I’m torn here—yes, I want you to have a holiday reset, a break from the internet and busting your brain trying to divine truth out of a glut of media, social and antisocial, but I also want you to read my drivel.
Sarah, another great column. Thank you. And I am taking a short break as the bird is in the oven and food prep is paused :-). I respect Lord Coe but we should recognize that World Athletics still allows DSD athletes with male advantage to compete as women if Testosterone level is 2.5 mol/l for 24 months (per my understanding), and do not seem to recognize that male advantage begins prior to puberty. These are still concerning issues. It is unclear to me if Mr. Johan Eliasch would be stronger. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, however you celebrate!
I too cannot figure out why Coe and World Athletics left that door open a crack. I mean, if you're going to protect the female category, that means no males. Males who did hormonal treatment before puberty are still male. Males who were mistakenly observed as female due to lack of external male genitalia and male DSD are still male. The whole idea of the female category is that sex matters.
yes, so maybe Eliasch is better candidate. I don't know. I am just concerned that Lord Coe will not draw distinct line at sex. No males in women's sports, no athletes who have experienced any male androgenization (as World Athletics currently permit). But Coe and likely Eliasch will be much better than the others---and hugely better than those who do not understand that men and women are different! Merry Christmas Sarah!!! Thank you for all you do!
I agree Sarah, Seb Coe, to return the Olympics to normality and fairness for women. DSD to compete with their biological sex, and the IOC must make it clear to all sporting codes the rules. Bring back testing, as well. It will be interesting to see where the boxing blokes will end up in the next Olympics. My money is on them departing citing mental health issues!!!!
"Mrs Kirsty COVENTRY. As a five-time Olympian (swimming) and the only female candidate, it’s supremely disappointing that Coventry NEVER mentions women’s sports in her manifesto. Her five main pillars are to: Harness the Power of Sport, Maximize Collaboration and Engagement, Strengthen Partnerships for Mutual Growth, Champion Sustainable Development, and Advance Credibility and Trust."
Mrs. Coventry's avoidance of the topic of women's sports reminds me of a certain type of successful Republican businesswoman who, in the 1970s, would let it be publicly known that she had no truck with feminism. They got where they were without rocking the boat.
In hindsight, it seems they were sending a message to the men that they, too, were Serious People. It was implicit that they would not attract embarrassing publicity or disrupt the status quo by putting women's lib on the company's agenda.
That comes through powerfully in Mrs. Coventry's five pillars, which sound like they're straight out of a high-powered MBA's business plan. Unfortunately, since she's selling herself as a defender of the status quo at the IOC, that means not challenging the Committee's irrational policies that permit biological men to compete in women's sports.
The female category is sadly lacking in diversity, it’s almost completely made up of women! There are just a few brave male athletes standing up for gender equity in women’s sports; those who the IOC then champion as being part of the category of “women in all their diversity”. The male category on the other hand, is a well-known bastion of diversity and inclusion though right?!
There’s no more being browbeaten into ‘being kind’, no more ignoring it because it’ll never happen, no more confusion about DSDs and no more ambiguous talk of gender and then substituting it for sex. Coe or Eliasch for the win!
And if you think that female administrators or former athletes will necessarily do any better than the mess Thomas Bach presided over - and you haven’t consumed enough gender bs to be enraged about recently - have a look at former 800m runner, sociologist, ‘feminist’ and co-author of the IOC framework on fairness, inclusion and non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations Madeleine Pape’s Ted talk on YouTube: “How do we decide who competes in women’s sport?”
The misogynists have been treating female sports as an afterthought because they seethe when any time and money is spent on female sports. I remember the arguments against Title IX in the US, the anger at the idea of free women sweating and developing their athleticism when most could be beaten by a male. God forbid money be spent on female athletics, taking away from males in their zero-sum brains. This anger never went away and has been plotting a takedown of females. This is why so many "normal" males and their handmaidens stand aside, obliterating female sports by making it an open category, letting trans misogynists do the dirty work. I see the results every day from a time period when women were discouraged from exerting themselves, playing sports, developing their balance and muscles and increasing bone density. My 90-yr-old mother is of that generation and has endured much pain from falls and broken bones, plus a lack of awareness of her body and an inability to push through pain, all things she could have learned with athletic participation. I despise all those that refuse to stand up for female sports. I'll hope for either of the 2 non-misogynists you listed to be voted in as next IOC president.
"The misogynists have been treating female sports as an afterthought because they seethe when any time and money is spent on female sports." Including men who are not aggressively misogynist. I know so many men who agree that it's unfair for trans-identified males to compete in female sport, but just shrug their shoulders because they do not care about female sport.
Seb Coe is the clear choice IMO. He has a great reputation and was an outstanding athlete. He understands competition and will be a great advocate for female competitors.
