mudsticks
Squire
Nothing wrong with Fred Perrys.
Claude never actually said there was.
Like her, i think they're really quite a useful flagging device.
Nothing wrong with Fred Perrys.
Claude never actually said there was.
Like her, i think they're really quite a useful flagging device.
OK for tennis, I suppose, but not a patch on Ben Sherman with the button-down collars.
Are they?
Yeah , can be .
A bit of a cliché really like the old "leather patches on jackets" thing, but still, it can be a marker amongst other stuff.
Interesting.
"In general, excluding trans folks, refusing to accept their preferred gender, or promoting anti trans information is considered bigotry and will not be tolerated on the forum."
- this is an ideological stance. It is not shared by the vast majority of people and moderators shouldn't use their position to suppress discussion
That quote is from a moderator on another cycling forum. They are clearly using their own stance in the issue to shut down legitimate debate. Presumably there can be no discussion of trans cyclists Emily Bridges eligibility because that means 'refusing to accept their preferred gender'.
The whole point of using language like 'bigotry' and 'transphobic' is to shut down discussion. Noone wants to be thought to be unkind so they don't speak out even when they know what is being said is nonsense. It's how we have ended up where we are.
It's possible to refer to Emily Bridges as 'she' and then discuss the unfairness in her competing in female categories.
And this is the problem. Silencing one side of a discussion is never good or healthy. The zeal for "no platforming" at Universities is really quite abhorrent. They are supposed to be places to learn. You cannot learn if you only have one side of an argument.The whole point of using language like 'bigotry' and 'transphobic' is to shut down discussion. Noone wants to be thought to be unkind so they don't speak out even when they know what is being said is nonsense. It's how we have ended up where we are.
It's possible to refer to Emily Bridges as 'she' and then discuss the unfairness in her competing in female categories.
It's possible to refer to Emily Bridges as 'she' and then discuss the appropriateness of her competing in any particular racing category.
Competitive sport hinges on fairness. The categories within sport, whether it's weight, sex, or age, are there to provide opportunities for fair competition within those categories. Otherwise athletic 25 year old males would win everything. 'Fairness' has been the default paramount criteria for 100 years. (Safety being assumed obviously).
By suggesting that we should talk about 'appropriateness' rather than 'fairness' I think you yourself are making a judgement that other stuff, like inclusivity perhaps, should be considered.
If you want something other than fairness to be the main criteria for competitive sport you need to make that argument. For the vast majority of people, including men in the female category will quite rightly always be a discussion about unfairness to women.