Trans Athletes

While society, for its purposes, may choose to distinguish between gender and biological sex, it seems illogical for sport in general to do the same without reservation.

The sex of the jockey may be of no significance to the horse in, say, racing or eventing, but it would certainly make a difference, to the point of being dangerous, in a female contact sport such as rugby.

Athletics falls between these two extremes. Physical danger is seldom present, but the advantages of male physique mean that even modest performers in male events can become champions in female events.

The result in the short run is to disappoint and discourage elite female-born athletes who have no hope of competing successfully against elite trans athletes. In the longer term, women would be likely to abandon such sports, and the loss of female role models would soon discourage recruitment of new female participants. In short, these sports would cease to be female sports.

A second issue arising is the admission of male-bodied athletes to female changing rooms, toilets etc.

In my judgement both these issues present female-born athletes with unnecessary, unfair and unacceptable challenges.

My understanding is that the athletics authorities are looking instead at introducing an open category alongside or instead of the male category. The obvious advantage here is that trans athletes would not be required to undertake testosterone reduction or other potentially harmful measures to gain admission. This looks like a more sensible way forward and doesn’t involve banning anyone from sports.

Why Don't People in Europe Have Fathers? (Quora)

Personally, I blame Martin Luther. As a result of The Reformation, half of Europe turned Protestant and all the R C Fathers were thrown out. Except those who concealed themselves in priest holes.

Of course, in England under the rain of Bloody Mary they were allowed out of their holes. Except that it can’t have been real Bloody Mary because the English didn’t have any vodka at the time. And they couldn’t grow tomatoes for the juice because of the climate. (They are now attempting to remedy this deficiency by pursuing climate change.)

And anyway if it had been real Bloody Mary the English would never have invented carrying an umbrella in case of rain, they’d have carried glasses instead. Or buckets. But nowadays, they can all get glasses on the NHS. Also, you never find ‘Calais’ engraved on a vodka glass, unless preceded by the words “Un souvenir de...” So that proves it.

As a result of this the English had to pass a lot of Anti-Recusant Acts, which banned anyone seen with a Father from being King. Although Father Time was allowed to play cricket at Lords. And Old Father Thames was allowed to keep rolling along. But Oliver Cromwell notoriously banned Father Christmas, which was a horrible thing to do and led to The Restoration Comedy.

But I think you may have got the wrong end of the stick from hearing certain modern English politicians referring to anyone who has ever been anywhere near Brussels as bar stewards. Or a very similar term. Now as everyone knows, in days gone by (and even before the rain of Bloody Mary) people without fathers were known as bar stewards. But they aren’t any more.

So it’s not true that people in Brussels are all bar stewards. Probably. They may however be sprouts off a similar plant.