Cycling reaches new low

[FemaleAndLearning]

Friend shared this from a Women's Rights Network tweet
twitter.com/WomensRightsNet/status/1532804764664225792?t=3t37LIrWtiNxXb86BoQQ2A&s=19
So new categories Lightening and Thunder for those with a gender identity, meaning men in women's cycling. But if you are 'cis' you can't choose your category. Confused yes me too. Anyone got more info?

Is the answer to my question above "because the top two riders on that podium would not have won if they had entered the other category"

Not necessarily, Bridges was still winning mens races (and beating the Scottish National scratch race champion, Tim Shoreman, in the points race) a few weeks ago in the British Universities and Colleges Sports track cycling championships www.bucs.org.uk/events-page/cycling-track-championships-2021-22.html?tab=Results+and+Programme

Still winning men's races after hormone treatment to lower testosterone to level( 5 times higher than femake average) set by cycling authorities in order to be eligible for female category. So much for testosterone lowering levelling the playing field, Bridges is the proof it doesn't work.!

There’s no evidence testosterone has a linear relationship with performance. The highest performing athletes aren’t the ones with the most testosterone and reducing testosterone is not a predictable means of reducing performance (it affects different athletes in different ways).

It's hard to directly compare the results until the individual lap times are posted because Thunder finals is 25 laps (scheduled to take 40–45 minutes) while the Lightning final was 20 laps (also scheduled to take 40–45 minutes).

Looking at this a different way, this isn't a British Cycling event. This is a private event that creates their own rules. Up to them if they want to alienate 51% of the population I guess.

And more importantly, I don't think this league nor the other one that also runs non-BC fixed crit races at HHV is a problem. In fact I think it's a good thing. It looks like EB and the other racer have targetted those races, and I hope more TW travel to compete as well. A league/category for TWs would be great, don't you think? Nobody is forcing the women to enter. If the women stop entering, that's fine. Then all the TWs could race each other, what's not to like about that?

Yes that means no category for women, however there are lots of other races out there, track and road and circuit. If anyone else wants to put on a private fixed crit race and make the categories by sex, they are welcome to.

Sometimes I think we need to step back and see things for what they are and how they are going and work with the flow rather than against it.

thundercrit.com/race-categories/ I was startled to see this in the notes:

"Edgelords will not be tolerated"

Pathetic, childish posturing

Does this mean that Lightning subcategory B is effectively the women's event?

This isn’t doing their cause any good at all. People know it’s unfair. They know it doesn’t matter how female a person feels if their body is actually male.

I was also thinking about one of the many contradictions within this ideology. We are being asked to believe that the effects of male puberty are reversible, so a male can participate in female sports after a few months of hormone treatment. We are also being asked to believe children should be given puberty blockers to ‘pause’ their development (not possible to actually pause development - they are still getting older, just without the hormones their body produces as a matter of biological necessity) because the effects of hormonal puberty are not reversible.

Which is it?

Although this infuriates me, I can’t help but think that this is coming to the end of ‘running its course’. They’ll fuck it up for themselves in the end, by taking the whole notion of ‘gender’ too far.

Maybe it’s going to take this ludicrous reality of gender theory to play out, for legislators to realise that it is utter tosh.

Having spoken to many people about this, including male cyclists, trans and gay people, I haven’t yet spoken to anyone who agrees that men should compete in women’s races - even if they are now going by the name Emily.

So long as it's private event and has no baring on actual professional races.

Also it'll prove very quickly how biological males will dominate.

And also only trans and non binary can choose whatever category?!

Showing this New World Order as it really is. The special people first.

Also, Thunder and Lightening? Sounds like Gladiators to me.

Every time someone says that it is possible to mitigate , by tweaking hormone levels,the biological advantage that the average male, no matter their gender identity, has over the average female athlete, they are lying!!! Even Joanna Harper has admitted this and is now advocating for inclusion because otherwise it would literally make males who identify as women sad.

i think this photo is quite significant too.

twitter.com/gunsandbanjos/status/1532975953290399745?s=21&t=4UL0To9gbyJyHp_HHyiyUg

How tall is that male who won 2nd place?

