British Cycling doubles down

[Bananarama101]

So it seems British Cycling new policy of inclusion can't actually be questioned or the fairness of just lowering testosterone to 'level' competition. They have the ability to limit or even seemingly fine members.

4w.pub/british-cycling-trans-policy/

I want someone to test this. Post on social media. Send link to British cycling. Challenge them to fine them for this in a legal way.

Seems like sex discrimination to me creating rules that blocks women from protesting against unfair treatment. As Sports England has said it clearly:

Competitive fairness cannot be reconciled with self-identification into the female category in gender-affected sport.

You should be able to state openly the ruling of the highest body of Sport in England without being fined.

So step 1 is to get female cyclists to raise this with Sports England.

Plus if you were Muslim or Catholic you could get them on religious discrimination too.

This is a legal case waiting to happen.

@fromorbit

Seems like sex discrimination to me creating rules that blocks women from protesting against unfair treatment. As Sports England has said it clearly:

Competitive fairness cannot be reconciled with self-identification into the female category in gender-affected sport.

You should be able to state openly the ruling of the highest body of Sport in England without being fined.

So step 1 is to get female cyclists to raise this with Sports England.

Plus if you were Muslim or Catholic you could get them on religious discrimination too.

This is a legal case waiting to happen.

So many legal cases needed - but you're right fromorbit. These sports bodies need challenging pdq.

@fromorbit

Seems like sex discrimination to me creating rules that blocks women from protesting against unfair treatment. As Sports England has said it clearly:

Competitive fairness cannot be reconciled with self-identification into the female category in gender-affected sport.

You should be able to state openly the ruling of the highest body of Sport in England without being fined.

So step 1 is to get female cyclists to raise this with Sports England.

Plus if you were Muslim or Catholic you could get them on religious discrimination too.

This is a legal case waiting to happen.

Also, as I understand it, if you say that you think they have discriminated against you, and they do something negative to you in response, then you can sue them for victimisation. This policy seems to guarantee and formalise victimisation. A female cyclist will suffer a detriment if she says that this policy is sex discrimination against her. That can't possibly be legal. Unless I've misunderstood the policy. Did their legal department really OK it?

It's amazing, isn't it, how transwomen never seem to want to take up traditionally "feminine" pursuits like tapestry or growing the prettiest hanging basket or felting. It's almost like they want to just carry on doing male sport only winning over women instead

Perhaps when all the actual women and girls have stopped bothering with cycling at all (as appears to be the desired aim of British Cycling); and gone back to sitting doing embroidery, the transwomen will follow and aggressively demand their right to compete in lacemaking and millinery competitions. Maybe.

The Mail has picked this up.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10481379/British-Cycling-faces-revolt-athletes-blast-trans-policy.html

Total fail.

Why do BC think we have womens sport in the first place?

All the best policies come with an addendum that say “we’ll discipline you if you disagree with this”, don’t they? It’s a real hallmark of a popular, well reasoned, fair position.

@fromorbit

Seems like sex discrimination to me creating rules that blocks women from protesting against unfair treatment. As Sports England has said it clearly:

Competitive fairness cannot be reconciled with self-identification into the female category in gender-affected sport.

You should be able to state openly the ruling of the highest body of Sport in England without being fined.

So step 1 is to get female cyclists to raise this with Sports England.

Plus if you were Muslim or Catholic you could get them on religious discrimination too.

This is a legal case waiting to happen.

Not to mention the Maya Forstater judgment which makes disagreement with this policy a legally protected belief. And the opinion that it's unfair to women also legally protected.

They're talking out of their arses.

Men who identify as men and men who identify as women will always stick together.

Patriarchy in action.

It's interesting what's in (and what isn't) publically available British Cycling board and council minutes here www.britishcycling.org.uk/minutes?c=EN There's not much mention of this policy, but recent minutes aren't there. They talk about getting lots of input from the external diversity and inclusion board they've set up who are www.britishcycling.org.uk/about/article/20210205-Our-Diversity-and-Inclusion-Advisory-Group-0 That includes somebody from Stonewall obviously and Pippa York - who featured in the video posted upthread

Note the quote from the Mail article linked above:
British Cycling said: 'We will never accept racism, homophobia or transphobia Yet they're dripping in sexism and anti women rhetoric, disbanding women's cycling without a second thought.

They think women are there to service males, even women who are Olympic medallists and World Champions www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/mar/31/lizzie-armitstead-becomes-latest-rider-to-accuse-british-cycling-of-sexism

I thought similar @Goatsaregreat

There’s always a focus on competitive sports when we talk about these policies but for me, it’s what’s happening in grassroots/recreational sport that’s important. So what does the BC policy say about that?

