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British Cycling’s trans ruling isn’t ‘furthering genocide’

Emily Bridges has previously been outspoken about trans inclusion in women's sport

May 26, 2023 - 4:45pm

You can’t always get what you want. It’s something most people learn by the time they’re adults, which is just as well. Existing in a world where someone has a tantrum every time their wishes are thwarted is exhausting, especially when other people have had enough of their sense of entitlement. It must be hell right now, in other words, to be a trans activist.

The transgender cyclist Emily Bridges certainly thinks so. For some time now, male athletes have been trying to shoulder their way into women’s sports, and British Cycling is the latest organisation to recognise that it’s inherently unfair. It has banned trans women, who were born male, from racing against female riders in competitive events. Some female athletes feel it doesn’t go far enough, because there won’t be protection at non-competitive levels of the sport, but it’s progress of a sort.

Not as far as Bridges is concerned, however. In a spectacular hissy fit, Bridges has accused British Cycling of “furthering a genocide” against trans people. It is a “violent act”, carried out by an organisation “directly funded by a state that ships vulnerable refugees to Rwanda”. Bridges can no longer make plans for the future because “I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to live that long”. 

Can we back up here? No one is preventing Bridges or anyone else from taking part in elite cycling races, as long as they compete in the category compatible with their sex. Using words like “genocide” is profoundly offensive to the descendants of Jews who died in concentration camps during the Second World War, the Tutsi minority murdered in Rwanda in 1994 or the Muslim men bundled into mass graves at Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia a year later. 

The comparison is nauseating, and could only have been made by someone so self-obsessed that they’ve lost all sense of perspective. Women are murdered at a rate of between two and three every week, yet we’ve managed to campaign against a failing criminal justice system without making facile comparisons with massacres in other countries. 

But claiming victim status is a core tactic of the gender cult, which depends on hyperbole to disguise the fact that its aim is to allow a group of entitled men to do whatever they like, including destroying women’s sport.

In the last few days, the aims and tactics of trans activists have come under unprecedented scrutiny. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has paused an inquiry into allegations against its chair, Baroness Falkner, after they were described as an “attempted coup” by activist civil servants. Now the governing body of elite cycling has joined other sports organisations in protecting women’s events, which threatened to become dominated by male-bodied athletes.

It marks a welcome return to what used to be normal practice until society caved in to the extraordinary demands of a bunch of extremists. 

Bridges’s meltdown is what happens when people who’ve endlessly been told how brave and stunning they are suddenly discover that they have to obey rules, like everyone else. Behaving like an angry toddler exposes the childish narcissism at the heart of trans activism, which has always sought to conflate even the mildest opposition with hate speech and genocide. 


Joan Smith is a novelist and columnist. She was previously Chair of the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls Board. Her book Unfortunately, She Was A Nymphomaniac: A New History of Rome’s Imperial Women will be published in November 2024.

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Gerald Arcuri
Gerald Arcuri
1 year ago

The genocide equivalence drawn by Emily Bridges is dispositive evidence that she, like all so-called “trans” individuals, is mentally disturbed. When you are this paranoid, everything looks like oppression, and hyperbole is a justifiable form of self-vindication. Sad.

Score a big win for sanity and British cycling. It’s long past time for reason to come out of the closet.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald Arcuri

You do wonder if it’s time for a special sporting category for athletes with mental disabilities. They’ve done it – in increasingly fine sub-categorisation – for physical disabilities. Emily Bridges might even end up in a category all of her own and be guaranteed a gold medal.
[This is not a serious suggestion !]

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

“Emily Bridges might even end up in a category all of her own and be guaranteed a gold medal.”
*Emily Bridges might even end up in a category all of his own and be guaranteed a gold medal.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

“Emily Bridges might even end up in a category all of her own and be guaranteed a gold medal.”
*Emily Bridges might even end up in a category all of his own and be guaranteed a gold medal.

Michael McElwee
Michael McElwee
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald Arcuri

We might one day be able to transition a man into a woman, but we cannot do that now. All we can do now is make cosmetic alterations. The person still has xy chromosomes and is thus still a man. For a man who longs to be a woman, mere cosmetic alterations are closer to torture than transition. Sex alteration surgery only proves how emphatically male the person still is. Yet, if and when chromosomal alterations become possible, transitioning from a man into a woman will then appear to be what it is, a mere baby step. We could be a praying mantis or a rhinoceros. And if there were any regrets, we could easily be a man again. Reality would at long last be up truly for grabs. The question is: If we gained this power over Nature, would we then at last be happy?

