Valentina Petrillo race this morning?

[Downthemedow]

I’m assuming Channel 4 may not cover it as there is not UK competitor. Any idea where to try and watch it? I’m very curious as to what will happen.

It was his dream to steal opportunities from female athletes?

What a strange little boy he must have been.

I expect the desire to have once been a little girl began post puberty.

This is the year that I stopped watching the Olympics and the Paralympics. What next to fall - the Invictus Games? The Warrior Games?

I stopped watching The Last Leg years ago, and I wish that Rosie Jones would take her 'mad, angry cry about the photos of JK Rowling at the Terf gathering' and grow the fuck up.

So much hypocrisy, always at the expense of women without the privilege of the self-indulgent TWAWs.

I wonder what his ex-wife makes of it all. I would be devastated if my dh told me he knew full well he was a woman when we decided to marry and have kids.

Thirty years post puberty.

The BBC 6 o'clock News reported him as 'she' and no reference to any controversy or close up pictures. Matter of fact acceptance.
So tired of this.

Middle-age onset interest in Malaga Airport?

Plane spotting is now quite the middle-age thing, especially since the proliferation of images of flight-tracking online started to be promoted on various forums.

I remember the days when men reached a certain age and had an affair,or spent all their money on a ridiculous car.

Good times.

Talking about this now on channel 4!

Interesting that Tanni Grey-Thompson refers to Valentina as "them" throughout

"Huge respect to her"?

FUCK RIGHT OFF you fucking handmaiden.

I think Tanni was very clear on her view without actually saying it out loud.

The dude said this himself. From telegraph

figure who, in a documentary aired this summer, announced to the interviewer: “You can see I’m a man.” Here is somebody who accepts that women are entitled to feel “astonishment, confusion and doubt” about this indefensible state of affairs, acknowledging: “These doubts and questions are legitimate.” But still Petrillo feels entitled to enter the female category for the sake of “happiness”. Quite where the happiness of the women forced out of the Paralympics as a consequence fit into this equation is anybody’s guess.

Tanni Grey-Thompson was excellent - she is not happy about the situation!

Are you talking about the athlete on C4 just now discussing this issue with TGT? If so she then goes on to say as an athlete who competed in this category she’s not sure she would have felt it was a level playing field if Valentina had competed against her. I got the distinct impression the huge respect was paying lip service to trying to not show her true thoughts on the matter. (And avoid the inevitable backlash)

I was really encouraged to see the discussion taking place, it was obvious what TNT thoughts are on the matter. She can’t be overtly GC given her many official roles but did a good job of highlighting some of the issues around this matter.

Yep.

If she felt that it was unfair she should have said so instead of trying to follow the "be kind" bollocks that is the root cause of all this shite.
As an athlete in particular her voice is so important to call out this crap, not say things like "huge respect to her".

Just my opinion.

VP out. Cue the “it’s ok for transwomen to race against women because they have lost all their pubertal advantages”.

No it isn’t, no they dont.

I think he didn't make it through. So no advantage, nothing to see here etc....

So tiresome. Shades of Hubbard.

Yep, I thought Tanni was excellent on the absolute shambles of the Paralympics position on this.

Yep, eliminated but back on Friday to have a crack at the 200m.

Age clearly played a part though a 51 year old woman (with all the things that come with being a 51 year old woman) would not have made it anywhere near it!

it is so sad seeing people like TGT skating around what they want to say for fear of the backlash

male privilege just doesn’t seem to stop

Frankly given the lying this chap is doing already, I'd doubt the sight issues too.

@Tiswa Yes, there were NO competitors in their fifties or forties. A handful in their thirties and most in their twenties. IT IS SO BLOODY OBVIOUS.

@HootyMcBooby I hear you and understand the sentiment. However and it’s a big one, you cannot underestimate how easy it is for one quote on this matter to go against you for future work.
I work within sport and cannot stress how difficult it is to speak about GC views without fear of reprisal, to the point I would be worried about losing my role. I can totally understand why a younger athlete trying to break into presenting/ commentating is being extremely careful when talking around this topic. TBH she went further than a lot of other athletes have in saying she wouldn’t have found it fair to compete against a male.

I’m not convinced by the eyesight issue either. Identifying as a woman, identifying as visually impaired - if a man can do the first, what’s to stop him doing the second?