“5. Recreational Activity
Cycling should be enjoyed by everyone, and in accordance with this policy, British Cycling encourages Transgender and Non-Binary participants to take part in Recreational Activities in the gender they identify as.
As there is no competitive element to Recreational Activities, all participants are able to take part in British Cycling sanctioned recreational activities in accordance with their Gender Identity, without the need to provide any additional information or evidence.
This applies to all current and prospective British Cycling Members who wish to take part in British Cycling Recreational Activities.
Recreational Activity includes the Breeze programme, Guided Ride, Ride Social and Let’s Ride activities.“

I understand out of those activities all are mixed sex apart from the Breeze programme which is women only to encourage more women into cycling. So according to that policy thief women only programme is in fact mixed sex.

I understand out of those activities all are mixed sex apart from the Breeze programme which is women only to encourage more women into cycling. So according to that policy thief women only programme is in fact mixed sex.

Anything, anything at all which is female only, usually designated thus to address sexism, is now transphobic and discriminatory. All of it.

Breeze is advertised as "women-only" and even "female-lead rides" but it's been accepting men who say they identify as women since at least 2017. There are no checks - the policy has always been that everyone must accept anyone who claims to be female with no question. There are women (the female kind!) who don't come to Breeze rides anymore since they found out.

This applies to all current and prospective British Cycling Members who wish to take part in British Cycling Recreational Activities.
Recreational Activity includes the Breeze programme, Guided Ride, Ride Social and Let’s Ride activities

You don't even need to be a member to take part in Breeze, Guided or Ride Socials. You can sign up on the letsride website and register for rides free, no need to join BC. In fact you can even just turn up to the ride without registering, but there are restrictions on numbers so ride leaders can turn you away based on that.

The way to challenge it will be through the money, BC gets boatloads of cash from Sport England and the Lottery and if you put pressure on those organisations you might get more traction. BC has a horrific record of shitting all over women - Shane what’s his face, and the refusal to acknowledge and support women cyclists who were streets ahead of their male counterparts.

I left yet another cycling forum because they are a bunch of misogynistic dicks. There’s a vocal trans member on there who was demanding they were searched by a female member of staff at airport security, and worked in the civil service and appeared to be instrumental in removing sex segregated toilets, all to cheers from the peanut gallery in that forum. And yet they prided themselves on “being excellent”. Only to the bepenised folk, it would appear.

Well remember we have had a cycling mum on our boards telling us this was going to happen and how proud she was to fight for her ‘daughter’s’ right to compete as a female.

Well, I assume it was that rider we cannot mention for fear of deletion’s mum. The one who is probably GB cycling’s medal hope after they fell behind in the men’s team.

Let’s look at the motivation at the elite level. A champion male is likely to be already in their sights as a female competitor, they are just waiting the time period out.

@HowToCookAWolf Just read your forum post. Wonder how you would have got on if you posted your thread on YACF?!

The current and precious CEO’s are not cyclists and don’t come from a cycling background and don’t have a clue - they come from other sports, as do the management team. Rugby, golf, sailing, modern pentathlon etc. They have never raced, organised a race, or refereed a race, which should be a prerequisite.
The board is a mixture of appointed and elected members. The appointed outnumber the elected.
The organisation has changed - it’s no longer run by cyclists for cyclists. Staff turnover is really high at all levels, employees, management, coaching and sport science. Apparently the guy in charge of legal/governance etc is also on his way out - dunno if he decided to go or was helped on his way.

*previous, not precious!

I hope that’s the case because it probably indicates he know what a shit show is going to follow him if BC put a man into womens elite racing.

Great post @HowToCookAWolf thank you

As a member of the LGBT+ community for many years, this part especially resonated...

What it always comes down to though is that the LGB movement genuinely supported loving yourself as you were, that you could be who you are, in the body that you have, loving the people that you do, and that it was OK, that it was innate, that it was normal. Accepting same-sex attraction requires that everyone change absolutely nothing. A woman dating another woman affects no one but the two people in a relationship, unless you're simply morally outraged. The trans lobby instead tells you that if your mind doesn't fit a certain criteria, based on literally anything, then you need to change yourself. It pushes that it's normal to hate your body, and that to love your body, you need medication, surgery, and treatment for life. It normalizes self hate in the guise of self acceptance.

It's a really different mindset now amongst some. It feels so freeing to love yourself and others as they are and I don't feel that this spirit has gone away entirely. We need to reclaim it.*