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald Arcuri

“The genocide equivalence drawn by Emily Bridges is dispositive evidence that she, like all so-called “trans” individuals, is mentally disturbed. ”
* The genocide equivalence drawn by Emily Bridges is dispositive evidence that he, like all so-called “trans” individuals, is mentally disturbed. 

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald Arcuri

You do wonder if it’s time for a special sporting category for athletes with mental disabilities. They’ve done it – in increasingly fine sub-categorisation – for physical disabilities. Emily Bridges might even end up in a category all of her own and be guaranteed a gold medal.
[This is not a serious suggestion !]

Michael McElwee
Michael McElwee
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald Arcuri

We might one day be able to transition a man into a woman, but we cannot do that now. All we can do now is make cosmetic alterations. The person still has xy chromosomes and is thus still a man. For a man who longs to be a woman, mere cosmetic alterations are closer to torture than transition. Sex alteration surgery only proves how emphatically male the person still is. Yet, if and when chromosomal alterations become possible, transitioning from a man into a woman will then appear to be what it is, a mere baby step. We could be a praying mantis or a rhinoceros. And if there were any regrets, we could easily be a man again. Reality would at long last be up truly for grabs. The question is: If we gained this power over Nature, would we then at last be happy?

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Gerald Arcuri

“The genocide equivalence drawn by Emily Bridges is dispositive evidence that she, like all so-called “trans” individuals, is mentally disturbed. ”
* The genocide equivalence drawn by Emily Bridges is dispositive evidence that he, like all so-called “trans” individuals, is mentally disturbed. 

Gerald Arcuri
Gerald Arcuri
1 year ago

The genocide equivalence drawn by Emily Bridges is dispositive evidence that she, like all so-called “trans” individuals, is mentally disturbed. When you are this paranoid, everything looks like oppression, and hyperbole is a justifiable form of self-vindication. Sad.

Score a big win for sanity and British cycling. It’s long past time for reason to come out of the closet.

Simon Neale
Simon Neale
1 year ago

No one is preventing Bridges or anyone else from taking part in elite cycling races, as long as they compete in the category compatible with their sex. 

Yes, but then they wouldn’t win, would they?

Peter Johnson
Peter Johnson
1 year ago
Reply to  Simon Neale

And they wouldn’t be ‘stunning and brave’ either. They’d just be an ordinary person doing OK at something. Which clearly is not acceptable.

Peter Johnson
Peter Johnson
1 year ago
Reply to  Simon Neale

And they wouldn’t be ‘stunning and brave’ either. They’d just be an ordinary person doing OK at something. Which clearly is not acceptable.

Simon Neale
Simon Neale
1 year ago

No one is preventing Bridges or anyone else from taking part in elite cycling races, as long as they compete in the category compatible with their sex. 

Yes, but then they wouldn’t win, would they?

Brian Villanueva
Brian Villanueva
1 year ago

You seriously have to read the entire rant. As self-parody, its hilarious…
“British Cycling is a failed organisation, the racing scene is dying under your watch and all you do is take money from petrochemical companies and engage in culture wars. You don’t care about making sport more diverse, you want to make yourself look better and you’re even failing at that. Cycling is still one of the whitest, straightest sports out there, and you couldn’t care less.
I don’t even know if I want to race my bike any more. The danger and everything that would come with racing makes it a pretty hard thing to justify to myself. But you have no right telling me when I am done. This is my decision and mine alone.
I might be speaking strongly at the moment but this is my reality right now. It is literally a fight for survival for me and my family at the moment.”
You telling me a can’t race my bike against women and take away their titles is literally killing me! Oh pleeze.
However, he’s clearly aware of the problem…
“I agree there needs to be a nuanced policy discussion and continue to conduct research, but this hasn’t happened. Research isn’t being viewed critically, or any discussion about the relevance of the data to specific sports. Any discussion is inherently political and driven by bad faith actors. I’ve given my body up to science for the last two years, and this data will be out soon. There is actual, relevant data coming soon and discussions need to be had.”
Sorry “Emily” but sometimes dialogue doesn’t go your way. Why? Because other people exist too and the point of real dialogue is to understand each other.
Sometimes actual research doesn’t confirm your preconceptions. Why? Because the universe doesn’t actually revolve around you and your delusions.

Studio Largo
Studio Largo
1 year ago

Hey ‘Emily’: suck it up, b***h.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Studio Largo

He’s male, so if anything he’s a dog not a b***h.

Studio Largo
Studio Largo
1 year ago
Reply to  Richard Craven

The use of the term ‘b***h’ was intentionally ironic.

Studio Largo
Studio Largo
1 year ago
Reply to  Richard Craven

The use of the term ‘b***h’ was intentionally ironic.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Studio Largo

He’s male, so if anything he’s a dog not a b***h.

