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Some Transgender Women May Be Barred from Women’s Chess Competitions

3 points by cebert 3y ago

jfengel 3y ago
I'd be interested to know how the policy was created. When it comes to other sports, an awful lot of the discussion seems to be argued about by men, without involving or even asking women. I'm not a woman, either, so take this with a grain of salt. But there are a number of reasons why women set up women-only events. Some of them have to do with safety, and not having to be constantly on your guard about stereotypical male behavior. And some of them have to do with community: they know that they're not "the best" players of a sport, but they do want to experience the joys of competition among themselves, and the camaraderie that creates among and between teams. A lot of cis-women recognize trans-women as women, on both those scores. A few express concern about the unfairness of competing against bodies exposed to hormones that would be illegal steroids if they took them, but it's not as widespread as men seem to think. Most seem to accept that it's not yet a significant issue, and that the widely adopted rules about androgen inhibitors suffice to make it as fair as the vagaries of human bodies allow. Either way, it's really something that women should lead. They're the ones who it affects. But it's often men leading the discussion and making the rules on behalf of women, without understanding why women's sports are a thing in the first place. I have no idea what women chess players think, and I'd be interested to know. I do at least appreciate that FIDE said that this is "evolving", because even the women themselves don't yet have wide agreement what's right and fair yet.
himon 3y ago
Makes sense, considering the fact that they are actually men. If you're going to have a competition that's only for women, then of course you shouldn't be including men who call themselves woman. I mean, why would you? It defeats the whole point, and is remarkably gullible.

3 points by cebert 3y ago

I'd be interested to know how the policy was created. When it comes to other sports, an awful lot of the discussion seems to be argued about by men, without involving or even asking women. I'm not a woman, either, so take this with a grain of salt. But there are a number of reasons why women set up women-only events. Some of them have to do with safety, and not having to be constantly on your guard about stereotypical male behavior. And some of them have to do with community: they know that they're not "the best" players of a sport, but they do want to experience the joys of competition among themselves, and the camaraderie that creates among and between teams. A lot of cis-women recognize trans-women as women, on both those scores. A few express concern about the unfairness of competing against bodies exposed to hormones that would be illegal steroids if they took them, but it's not as widespread as men seem to think. Most seem to accept that it's not yet a significant issue, and that the widely adopted rules about androgen inhibitors suffice to make it as fair as the vagaries of human bodies allow. Either way, it's really something that women should lead. They're the ones who it affects. But it's often men leading the discussion and making the rules on behalf of women, without understanding why women's sports are a thing in the first place. I have no idea what women chess players think, and I'd be interested to know. I do at least appreciate that FIDE said that this is "evolving", because even the women themselves don't yet have wide agreement what's right and fair yet.

himon 3y ago

Makes sense, considering the fact that they are actually men. If you're going to have a competition that's only for women, then of course you shouldn't be including men who call themselves woman. I mean, why would you? It defeats the whole point, and is remarkably gullible.