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

I'm one who feels BC has treated EB very badly, by having a policy they hadn't thought through which fell to pieces at the first breath of reality.

My sympathy is somewhat limited given the evidence of things like this interview, when EB audibly avoids using the phrase 'they still see me as male'. And I can't help wondering if there was a request for a male interviewer. I have no idea how tall this journalist is but for example Laura Woods who is also an ITV sports reporter is 5'7" and even on those very odd super low chairs would have been visibly slighter than EB. This feels very carefully planned.

The problem is that many regurgitate that transwomen are women. Even female is under threat now, but I would go with that rather than woman for your signs.

Although the language around this varies, I wonder if some TW would suggest that the drugs are taken for a medical purpose, such as the alleviation of gender dysphoria.

Peregrina transwomen could also compete in their own sex class, there's no question that they should be shoved out of sport completely. Look at the photo posted earlier of Emily and team in March. That's what inclusive sport looks like

Fucking Twitter. I liked one very polite tweet from a female cycling enthusiast asking for fairness in the categories. One.

I then went on to like and retweet some tweets about flora, fauna and biodiversity. Twitter kept unliking and unretweeting them.

Sporting organisations seem to be sticking their heads in the sand and then making up policies on the fly. I think everyones hoping that someone like the IOC will make a stricter policy so that they can then use that without getitng flack on twitter. Makes me even more impressed with World Rugby for getting ahead and putting place a sensible policy rather than a reactionary one at the last minute.

If you look at what the US swimming is proposing, they want trans women to prove to a panel that they have no advantage (swimswam.com/usa-swimming-sheds-light-on-process-that-led-to-new-transgender-policy/), that seems so much crueler to me than an outright ban.

Had a look on Loughborough's website about what this study is that EB keeps talking about, it seems to only have one participant

"Effects of Hormone Therapy on Cardiovascular and Muscular Function in Transgender Athletes; a longitudinal case study on an elite cyclist. The cyclist is to be tested in the sports lab for cycling power, aerobic and anaerobic capabilities, upper and lower body strength, cardiovascular functioning, hormone values, anthropometry, and muscle biopsy, both prior to and after hormone therapy." (www.lboro.ac.uk/schools/sport-exercise-health-sciences/postgraduate-research/doctoral-researchers/joanna-harper/#tab2)

Yep one participant who has already decided what the outcome will be

It cannot be right that the Loughborough study will have a single participant, it's totally unbelievable - but there it is in black and white. Astonishing.

I know we're not exactly the same thing but it's incredibly, incredibly common for some women's bodies to react badly to taking a contraceptive pill [of a certain kind] or to an IUD or whatever. For various complicated reasons mucking about with hormones like that doesn't seem to agree with everyone's body in the same way. As with any kind of medication, it'd be beyond extraordinary to draw inferences from a trial using a single guinea pig.

Yes exactly @puffyisgood I’ve just started on HRT. My doctor said if you find this type doesn’t work for you don’t worry, we’ll find one that does. A study of one is just laughable in its absolute pointlessness.

For various complicated reasons mucking about with hormones like that doesn't seem to agree with everyone's body in the same way.

Exactly. If a study concluded "men with lowered testosterone lose 10% of performance on average", then what that would really mean is some lose 5% and some lose 15%. Some might even lose 0%.

You'd just end up selecting all the males who responded least badly to hormone disruption!

miri1985
^"Effects of Hormone Therapy on Cardiovascular and Muscular Function in Transgender Athletes; a longitudinal case study on an elite cyclist. The cyclist is to be tested in the sports lab for cycling power, aerobic and anaerobic capabilities, upper and lower body strength, cardiovascular functioning, hormone values, anthropometry, and muscle biopsy, both prior to and after hormone therapy." (www.lboro.ac.uk/schools/sport-exercise-health-sciences/postgraduate-research/doctoral-researchers/joanna-harper/#tab2)^

Huh, they've taken it down, I wonder why .

Someone must have sent the bat signal to Harper

<it wasn’t me>

The second part of the study outline says:

^ P^hysiology of Transgender vs Cisgender Athletes; a cross-sectional study. Two sets of athletes are to be tested for anthropometry, aerobic and anaerobic capabilities, upper and lower body strength, and hormone levels.

Two sets of athletes? Are they going to test Emily against a random woman? Or Laura Kenny?

As the article in Spiked I linked to earlier said, at the British University Championships at the end of February, Bridges won gold in the points race and bronze in the team pursuit – and his team did so with a time almost 10 seconds faster than the British women’s quartet at the Tokyo Olympics, where they won a silver medal.

This is an interesting conundrum in some respects (although not for the women Bridges is competing against) - on the one hand, bridges is desperate to prove that they aren't as fast as they used to be. On the other hand they want to win. Interviews with Zach Bridges show naked ambition and competitiveness.

If Bridges destroys Kenny's records, it will not play well. But clearly bridges is eminently capable of doing just that.

Isn't throwing races illegal?

Yes, you can imagine how caring and sympathetic the 10 0 clock news interview would be with a woman cyclist who deliberately took enough testosterone to equal the amount EB has in their body.

I think the 'single guinea pig' trials are a great idea and I plan to start my own longitudinal control adjusted expwemiemts immediately.

On the testosterone levels:

Surely having different permitted levels of testosterone for women and TW (at least the ones who are still legally men) in the same competition is a straightforward breach of the Equality Act? It’s direct discrimination.

What am I missing?

Alexa, define confirmation bias.

With motivated reasoning that might influence the data collection at various points and support a preferred narrative?

I’m pretty sure Harpers’s research is also funded by the IOC, which viewed through the lens of their new bonkers trans inclusive guidance is utterly outrageous.

I wonder how much of this is down to Paul Brand who's UK editor now for ITV news. Never forgotten a news report he did that had a certain golfing lawyer in it as a 'legal expert.' Mumsnet pissed itself laughing at the time. Activism and journalism not a good mix.

Bridges is so entitled. The reason Bridges was not allowed to race in Derby was because he was still registered as male not that BC changed the rules

Like I said @FemaleAndLearning, bridges is a liar as well as a cheat

Definitely a cheat. Narcisstics tell lies and it becomes their truth. They don't need to repeat the lie very often for this to happen. Also when Bridges uses 'we' is this talking about mum? I feel sad that Bridges couldn't be happy as a gay man. I wonder what kind of person mum is?

Also fuck off with the I'm female crap, 'me and my fellow females'.

Hey fellow females! Whatsup dudettes?