Emily Bridges in the news again

[BatDuck]

There’s a lot to unpack here. The violent abuse Bridges received is utter disgraceful and rightly it should be acknowledged that Bridges should be able to live Bridges life without fear or harassment.

The tenor of the debate is not helped by these woe is me articles that have been dripping into the media since the New Year. Quite frankly, it feels like propaganda as there’s no push back on the issue at play: males do not belong in female sport.

www.itv.com/news/2022-06-07/emily-bridges-had-physical-threats-after-pms-trans-participation-comments

One telling part of the interview was where EB said it was their dream to represent their country at the highest (international) level, and that dream was ripped away when BC changed the rules. Obviously, actually, that dream was taken away when EB was dropped from the male programme. It happens to every athlete who isn’t the best of the best. It doesn’t mean they get to race with the best of the best in the wrong category.

"I don't want special treatment from anyone, I just want the same opportunities as my fellow female athletes"

(a) Emily is not and never will be a female athlete.

(b) Emily has the same opportunity to compete as female athletes - in the appropriate sex class.

(c) Emily did compete in the appropriate sex class in March and has included the group photo on Emily’s instagram account*

*Emily’s mother gave out Emily’s instagram account details on her Twitter account recently, asking people to follow Emily.

After a glance at Twitter, I am not sure the cyclist is the actual one making the decisions here........

We should have empathy for someone blatently cheating? The selfishness is unbelievable! This person looks and sounds like a man - I cannot see what makes them a woman in anyway.

It's funny how they now seem to be getting threats. It happened in the Bailey's court case and now this. Would you put it past gender ideologues to start using this as a tactic. They aren't above lying about everything else.

If anything Emily has more opportunities than female cyclists, being competitive in the higher paid and better supported sex category...

I’m pretty sure they are being used to push someone’s/some organisations agenda. One day EB will realised they’ve been played.

Trans-parents are nothing compared to Sports-parents. Sports-parents make tiger moms looks as weak as new born kittens.

I had to turn over as the ITV interview was making me so cross. The start did talk about sport needing to be 'more inclusive ' - shame that is including men in women's sporting events

Competitive sports are by definition exclusive. It excludes those who don't qualify at whatever level the sport is played. It also excludes those who don't qualify for a specific category. If you don't qualify for a specific category the answer is not to force that category to include people it isn't intended to include. The solution is to find a category you do qualify for, or lobby to create one if none exists.

I don't think its an organisation that is pulling the strings.......

I actually don't feel empathy for Bridges. The time for empathy has long gone, at least in my case. Being sweet and empathetic has just led to more and more of women's rights being taken and has increased entitlement. Who would have thought, ten years ago, that we would get to this ludicrous situation with grown males pouting and upset that they can't compete in female sports? No, sorry, you can't have it.

And for all this talk of empathy and sympathy, I have never once seen this consideration extended to women. I have never seen an acknowledgement that we have feelings or concerns too, or that we even have a point.

I'm really sorry for the female athletes who lose spots on teams, training camps and starting lines to people who have no right to be there. No right at all. That's who I care about, the females. Cycling is notoriously awful for females (Nicole Cooke had a great deal to say when she announced her retirement) and to have our already limited opportunities snatched from otgers of our sex by grasping male fingers is such a kick in the teeth for females.
Transition all you want, if you are male, you will always be male. It sucks if that's not what you want, but tough titty.

All this. Well said.

I also don’t feel any empathy for Bridges. How would I feel if I was deliberately trying to compete in the wrong category for my own validation even though I knew deep down I had an advantage? I would feel guilty and wrong, I would feel very uncomfortable with my own behaviour, so I feel like I wouldn’t actually do it for those reasons. So I can’t feel empathy for Bridges because I would never put myself in those shoes, let alone consider what it would feel like.

ts pure male entitlement, which frankly needs to start being recognised as one of the most dangerous aspects of male behaviour. I want it so I will have it, regardless of how it impacts anyone else - particularly females because because they are less than me. The entire world needs to stop pandering to this behaviour and thinking. It is behind the vast majority of male violence, and its impact on our children and our natural world is devastating.

Yes, perfectly put. I can take because women don't matter.

I haven’t worked out whether Bridge’s feeling of ultimate entitlement is due to Bridge’s being constantly reassured that Bridge’s is fully entitled to female sports or is a person with a particular personality ‘type’ that I probably can’t mention on this thread or it will be deleted. The one where it is only ever about making them feel good.

Either the statements made tonight must go down as some of the most hypocritical statements made by Bridges so far.

Please Emily, do keep delivering interviews like this. Between you and Thomas, the statements you make show the world more than you could ever imagine. Every time, more people are being pushed into uncomfortable realisations that they cannot support male inclusion in female sport.

No ‘bans’ here. Just compete against your own sex.

Darn. Either way.

Agree with every word WeeBisom. Is this a joke? Asking for sympathy that some don’t applaud their cheating? You couldn’t make it up.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that.

It’s ironic that the most popular threat made but trans activists to GC women by who have done nothing more than to voice an opinion on how women’s rights are being eroded, is that they should be raped.

So, even though they’ve gone all Sheryl Crow and ‘feel like a woman’ their threats to women are characteristically very male. How many biological women have you heard throwing out the threat of rape, I’d hazard a guess at that being zero.

Emily Bridges has the right to live her life however she wants, without fear of harm or abuse. But trans rights should not be at the expense of women’s rights.

One of the few honest things Boris Johnson has said in my book!

So...I will admit I didn't listen to all the interview. I gave up after about 5 minutes. That's because all I heard for five minutes was

"Me Me Me Me Me Poor Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Poor Me Me Me Me Me Me Me"

I assume the rest of the interview continued in the same vein.

Not one toss given for the females cyclists. Not one. The empathy thing doesn't cut it, because if EB had one tiniest smidgen of empathy they would accept that racing in the female race is CHEATING!

Good grief. It’s the first item tonight on News at 10.

Ukraine? Not a mention.

Still. I’m sure it will prove most enlightening to the News at 10 audience.

The airbrushing is strong on that one