The Daily Telegraph and reporting of biological males in women’s sport

[Justme56]

https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/05535-24/

Blair Hamilton complained to IPSO regarding the reference to Hamilton as a biological male in an article last year about women’s football. IPSO investigated bit found no breach, so the complaint was not upheld.

My Telegraph sub continues to be money well spent.

Well done IPSO!

This is great news. Thanks for letting us know, Justme.

Thanks OP. Good heavens above, some actual reality from IPSO.

This passage!

"In this context, the Committee considered the reference to the complainant being a “biological male” was genuinely relevant to the issues discussed in the article. The Committee did not consider that the term in the context in which it had been used was belittling or demeaning to the complainant, nor insulting in a manner that it considered pejorative or prejudicial."

Maybe journos can finally stop writing their ludicrous slop about women rapists?

Excellent news. Blair is male, no amount of female pronouns or womanly feelz will change that, and it’s only right that it’s reported as such.

Really need to send the IPSO link to the BBC News head honcho.

Next week, life's a bit manic at present.

something something LiVeD ExPeRiEnCe

Excellent.

Let’s hope so. It would make for clarity.

It's 100% necessary to use the term 'male' in a story like this, where the physiology of Dr Hamilton is the whole point of the story. The addition of "biological" is an attempt to soften it a little/to recognise that the individual doesn't want to be simply described as a man. If, on the other hand, the author was writing about, say, a new 'girlband' which included a TIM member, it'd be gratuitous and unnecessary to use a term like "biological male".

I still struggle to understand IPSO. It’s voluntary to be under their guidance. So if someone complains and it’s upheld, what then? Surely the Telegraph would just say, “thanks, but no thanks”?

I gather that members of IPSO keep up membership and generally follow its guidelines for fear of something they regard as worse, such as a government-established statutory regulator.

If too many media outlets leave IPSO, the chances of such a regulator coming into being are increased.

The Financial Times, the i/Independent and the Guardian are not members, of course. They have their own "independent complaints systems" instead (hollow laugh).

This is the right ruling.well done IPSO. I can't help but feel sorry for Blair though as we've met in RL a few times. They are large and strong and have a physical advantage against all biological women. However, they have been sucked into the whole trans ideology bullshit.

Just for interest i will tell you about my experience. I have followed this closely as sometimes play on a mixed team with Blair. I have played in friendlies (on the same team) with them about 5 times before finding out about the Sutton incident.
I found it quite interesting as a GC woman who plays football. I usually play for a woman's only team and every now and again we come across women's teams with men in them and it really fucks me off. I do also play in a inclusive team. I was very reticent at first but actually it's one of my favorite games I play in. It's inclusive in that it's predominantly women and transgender men and some nonbinary people. But it's also inclusive in the fact that if you're shit they already supportive and nobody goes in hard. It's called positive competition. You play to win but you make sure you pass to everyone on the team, you don't do hard tackles to people that can't take it (ie me). I have actually loved these games because everyone knows what you're letting yourself in for. You know you will be playing against males which is fine and also they act well and don't slide tackle me (they do each other and some of the much fitter stronger women on the team that can take it). Blair is considerate and encouraging to play with.

What I hate is when I go to a woman's game and I'm up against a 6 foot 4 person who thinks they are a woman but has a six pack and stubble who charges in at me and acts upset when we get pissed off.
Blair seems like a decent person who has been misled by society and is probably suffering additionally from being in the media spotlight.

I wish the inclusive teams would grow. they can be really enjoyable and it's fair because everyone knows what they're getting into.

This is a great result. Well done to Oliver Brown and the Telegraph for taking it this far.

@Middleagedstriker
I can't feel sympathy for Blair Hamilton, I'm afraid. If BH just played in the inclusive teams where everyone knows what they're getting into, that would be fine. But BH has not only played on at least 2 women's teams in the actual football league (Hastings United and Sutton United), and previously played for the England Universities women's team, displacing women teammates and disadvantaging female opponents, BH is very influential (for some reason) and has provided questionable academic "evidence" that males who claim to be women have no athletic advantage over women. This is in the form of a study which compares the performance of unfit, small, amateur MCWs with that of elite women athletes.

BH is a grown-up who is actively working against women's right to fair and safe sport, so whether BH is pleasant in person is neither here nor there.

Edited to add specific examples

I don't feel sorry for him and I don't accept he has been 'misled by society'.

I thought your post about mixed teams was interesting to read though Middleagedstriker

I don’t feel at all sorry for Hamilton. Hamilton has chosen Hamilton’s own path. And Hamilton has also chosen to go several steps further and produce flawed papers and a flawed study to support their own choices. And to influence policy and application of law.

To say that Hamilton has been misled is to infantilise this person when they are clearly very capable of making highly significant decisions.

this was imo a really constructive, balanced, seemingly well- informed, post.

I do also play in a inclusive team. I was very reticent at first but actually it's one of my favorite games I play in. It's inclusive in that it's predominantly women and transgender men and some nonbinary people.

Interesting. When you say "predominantly" do you mean predominantly women and transwomen, and a few nonbinary people? Or predominantly women, transwomen and some nonbinary people, but also a few men with no transgender identity?

Also, which biological sex are the nonbinary people?

Edit: spelling

I played hockey at county level many decades ago. I also, for casual sport, played in a mixed hockey team i.e. men and women with the men not pretending to be women. We all knew it was a mixed team, consequently there was consent and any woman taking part was aware they could expect possibly harder knocks, tackles etc. It was fine, maybe because the women tended to have a higher technical skill level than the men having spent their schooldays pounding up and down hockey fields.

The difference with trans women playing is that it is often without the knowledge of the opponents and without their consent, not to mention that it is inaccurate to call it women's hockey.

Dare we hope the IPSO is tip-toeing into the real world? One swallow etc. I hope journalists will make note of this and become braver in pushing back at these stupid, illogical and objectional "guidelines".

It's predominantly females, including the non binary people. About 20% males. It's a really lovely atmosphere. Very supportive and mixed ability.

So it's a mixed sex club - ie the men are presenting as men and it's openly mixed?

It's a good mix. there are a few men that present as men, a few non-binary and a few trans women (and men). I would say the majority are just women who present as such. The men that do play play respectfully. It works really well. It's basically just people that want to play football in an inclusive way. For me the most important part of that is that they don't care if you're a bit shit and are very encouraging of everyone.

@Middleagedstriker If you use changing rooms are they split by biological sex?

Thanks for your posts btw, they're interesting. Perhaps not least because they're another demonstration that tw are not prohibited from playing sport. Also glad there's a spot for tm on testosterone who always seem overlooked but would, it seems, genuinely struggle to find a sport.

And, in a packed post today, here's Oliver Brown's Telegraph article

https://archive.ph/Z9V19

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/03/07/biological-male-vindication-sex-matters-transphobic/

He seems a little gleeful 😁

Truly excellent contribution from Oliver Brown. I can only hope that his peers and colleagues are ready to reflect and listen to him.

Thanks for the link @lcakethereforeIam .
And thank you for the article, Oliver Brown. Brilliant from beginning to end.
"Sex is real, and it matters." I wonder if he'll get death threats for writing that?

"The IPSO ruling places the immutable laws of human biology above emotive personal testimony [...] For too long, there has been a form of coerced speech on this subject, where pronouns mattered more than practicalities, where affirmation was prized above accuracy."
👏👏👏