Martina on the Today Program

[LarryGreysonsDoor]

Did anyone else hear it?
She was talking about the Caster case.
I thought she spoke brilliantly and made the point clear that intersex is a physical condition and not the same as trans.

She was magnificent!

Apparently she's making a documentary about it all too.

I did and the guy who kept trying to talk over her and demanding to know about her so-called apology.

She cleared that up and refused to back down on that

She made it very clear that she had not apologised, didn't she

And also that no person would pretend to be trans gender just to get ahead in sport

She was really clear on that

That some sports people would use illegal doping despite knowing it would damage their body’s so yes she did think some people would pretend

Oh I didn't see it. She is great tho.

Elite sportswomen know that their are plenty of cheats, Sharon Davies had to compete against cheats so she knows better than most the impact that has.

bump

So glad Martina is speaking out and getting some publicity.

Glad she is doing this.

And also that no person would pretend to be trans gender just to get ahead in sport

We've had a lot of people who have pretended to be disabled in order to get ahead in the paralympics - including the entire Spanish basketball team.

Yeah exactly
And Nations doping their sports people.
Martina knows this and it was the bbc with their transgender agenda making out it was unbelievable that transgender people would ever ever do this

You can hear it hear, just before the 1 hr 35 mins timestamp

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0004mbk

She’s fantastic.

Martina is certainly great at articulating the argument about fairness for everyone in the trans debate, especially with regard to female biology, and she came across as authoritative and sensible.

I must admit though I was frustrated by her comments at the beginning of the interview, that she was disappointed [by the ruling] for Caster, who has been competing "as a woman" all her life. My impression was that Martina thought the ruling was wrong.

Like Martina, I have a great deal of sympathy for Caster and understand that this is a very personal tragedy for her. However, to consider the wider implications of the situation for women and women's sport, I don't believe that we should let those sympathies obscure the truth. Nor do I think we should be distracted by arguments about testosterone levels.

As I understand it Caster has a Y chromosome and is biologically male, and despite anomalies with external genitalia, always has been. She has been competing in women's sport erroneously.

She is very good!

The fact is that Caster’s case, and differences are based on science. Actual diagnosable, measurable science, not feelings.

I think that's why I was disappointed. Martina has been brilliant in the trans debate and so I suppose I felt a bit let down that she thinks Caster should continue to compete in women's races.

"I suppose I felt a bit let down that she thinks Caster should continue to compete in women's races."

It makes me wonder if Martina has read the CAS report which points to CS having 46 XY DSD?
A woman is not XY, they are XX.

It makes me wonder if Martina has read the CAS report which points to CS having 46 XY DSD?A woman is not XY, they are XX.

I don't think she can have got up to speed, yet. Or maybe, she is hedging because she wants very much for the trans issue to be taken seriously and not lost in the crossfire over Caster Semenya.

Martina has supported Caster strongly for a while. I do not know if she has read the report that Caster has 46 XY DSD or has understood the implications. She may not accept these reports to be true unless officially released.

She may not accept these reports to be true unless officially released.

Will they be officially released, I wonder?

But the reports must be true, as the appeal that CS lost was against a rule that only applies to 46XY people - XX people (women) are not affected - so CS must be 46XY.

I was also disappointed that Martina thought the CAS ruling wrong - but she’s still right on transwomen competing in women’s sports.

And also that no person would pretend to be trans gender just to get ahead in sport
When people had to have gender reassignment surgery before being eligible to compete I would have agreed that it would put any prospective cheats off. However, now that the changes required are temporary and will have very limited impact on the competitor, it is wide open to abuse.
That, and it's not fair to women either way.

It makes me wonder if Martina has read the CAS report which points to CS having 46 XY DSD?
A woman is not XY, they are XX.

This article by Claire Graham (MRKHTAKE2/VOICE) is worth reading:
mirandayardley.com/en/caster-semenya-no-one-wins/