This Girl Can....

[TheCadoganArms]

....step to one side.

Nice of Goldsmiths Student Union to celebrate women getting active in sports by featuring four men in their campaign material.

pee standing up?

The four inspiring women

That is an inadequate man, pretending to be a woman.

What a creep!

Oh good grief!

Cheats

No, Cece - no one is denying you’re fast. They’re saying you’re fast because of your biological advantage over the women you’re racing against. We all accept you can be an athlete, so long as you race against people with a similar biology to you.

Also who is the role model to the transmen who want to be athletes?! Has nobody noticed that they are notable in their absence from professional sports. More should be done to give them an opportunity. For example, by having an open category…

This makes me so cross. The 'this girl can' campaign was intended to encourage women to take up/become involved in sport. It was all about overcoming barriers - embarrassment, body image, periods, not feeling good enough, trying to juggle all the things... There's a thread on the fashion board right now called 'sports leggings for the larger lady'. That's the this girl can ethos. It was about getting normal, not active, squishy wobbly women like me doing something active and enjoying it. Elite athletes - of whatever sex - simply weren't the focus.

Regardless of what one thinks about Emily, the reality is that Emily entered sport as a man, and is one of those active from childhood people. Emily has not faced the barriers that the this girl can campaign was intended to overcome. Emily is simply the wrong role model for this for reasons that go way beyond sex.

I thought getting into university meant you were smarter than the average bear? why are these people not going around insisting the earth is flat?

Cece Telfer who had been ranked 390th when competing in the male category.

Emily Bridges who set the Junior Men's national record for 25 miles in 2018 with a time of just over 47 minutes – two minutes faster than the current national record for adult women, and who is now (completely co-incidentally of course) eyeing the Olympics.

Laurel Hubbard, who after retiring at the age of 36 as a fairly mediocre male weightlifter, was given a place at the Olympics, stealing a chance from actual women less than half his age.

Tiffany Abrue, using women's sports as a retirement option 5 years after dropping out of the male leagues.

Goldsmith's Student Union very keen to promote women's sports as a retirement option for mediocre male athletes. How very inspiring.

For FUCKS sake. So no actual women then?

And Emily fucking Bridges isn't a problem because "she" was an active from childhood type... the problem is that "she's" a MAN.

A man who's been a lazy bum all his life could get into cycling at 40 and probably still do alright at women's competitions if he had decent genetics. It's the man bit that's the problem not the sporty history.

At least it's just the GSU and not the university itself. Students being deliberately controversial and provocative on social media. It's ridiculous but not that big a deal.

Is this actually endorsed by This Girl Can? Or have they just lifted the logo?

That’s what I was wondering.

I've just been on the 'This Girl Can' site. There's nothing on there - or on their facebook page - about any of these men.
Nothing comes up when I type 'transgender', 'Bridges', or 'Telfer' in the search box.

I reckon Goldsmiths are ripping off the name without consent as well as using it for males.

They should have gone for: "This bloke can't ... so he's cheating instead".

I can't see any evidence of support for this on the this girl can website. They talk about women's safety and safe sport for pregnant women but nothing obvious about trans.

[email protected]

Only one way to stop this sort of hijacking. Usual reminder: short, clear constructive emails work best.

I reckon Goldsmiths are ripping off the name without consent as well as using it for males.

I think so too.

wtf does it even have to do with Goldsmiths? This Girl Can isn't their campaign??

It becomes clearer

x.com/sorelle_arduino/status/1761748659702468632?s=46&t=SPorwN-mokktL467rcZ57g

And yet people still continue to pretend that gender ideology is anything other than rhe epitome of misogyny.

Depressing misogynistic gaslighting.

‘This man cheats’ is more appropriate.

They should have gone for: "This bloke can't ... so he's cheating instead".

😆 Very well put.

Surely this will open the eyes of some of the students?
Hopefully some will realise 'this girl can fight back against male colonisation'.

So the student union did this, over the weekend, so Sport England were not in a position to do anything quickly would be my take on it. Like a guerilla political campaign.

If Sport England react publicly to reject the images, it will be seen as further evidence that Sport England are transphobic following their previous recommendations.

But apparently, pronouns are harmless so I hear ….

The branding currently used on Sport England’s site is that the logo is small and to one side.

However, they encourage groups to use the branding on the group’s own creative. So, I am not sure how SE will react. They may not do a thing about this. Because even though it is directly contrary to the intention of the campaign, SE does allow usage of their brand for non officially produced creative. It will be interesting to see what they do.