20/04/2023
Educator and activist Schuyler Bailar writes for top LGBT+ newswire “Pink News” about the hypocrisy in the decision by World Athletics to bar trans women from competing in the Women’s Category at top level events. For starters as even Lord Coe noted, there are no transwomen at a competitive athletic level in the UK. But Schuyler goes much further, noting “ If protecting women’s sports were truly paramount, where are the hundreds of bills addressing the rampant sexual assault, the unequal pay, the misogynistic bullying, the lack of financial access, the racism, or any other clearly documented barrier to participation in girls’ and women’s sports?” They go on “Excluding trans women demands policing the entire women’s category, measuring every woman’s body against some manufactured prototype of womanhood that is deemed “woman enough” by systems of power (namely the patriarchy and white supremacy). Women considered “too masculine” because of how they look or how their bodies perform are already at risk of heightened scrutiny and discrimination, and trans athlete bans only exacerbate this. Black women, in particular, are disproportionately affected due to misogynoir – think Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson… the list goes on”.
