/men identifying as girls/women. Ambitions killed by cheats before they've even got off the ground.

Most people I know aren't even aware of this and related issues. The few that are, feel it won't impact them so they don't care.

Have you not seen what happened to the ones who complained, or even showed evident disapproval of the intersex middle distance athletes? There were accusations of sour grapes, bigotry, racism.

Sonia O’Sullivan, an Irish Olympic medal winner, has. In somewhat oblique terms, but her overall position is clear. V brave of her I thought. www.irishtimes.com/sport/sonia-o-sullivan-intersex-athletes-and-the-problem-of-testosterone-1.2677419