Sarah, another great column. Thank you. And I am taking a short break as the bird is in the oven and food prep is paused :-). I respect Lord Coe but we should recognize that World Athletics still allows DSD athletes with male advantage to compete as women if Testosterone level is 2.5 mol/l for 24 months (per my understanding), and do not seem to recognize that male advantage begins prior to puberty. These are still concerning issues. It is unclear to me if Mr. Johan Eliasch would be stronger. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, however you celebrate!
I too cannot figure out why Coe and World Athletics left that door open a crack. I mean, if you're going to protect the female category, that means no males. Males who did hormonal treatment before puberty are still male. Males who were mistakenly observed as female due to lack of external male genitalia and male DSD are still male. The whole idea of the female category is that sex matters.
yes, so maybe Eliasch is better candidate. I don't know. I am just concerned that Lord Coe will not draw distinct line at sex. No males in women's sports, no athletes who have experienced any male androgenization (as World Athletics currently permit). But Coe and likely Eliasch will be much better than the others---and hugely better than those who do not understand that men and women are different! Merry Christmas Sarah!!! Thank you for all you do!
I agree Sarah, Seb Coe, to return the Olympics to normality and fairness for women. DSD to compete with their biological sex, and the IOC must make it clear to all sporting codes the rules. Bring back testing, as well. It will be interesting to see where the boxing blokes will end up in the next Olympics. My money is on them departing citing mental health issues!!!!
"Mrs Kirsty COVENTRY. As a five-time Olympian (swimming) and the only female candidate, it’s supremely disappointing that Coventry NEVER mentions women’s sports in her manifesto. Her five main pillars are to: Harness the Power of Sport, Maximize Collaboration and Engagement, Strengthen Partnerships for Mutual Growth, Champion Sustainable Development, and Advance Credibility and Trust."
Mrs. Coventry's avoidance of the topic of women's sports reminds me of a certain type of successful Republican businesswoman who, in the 1970s, would let it be publicly known that she had no truck with feminism. They got where they were without rocking the boat.
In hindsight, it seems they were sending a message to the men that they, too, were Serious People. It was implicit that they would not attract embarrassing publicity or disrupt the status quo by putting women's lib on the company's agenda.
That comes through powerfully in Mrs. Coventry's five pillars, which sound like they're straight out of a high-powered MBA's business plan. Unfortunately, since she's selling herself as a defender of the status quo at the IOC, that means not challenging the Committee's irrational policies that permit biological men to compete in women's sports.
The female category is sadly lacking in diversity, it’s almost completely made up of women! There are just a few brave male athletes standing up for gender equity in women’s sports; those who the IOC then champion as being part of the category of “women in all their diversity”. The male category on the other hand, is a well-known bastion of diversity and inclusion though right?!
There’s no more being browbeaten into ‘being kind’, no more ignoring it because it’ll never happen, no more confusion about DSDs and no more ambiguous talk of gender and then substituting it for sex. Coe or Eliasch for the win!
And if you think that female administrators or former athletes will necessarily do any better than the mess Thomas Bach presided over - and you haven’t consumed enough gender bs to be enraged about recently - have a look at former 800m runner, sociologist, ‘feminist’ and co-author of the IOC framework on fairness, inclusion and non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations Madeleine Pape’s Ted talk on YouTube: “How do we decide who competes in women’s sport?”
The misogynists have been treating female sports as an afterthought because they seethe when any time and money is spent on female sports. I remember the arguments against Title IX in the US, the anger at the idea of free women sweating and developing their athleticism when most could be beaten by a male. God forbid money be spent on female athletics, taking away from males in their zero-sum brains. This anger never went away and has been plotting a takedown of females. This is why so many "normal" males and their handmaidens stand aside, obliterating female sports by making it an open category, letting trans misogynists do the dirty work. I see the results every day from a time period when women were discouraged from exerting themselves, playing sports, developing their balance and muscles and increasing bone density. My 90-yr-old mother is of that generation and has endured much pain from falls and broken bones, plus a lack of awareness of her body and an inability to push through pain, all things she could have learned with athletic participation. I despise all those that refuse to stand up for female sports. I'll hope for either of the 2 non-misogynists you listed to be voted in as next IOC president.
"The misogynists have been treating female sports as an afterthought because they seethe when any time and money is spent on female sports." Including men who are not aggressively misogynist. I know so many men who agree that it's unfair for trans-identified males to compete in female sport, but just shrug their shoulders because they do not care about female sport.
Seb Coe is the clear choice IMO. He has a great reputation and was an outstanding athlete. He understands competition and will be a great advocate for female competitors.
Mr. Lappartient is concerned with “global instability, climate issues, technology and AI” — worthy topics but have nothing to do with sports.
Laurel Hubbard does not look like a woman at all. Trans fail.