Clare Balding throws women under the bus

[MrsSnippyPants]

Interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio from 9.35 am this morning. (Available on the Talk Radio app via 'schedule' then listen again).

The words Clare used were that the issue was being presented as 'dramatic' and 'overhyped' .

Julie brought up the Kent cricketer, Clare brought up Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps having bigger feet, a bigger wingspan and being taller, and that women were not the people who should be talking about it!!

Not enough eye rolls in the world.
Not en

Hopefully someone will produce a direct link at some point today.

She knows nothing much about swimming, yet is employed as a commentator whilst intelligent and informed people like Sharron Davies are left doing poolside interviews.

Most probably because the BBC, whatever they claim, dont take women's sport seriously.

“ She has always struck me as someone who got her position through connections rather than merit while other more knowledgeable women were overlooked”

What on Earth makes you think that??

Oh ffs. I had high hopes for her.

Because she has a posh background and keeps being hired to talk about sports she knows little about and clearly has no interest in.

I suspect she is one of those women who is more comfortable in men's company and cares little about women.

What on Earth makes you think that??

The fact that she has been givien plumb jobs presenting on athletics and tennis by the BBC when she doesn't appear to have the first idea what she is talking about.

I didn't and won't comment on her knowledge of horse raving as it isn't a sport I follow but knowing about one sport does not necessarily translate into being the most suitable person for any sport. There are numerous women who could be doing Wimbledon Today who would do a much better job but haven't got a look in.

I don't think so Errol, she covers a lot of tennis and swimming. Maybe Sharron needs to have a word......

Kit19 I suspect she meant it was for transwomen to talk about it and decide, not us boring old 'women' women.

I always quite liked her. What a fucking disappointment.

I would imagine she gets hired to commentate on other sports because she is a well known and likeable face.

I'm not excusing them not using people who are knowledgeable in those sports, but I think that's probably why. Didn't she and people like Gary Linekar commentate on a lot of the London Olympics? Alongside somebody knowledgeable in each field. I enjoyed watching a lot of sports I never would have usually, in no small part to likeable famous commentators who didn't necessarily know the sports working alongside lesser known knowledgeable ones.

Hi Clare, if you're reading this...it's quiz time!

Q1. How many mares have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Q2. How many geldings (male horses that have had the equivalent of "bottom surgery") have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Q3. How many times did Quevega win the mares' hurdle at Cheltenham?
Q4. How many times would Quevega have won the above race if geldings were allowed in it at level weights as long as they wore a pink bridle?
Q5. Why do Apples Jade and some other mares do so much worse in the springtime and why do geldings not have the same problem?
Q6. How many Grade 1 races did Battaash win - against entire colts- after he was gelded?
Q7. Would Battaash have been allowed to claim the mares' weight allowance if his name had been changed to Battette and he wore a pink sparkly bridle?
Q8. Why not?
Q9. What if we gave him a couple of oestrogen jabs? Could he be officially registered as a mare?

Naively I was hoping Claire might at least have a more nuanced view.

She herself personally experienced sexism and prejudice as a jockey, due to her female body.

She speaks about it in her autobiography, talking about how hard it was especially with regard to keeping a low enough body weight to compete against the diminutive male jockeys.

Powershower great post

Sharron, Martina, Kelly - can't they all have a conversation with her?

I was actually spluttering at the radio when she said ‘it doesn’t help to have people like us talking about it’.

Good on JHB for bringing it up and putting her on the spot.

Her comments on channel 4 about the jockey's teeth were a source of deep regret to her. She knew it was a bad faux pas and it did affect her career for a while, I believe.

Perhaps that experience has made her stick her head in the sand on this issue - as we all know what happens to women who speak out.

However, if she bothered to scratch beneath the surface she would soon see the facts laid out in a way that no reasonable or rational person can ignore.

powershower you could add "Q10 why was the NH mares' allowance increased from 5lb to 7lb? In fact Claire, why do you think is there a mares' allowance at all?"

powershower I love your post.

I wish I was disappointed by CB but I'm not even surprised. I wonder if she'd have told Martina or Sharron to not bother their silly little heads about it and let the men talk amongst themselves.

Perhaps she has her eye on a key role at the Tokyo Olympics, so wants to reassure potential employers she is on side.

It is inevitable that there will be controversy in Tokyo if NZ weightlifters etc appear to gain advantage from male physiques. This will be the first time many people will realise the inroads trans-athletes have made into female sport. It may be important for some broadcasters to be confident that their commentators are on message.

Claire, you have a platform where you could have used your voice to make a difference.
How disappointing.

I am disappointed in her. She likes dogs. I feel she should have a bit more common sense.

I would imagine she gets hired to commentate on other sports because she is a well known and likeable face.

Since being well known and likeable is a major part of what she's selling it's not that surprising that she'll say anything that protects that image. It's brand positioning.

I heard her on 'Ramblings' on R4 recently walking with an LGBT youth group and she started the programme with 'my name is Clare and my pronouns are she/her'. Pointless fucking virtue signalling since I have never heard her start another programme with that.

powershower I love your post

Seconded! I love MN. A woman on here always turns up with the knowledge, no matter what the topic!

@ShesDressedInBlackAgain

I heard her on 'Ramblings' on R4 recently walking with an LGBT youth group and she started the programme with 'my name is Clare and my pronouns are she/her'. Pointless fucking virtue signalling since I have never heard her start another programme with that.

Yes, absolutely. It's akin to calling yourself a ciswoman. Totally unnecessary pandering to the woke folk.

That's disappointing. I also like Clare - notwithstanding the 'teeth shaming' comment was definitely not her finest moment and made me wince - and her wife Alice Arnold is also an admirable woman and well-respected journalist. Of course she isn't obligated to defend the whole contentious issue issue of trans women in women's sport because she happens to be a lesbian and the discussion falls tacitly under the remit of the LGBT+alphabet-soup umbrella. And it can be very difficult to put your head above the parapet: just look at the backlash endured by Holmes, Davies and Navratilova.

It's unfortunate, though, because a sportswoman of Balding's credentials could have had so much to add that's of value in an era where the survival of women's sport has been called into question. It seems surprising, given the ground on which this battle is being fought is one of homophobia and misogyny, both of which she's had directed at her in the past. She took stick for her personal appearance that no man would ever have had to negotiate. But if she's introducing programmes with her preferred pronouns it tends to suggest where she stands on this particular case.

Which is of course her right. But it's unfortunate, nonetheless.