Not that there’s anything good about this, but hearing that both Steven Pinker and Richard Dawkins “resigned” from whatever honorary positions they had with the FFRF rather made my heart sink.

I was a linguistics student for a time, and Pinker’s books always had a sociolinguistic aspect to them, but I never saw transphobia. It was admittedly a while back, so it really wasn’t yet settling into the national consciousness.

I also admired Dawkins’ writing style; again, I saw nothing transphobic.

So for both of these guys to be like “nope, you should have totally kept a piece up that says transwomen should have fewer rights and options” is, maybe, the final insult of 2024.

  • VerticaGG@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    0·
    8 days ago

    Womens sports were never about protecting women from other women. They were sold as such, sure (racist and transphobic moralizing fear campaigns have always scored political offices)

    Women’s sports exist to protect (a faceless majority of) men’s egos from women’s excellence. The fact that FIDE still enforces women’s chess is a glaring example.

    To “cover all bases” though: When it comes to physiology, it would make so much more sense to have weight classes irregardless of sex or gender identity.

    Fact is we have entrenched, wealthy institutions with lots of bastards who refuse to see the humanity of another gender or skin tone other than their own, and until they croak they’ll drag out every backwards tradition they can force down our throats.

    • Elise@beehaw.org
      0·
      7 days ago

      Wait, so, you’re telling me men feel pain? 🤔

      All joking aside I feel so naive sometimes. Women’s chess? Like what the actual 🦆

    • Randomguy@lemm.ee
      0·
      7 days ago

      The fact that FIDE still enforces women’s chess is a glaring example.

      There is no man’s chess, you know? Women can and do participate in open tournaments against men.

      Woman’s chess is a DEI program to incentivize woman’s participation in chess in a more inclusive environment, because, surprise surprise, chess has a misogyny problem. You can argue that this doesn’t work or something, but it definitely isn’t there to protect men’s egos (especially considering titles acquired in women’s chess tournaments are worth less than regular titles).