Poor Emily being banned from cycling again

[Seainasive]

Cycling magazine a Canadian publication of course.

Oh dear, that's sad.

The interview:

https://www.itv.com/news/2024-02-20/transgender-cyclist-emily-bridges-says-she-will-fight-competition-ban-in-court

A court case? AYE CRACK ON PAL.

This but doesn't seem to make sense to me:

"Bridges, who has undergone transition and is using testosterone blockers, challenges the validity of the peer-reviewed studies referenced by British Cycling and others. These studies purportedly show that transgender women who have suppressed testosterone maintain a performance advantage even after puberty." (my emphasis)

In all honestly, I'd love it if Bridges took this to court. Let's have more sunlight. Let's have it openly argued as to why Bridges thinks Bridges has the right to compete in a differently sexed category. Perhaps it'll set a nice legal precedent for all the actual women losing out to cheats

Oh yay!!! A court case! Pulease.

What a shame. Never mind.

Who'd have thought you should be female at birth to compete in womens sports 😱

"Fear for safety in open category

The new rules forbade transgender cyclists from competing with biogolical women, and resulted in an “open” category. To Bridges, however, that constitutes a ban.

“A ban is a ban. You can say you can compete in the open category, but we’re women – we should be able to race in the women’s category,” she said.

Bridges expressed concerns about her safety if she were to compete alongside men and disapproved of transgender women being compelled to disclose their identity in order to participate in the category."

🤔

Love the bias in the headline.

Here's the quote:
The new rules forbade transgender cyclists from competing with biological women, and resulted in an “open” category. To Bridges, however, that constitutes a ban.

“A ban is a ban. You can say you can compete in the open category, but we’re women – we should be able to race in the women’s category,” she said.

Bridges has NOT been banned from cycling. There is no ban of transgender cyclists. Transgender cyclists can compete in the open category.

This is to protect the integrity of women's sport.

Bridges doesn't want to respect this decision and 'train harder' to be competitive in the open category.

And the article is supporting that bias rather than challenging it, in the headline.

I think it will be a useful court case if it happens, whatever the outcome, as it will add case law to the Equality Act. I don't know of any other legal challenges.

(2)A person does not contravene section 29, 33, 34 or 35, so far as relating to gender reassignment, only by doing anything in relation to the participation of a transsexual person as a competitor in a gender-affected activity if it is necessary to do so to secure in relation to the activity—

(a)fair competition, or

(b)the safety of competitors.

Maybe we should wave to cyclingmum as I am sure she will be reading our thread even though she flounced from MN....

Gosh... what can we say? We were very clear that males had this retained advantage... why didn't someone who spent time on MN tell this to their child? Oh... yes.... ideology. Well, finding out that philosophical theory is NOT material reality must be a bit of a very harsh lesson.

Yes. I look forward to seeing the evidence that is provided for challenging either of those.

Because even 'safety' is an issue in cycling considering the shouldering tactics that we see. Oh... and of course there is the additional burden on female bodies to over push their bodies to beat male competitors. The very fact that this additional burden shortens their careers and makes there bodies more prone to injury should also be considered.

Absol-fucking-lutely I am looking at seeing just what Bridges legal team can produce for ANY justification for fairness or safety.

See also s19 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (assuming EB has a GRC)

19 Sport

(1)A body responsible for regulating the participation of persons as competitors in an event or events involving a gender-affected sport may, if subsection (2) is satisfied, prohibit or restrict the participation as competitors in the event or events of persons whose gender has become the acquired gender under this Act.

(2)This subsection is satisfied if the prohibition or restriction is necessary to secure—

(a)fair competition, or

(b)the safety of competitors,
at the event or events.

(3)“Sport” means a sport, game or other activity of a competitive nature.

(4)A sport is a gender-affected sport if the physical strength, stamina or physique of average persons of one gender would put them at a disadvantage to average persons of the other gender as competitors in events involving the sport.

(5)This section does not affect—

(a)section 44 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) (exception from Parts 2 to 4 of that Act for acts related to sport), or

(b)Article 45 of the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 ( S.I. 1976/1042 (N.I. 15)) (corresponding provision for Northern Ireland). ]

To some extent, I understand that athletes like EB feel weaker and surmise it's the same as being female because that's their perception.

It's extraordinary how much people in general and particularly some men don't grasp that their perception is not the reality (in so many fields and dimensions).

This feels like the cycling equivalent of Dylan Mulvaney only in this case EB feels spinny and comparatively weak and perceives the LARPing is identical to the experience of women.

I think it will be a useful court case if it happens, whatever the outcome, as it will add case law to the Equality Act. I don't know of any other legal challenges.

So wasn't there a Rugby player who was crowdsourcing for a legal challenge? A few months back? I know several 'GCs' had contributed to say "bring it on!". Has that fallen through?

Bridges should just train harder. Though better than training is getting publicity because Bridges peaks people all the time.

Note the study Bridges refers to will be worthless everyone else in it quit by this time last year.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4733674-three-of-four-transwomen-athletes-drop-out-of-ioc-study

Feb 2023 "Three of the four elite transwomen athletes who were taking part in a research study funded by the IOC have dropped out of the programme.
The study, being led by Joanna Harper of the University of Loughborough, now has only one athlete, understood to be the cyclist Emily Bridges, whose sporting performance, strength and speed are being assessed over a period of time after transitioning and undergoing hormone therapy. The results will then be benchmarked against the performances of athletes who were born female.
“Four athletes had signed up to the longitudinal study and three have dropped out,” Harper confirmed to The Times."

So wasn't there a Rugby player who was crowdsourcing for a legal challenge? A few months back? I know several 'GCs' had contributed to say "bring it on!". Has that fallen through?

It looks like it. Nancy Kelley tweeted approvingly at first, then Stonewall quietly dropped all mention of it. Guess they had a chat with a lawyer.

Feb 2023 "Three of the four elite transwomen athletes who were taking part in a research study funded by the IOC have dropped out of the programme.
The study, being led by Joanna Harper of the University of Loughborough, now has only one athlete, understood to be the cyclist Emily Bridges, whose sporting performance, strength and speed are being assessed over a period of time after transitioning and undergoing hormone therapy. The results will then be benchmarked against the performances of athletes who were born female.
“Four athletes had signed up to the longitudinal study and three have dropped out,” Harper confirmed to The Times."

wow, robust stuff

Bridges expressed concerns about her safety if she were to compete alongside men

Irony alert!!

I would love to see the argument in court where this group of male people successfully argued that their medical treatment requirements meant that they should then get access to another group's protected category.

What other male people who have to take performance lowering medication get to enter the female sports category? NONE.

So, therefore they are demanding special consideration.

Because of philosophical belief that they are something they are materially not.

Again, no court is going to grant this based on something that is impossible to prove. They are not going to open the gates to allow any person to just 'identify' into a protected category based on philosophical belief. McKinnon/Ivy was successful in persuading sporting bodies once. That has proven to be disasterous and the lesson has been learned.

Bring on this fucking court case!

Oh dear......

A ban is a ban. You can say you can compete in the open category, but we’re women – we should be able to race in the women’s category

No! Fuck off!

Bridges has competed with and alongside men. I find this podium photograph to be unremarkable, iirc, it's from 2022 when the team had taken bronze in a competition.

I should think that if EB had felt unsafe in such activities, EB would have reported it then or now.

Victoria Hood thread about elite women in cycling:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4880032-great-article-about-female-cycling