International Olympic Committee announcement today! Will it be regarding female sports?

[Helleofabore]

The IOC is making an announcement today. Here is the Youtube link for the live stream.

15.15 UK time. Let's hope it is the speculated announcement that they have decided to exclude any male person who has undergone androgenisation at puberty.

https://t.co/rm06rZDB0u

Thanks, that's interesting!

Although it is the Australian edition, it still appears in the UK version of the Guardian online, which pulls in a lot of Australian articles as the result of some commercial deal or other.
It is hard to see Guardian's mission to become the News from Nowhere as anything other than a decision to put business imperatives ahead of journalistic ones. Completely absurd to have broadly facts-based reporting in two articles plus this third piece that makes misleading claims about the landscape of scientific and ethical discourse on this issue, and is only there because of expansions into new markets.

Just no coherence at all. They may try to justify it in the name of 'balance' as if they were the BBC, required to perform a mechanical simulacrum of impartiality. But they aren't the BBC. They are supposed to be a values-rich bunch of journalists, committed to truth seeking, investigation, analysis. That doesn't need to be 'balanced' by misleading commentary, so I can only imagine that the commercial pressures they claim to be immune from are the real reason.
That makes it all the more annoying that they flatter themselves with all their guff about keeping their journalism free, and becoming a 'supporter' rather than paying for their product. Just charge me for the fucking online content and do it properly.

The racism of TRAs is legendary. Do you think they'll ever stop trying to assert that black women are equivalent to men?

I agree. Joyce had an interview on TallkTV and had to correct the host, who was gracious. But still, really?

Sian Berry is particularly upset. I can't seem to get the link to work but if you search her on Facebook, her post will come up

Doubt it.

I think the obvious differences in potential are there from even earlier ages. Even at 6 or 7 the boys tend to be a lot more physically aggressive, for example, when playing football - than the girls.

I recall taking our granddaughter to the climbing equipment in a local park, when she was about 5 or 6 - she loved climbing everything ( walls, trees, rocks) and also liked to swing across the monkey bars. As she swung across the bars, an obvious boy - of about 6 years of age ( but dressed in girls' clothing) came across behind her. He was so muscular and athletic and 'masculine' in his movements and physicality in a way that was quite distinct from the other children.

We were fascinated by the incongruence of how he was being 'presented' - by his mother, presumably ( who also had two other children - both girls ) and his obvious male physique. Even at such a young age.

Yes. It is a bonkers situation. It is surreal

'what about non-feminine-looking women and Black women?' is such an illogical objection - a simple, one-off, non-invasive, universal test will mean that whoever you are, whatever you look like, you have been found to be eligible to participate in women's competitions, full stop.

Really, all this carping and quibbling and handwringing is a display of the weakness of the gender argument, compared with the strength and clarity of the new IOC rules.

Operation Let Them Speak - I suspect the straightforward rule 'Only biological women should take part in women's sports' makes a lot more sense to the general public than spurious arguments in favour of including men.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1496197985200641&set=a.492549922232124&type=3

All of the top voted comments are in favour of the ban. I wonder if she will reflect? Somehow I doubt it.

She’s being so so so so upset everywhere.

What is very odd is the claim that the SRY test is 'invasive'. A simple cheek swab is an awful lot less invasive than the anti-doping urine tests that every elite athlete is very used to doing (naked from the waist down, legs apart so the technician can observe the stream of urine leaving the body).

Sian is one of those people who identifies as being especially open-minded. In reality, she's only open-minded to the extent that her brains have fallen out.

I am sorry that Sian is so utterly devastated by women's equality and rights, how very hard for her. Thoughts and prayers. And possibly a good therapist.

The comments on Reddit are quite something. All the usual talking points, and the thread has been locked because of being "brigaded by terfs and transphobes".

This isn't a transgender subreddit, just a general gossip/talk section.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1s47g3c/the_international_olympic_committee_has/

Themes of
Michael Phelps has big hands
Riley Gains is a shit swimmer
Biology is complicated
No transwoman has ever won a medal
Only one TW has ever competed and she came last
Genetic regulation = nazis
"What's the test even going to be? They tried testosterone levels and that didn't work" I mean, for fucks SAKE, at least read the article.

And some "research" saying that ACTUALLY transgirls are 19% weaker than cis girls.

It's all there.

Oh dear

Obviously that is bollocks on a literal level, but even if it were true, it's an argument for trans identified males to set up their own additional league just for them. Why wouldn't they, if it's the only realistic chance they ever have of winning? If they're so much weaker than literally everyone else?

Taken from Reddit - “The goal is to slowly demoralize and chip away at the rights of women until there is nothing left.” So close and yet so far.

It's idiotic. Even for people who don't know and haven't thought to look up what drug tests entail, being an Olympic inherently means your body is lots of other people's business. It's so obviously not something you can pursue if you want a lot of physical privacy.

I know, right. And it reminds me of Riley Gaines and other swimmers talking about how tricky and strenuous it is to put on their aerodynamic (?) swim suits - that it can take half an hour. And obviously they're fully naked.

And how awful that must have been with a bloke in the changing rooms.

As to how intrusive the tests are, Sharron Davies (who competed for Britain in the women's 200m backstroke in the 1976 Olympics) said this on Twitter/X:

"I had my sex screening test in 1976. I was 13. It took 10 seconds (cotton bud cheek swab, needed just once) it was not intrusive. The ioc did it, & paid for it, in Montreal. Result returned almost immediately. But well before I raced. There was also wada anti doping-mandatory"

https://x.com/sharrond62/status/2037463628840939547?s=20

Yes. And bizarrely, a comment about how in ancient times we used to live in much smaller groups, so people would have BE KIND-ed much better.

'Such behaviour' here = misgendering trans people (=genocide)

"It depends what you mean by civilization. We used to live in small groups where such behavior would have been fatal to the community. That was a very very long time ago, though. I think a large part of our global issues are that we just didn’t develop biologically to live in a society of millions to billions of people. It’s weirdly ‘inhuman’ to be surrounded by so many people that you simply can’t recognize, know, or even acknowledge them all."

Back on track - hoo-fucking-ray for the IOC announcement.

Finally!

I can't wait to see what helplines my work have set up this time for all the sad people.

The comments are overwhelmingly against Sian. Delicious. 🤭

How dare she say "their dreams have limits" - without the ban the dreams of every girl who wants to compete will stop at the point she meets a tif athlete.

The headline on the BBC News channel says:
'Olympic women's sports to be for biological females only'.

Good and clear, isn't it? It could only be improved by the addition of 'DUH!'😁