Simone Biles attacks Riley Gaines

[ItsCoolForCats]

Simone Biles has come out in defence of males in women's sports, and has attacked Riley Gaines for fighting against it. She said on Twitter:

"@RileyGaines
You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!"

So, so disappointing. Both my daughters do gymnastics and are huge SB fans, so it is awful for her to show such contempt towards RG, who is fighting for a level playing field for women and girls in sport. And to suggest a separate category as if nobody has ever thought of that and tried it 🤦🏻‍♀️

AI, draw Simone Biles but make it not look like Simone Biles.

Is that possible since I am one?

That image looks not looks not like SB but a little girl in a red leotard. It is only due to context that we know who it is attempting to portray.

We can agree on that.

I think it is certainly possible for female people to advocate for a reduction in established female rights and protections, yes......and that is what many who claim to be feminists have been doing. Something to do with " fighting the patriarchy" which makes absolutely no sense at all if it prioritises the dignity and integrity of male people over that of female people.

Of course it is. Internalised misogyny is rife unfortunately.

There used to be a TV show called Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

Perhaps this very long thread should be called Riley Gaines Can't Win.

I prefer to term it ‘not necessarily agreeing with everything a person says or does just because they are a woman and/or a woman’s rights campaigner’.

You can prefer what you want. But prioritising boys over girls in girls sports tells a clear story.

Of course it's possible. What an odd question.

Not agreeing that women and girls should be entitled to fairness in their sports cannot possibly be described as a pro women position.

Absolutely it is.

Can you quote where I said that? Because it isn’t something I believe.

Well if you do believe that women and girls should be entitled to fairness in their sports, you should be on the same side as Riley Gaines.

My position is ‘not necessarily agreeing with everything a person says or does just because they are a woman and/or a woman’s rights campaigner’ - and this is not misogyny. It’s sensible and what a grown-up generally does, I find.

Right, but the topic of this thread is Riley Gaines.

Do you agree with her that women and girls should be entitled to fairness in their sports or not?

Not at all. I’m being a woman who plays sports.

There’s some odd positioning on this thread.

If you are a campaigner and your goal is to broadcast your message to as many people as possible, it’s completely rational to try and make money whilst doing so. This literally buys you more time for campaigning and reaching/influencing more people.

News outlets platform issues that support their aims. A campaigner who has successfully got their message across before on a given platform, is likely to want more opportunities like this and do repeat appearances.

When I was younger, I thought that labelling someone as ‘right wing’ was highlighting someone of dubious morals. Since maturing, and developing better critical thinking skills, I understand being ‘right wing’ or ‘left wing’ mostly involves holding different views about how to promote a strong economy and what is the fairest way to distribute wealth and create a safe and stable society.

Using the label ‘right wing’ as a means to discount a person’s view out of hand is a strategy that is backfiring globally. Insisting that people are evil or immoral for disagreeing with one’s own views about what inclusion involves and how much heterogeneity within society is desirable, is ridiculous and nothing good will come of it.

Do you believe that women and girls should be entitled to fairness in their sports, i.e. not being forced to compete against male athletes who say they are women, or not?

See my earlier posts. I said I agreed broadly with what she said in her interview on Fox, so yes.

OK. So what is your problem exactly?

Yes, I do.

I think there is a huge gulf between “not agreeing with everything someone does” and “trying to make every effort and twist what they do to undermine their campaigns because you don’t agree with everything they do. “

We have witnessed the latter on this thread. And that is not the behaviour that I recognise as being ‘grown up’.

I was going to answer @MissScarletInTheBallroom but @Helleofabore - you just make the environment uncomfortable.