Sporting world seems to be transfixed by debate on transgender athletes
Rita Panahi steps into a minefield, Herald Sun, Tuesday:
In this gender-fluid age, gender is seen as a social construct rather than a biological fact. And it’s unfashionable — indeed dangerous — to point out the inherent unfairness of women being forced to compete against transgender athletes or women with “differences in sexual development” who can have testosterone levels similar to men.
Martina Navratilova must have missed the adage “never apologise, never explain”, NBC, Tuesday:
Martina Navratilova apologised for her controversial comments last month labelling transgender athletes “cheats” … “I know that my use of the word ‘cheat’ caused particular offence among the transgender community … I’m sorry for that because I certainly was not suggesting that transgender athletes in general are cheats.”
Daily Wire website, Tuesday:
Outsports writer Dawn Ennis likened Navratilova to Joseph Goebbels … The Nazis had “the Jewish question,” and history records the horror which its leaders called the “Final Solution”. Navratilova treads a very dangerous line in asking if this issue of inclusion should be called a name that’s not so far from Joseph Goebbels.
Godwin’s law:
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches.
Rich Lowry ponders the madness, New York Post, Monday:
Connecticut allows students to compete in sports as the gender they identify as, with no further requirements. If fashionable opinion has anything to say about it, this will be the universal trend. Everyone is supposed to ignore the madness of it. In sports, the … fluidity of gender runs up against the ineluctability of sex.
The Independent, yesterday:
Former British swimmer Sharron Davies recently said that she doesn’t believe trans athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sport. On Friday, March 1, the former Olympic athlete tweeted that she has “nothing against anyone who wishes to be transgender”, but believes that in order to “protect” women’s sport, “those with a male sex advantage should not be able to compete”.
A lucid Sam Newman to Tom Elliott on 3AW, Tuesday:
I’m pointing out the ludicrous proposition where transgender athletes can choose their gender to compete on some sort of contrived footing … If you wish to transition into a man or woman that is fine, but don’t … think you can just climb into women’s sport … and compete on an equal footing.
Reuters news agency reported on the growing controversy yesterday:
British female Olympians lined up to criticise the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sport as debate rages over whether male-to-female athletes retain unfair physical advantages after taking cross-sex hormones. The row over who should compete in women’s sport exploded in October when Rachel McKinnon became the first trans woman to win a track cycling world title.
Before her apology, Martina Navratilova was prepared to ride out the storm, The Australian, February 17:
Ever the peacemaker, I promised to keep quiet on the subject until I had properly researched it. Well … if anything, my views have strengthened. To put the argument at its most basic: a man can decide to be female … win everything in sight … and then reverse his decision … It’s insane and it’s cheating.