Because "heteronormative privilege" or something , I expect tabby.

Never mind the elite women, no one cares about them, if they really were "elite" they could just train a bit harder.

What I think is MOST unfair and non-inclusive about this set-up, is that cis-men whose performance most aligns with cis-women are not allowed to compete in the most appropriate category for them. This is literal violence against cis-men who are not very good at cycling.

I wonder, if you're gender fluid, could you compete in both races? I suppose you might have to demonstrate that on your girl-mode days you cycle much more slowly, but underperforming is impossible to fake, so that's not a concern here.

If some competitors are able to select their category without question and other competitors are not allowed to select their category, how does one determine which shouldn't be able to determine their category without competitors "facing intrusive questioning".

Who determines that someone ought to identify as cis if they don't? I don't know what an Edgelord is (and a Google doesn't exactly explain what it would mean in this context). I am guessing it refers to men who would deliberately miscategorise themselves to make a point?

How do you tell apart such men from transwomen without "intrusive questioning"?

Sounds totally unworkable.

However if it is a private event at which biological women who neither identify as trans nor cis can self exclude themselves, hopefully it will dawn on the cis-identifying women that they are there to validate males rather than compete.

Looking at that image I thought exactly the same!

There was a thread a while back either on here or on twitter I think (but I didn't bookmark it unfortunately) which pointed out that articles about TW in sports always picture them alone which serves 2 purposes

1. It rams the point of 'poor, brave me, pushed out by the other girls' home
2. It removes the visual of how striking the difference in body size and shape is between adult human females and adult human males.

I don't know what an Edgelord is (and a Google doesn't exactly explain what it would mean in this context). I am guessing it refers to men who would deliberately miscategorise themselves to make a point?

Oh that they were that self aware. It just means "Arrogant wanker".

Ironically, the arrogance of males deciding their feeling of womanhood is more meaningful than anything a mere female could feel is A-Ok.

Actually in this context you might be right, they would honestly think a male identifying as a woman and winning a race to make a point is an edgelord while a male identifying as a woman and winning a race because feelings is a person to be lauded.

The fact that both scenarios have exactly the same outcome for the actual female people in the race appears to be beside the point.

Which clearly demonstrates that the perspective and motivation of the males, being the only actual difference in these scenarios, is all they are thinking about.

while a male identifying as a woman and winning a race because feelings is a person to be lauded.

"Edgelaud"!

Jo Smith managed to win this race a couple of times. Must have not been trying as hard this year.

I hate cheats. I especially hate cheats who stand there with a smug look on their faces that says: "You know I cheated, I know I cheated, but there's nothing you can do about it".

While I am all for ‘it is a private competition let them have at it’, it is a blatant example of females having less opportunity to be rewarded for their sporting efforts.

Therefore it is just more discrimination, under the guise of inclusivity this time.

Like the Red Bull skateboarding events.

That there is a female standing in third place holding a young toddler should be being doubly lauded!!! There is a woman who has got onto the podium after having a child and all the tasks that also then go with looking after such a young child that may distract from training to reclaim that needed fitness level.

Congratulations Jo Smith!

How incredible is Jo!

The images are startling in the revelation they show. I wonder if the activists can see it?

I suspect they will push down the discomfort those images bring.

reduxx.info/biological-males-take-top-2-spots-in-inclusive-womens-cycling-division/

But in general bodies that naturally synthesise testosterone are faster, stronger etc, because they are all male, with the usual advantages of that cohort.

Who does or does not add or subtract hormones and other drugs to/from their bodies is of matter as they are cheating the system, even if the system bends over backwards to accommodate them.

It's not like having large feet or a cardiovascular system that adapts especially well to training.