Derek Smith
Derek Smith
1 year ago

“ Cycling is still one of the whitest, straightest sports out there, and you couldn’t care less.”

I bet Emily fancies women, which makes him both white and straight.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  Derek Smith

Ah, is Emily a lesbian, then? Or the term should be gynosexual (I think… It is difficult to keep up) as stated in another article I read the other day, i.e. being attracted to someone feminine, disregarding of their sex.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  Derek Smith

Ah, is Emily a lesbian, then? Or the term should be gynosexual (I think… It is difficult to keep up) as stated in another article I read the other day, i.e. being attracted to someone feminine, disregarding of their sex.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago

The funny thing is that – back in the real world – British Cycling has actually been astonishingly successful. Perhaps that’s the problem …

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago

If she doesn’t actually love and enjoy bike racing (she doesn’t seem to), there are plenty of other things she could do instead.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

*If he doesn’t actually love and enjoy bike racing (he doesn’t seem to), there are plenty of other things he could do instead.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter B

*If he doesn’t actually love and enjoy bike racing (he doesn’t seem to), there are plenty of other things he could do instead.

Aldo Maccione
Aldo Maccione
1 year ago

“Any discussion is inherently political and driven by bad faith actors.”
Oh, the irony…

Alphonse Pfarti
Alphonse Pfarti
1 year ago

I love it that apparently British Cycling is on the rocks when Geraint Thomas finished a close second in the Giro d’Italia, before leading out his old mucker Mark Cavendish to an historic sprint victory in Rome. Looks in pretty good shape to me. Don’t see what this petulant toddler would add to it.

Studio Largo
Studio Largo
1 year ago

Hey ‘Emily’: suck it up, b***h.

Derek Smith
Derek Smith
1 year ago

“ Cycling is still one of the whitest, straightest sports out there, and you couldn’t care less.”

I bet Emily fancies women, which makes him both white and straight.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago

The funny thing is that – back in the real world – British Cycling has actually been astonishingly successful. Perhaps that’s the problem …

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago

If she doesn’t actually love and enjoy bike racing (she doesn’t seem to), there are plenty of other things she could do instead.

Aldo Maccione
Aldo Maccione
1 year ago

“Any discussion is inherently political and driven by bad faith actors.”
Oh, the irony…

Alphonse Pfarti
Alphonse Pfarti
1 year ago

I love it that apparently British Cycling is on the rocks when Geraint Thomas finished a close second in the Giro d’Italia, before leading out his old mucker Mark Cavendish to an historic sprint victory in Rome. Looks in pretty good shape to me. Don’t see what this petulant toddler would add to it.

Brian Villanueva
Brian Villanueva
1 year ago

You seriously have to read the entire rant. As self-parody, its hilarious…
“British Cycling is a failed organisation, the racing scene is dying under your watch and all you do is take money from petrochemical companies and engage in culture wars. You don’t care about making sport more diverse, you want to make yourself look better and you’re even failing at that. Cycling is still one of the whitest, straightest sports out there, and you couldn’t care less.
I don’t even know if I want to race my bike any more. The danger and everything that would come with racing makes it a pretty hard thing to justify to myself. But you have no right telling me when I am done. This is my decision and mine alone.
I might be speaking strongly at the moment but this is my reality right now. It is literally a fight for survival for me and my family at the moment.”
You telling me a can’t race my bike against women and take away their titles is literally killing me! Oh pleeze.
However, he’s clearly aware of the problem…
“I agree there needs to be a nuanced policy discussion and continue to conduct research, but this hasn’t happened. Research isn’t being viewed critically, or any discussion about the relevance of the data to specific sports. Any discussion is inherently political and driven by bad faith actors. I’ve given my body up to science for the last two years, and this data will be out soon. There is actual, relevant data coming soon and discussions need to be had.”
Sorry “Emily” but sometimes dialogue doesn’t go your way. Why? Because other people exist too and the point of real dialogue is to understand each other.
Sometimes actual research doesn’t confirm your preconceptions. Why? Because the universe doesn’t actually revolve around you and your delusions.

Xaven Taner
Xaven Taner
1 year ago

Perfect timing coming hot on the heels of Eliza Mondegreen’s piece. Here we have a clear example of the radicalisation she describes happening within this movement. Honestly, the government needs to start taking this seriously and view trans-extremism as a similar threat to the public as Islamic or far-Right extremism. After-all if you think your existence is at stake, how far are you going to be prepared to go to defend yourself? The general public needs to wake up to this rising tide of dangerous lunacy.

Xaven Taner
Xaven Taner
1 year ago

Perfect timing coming hot on the heels of Eliza Mondegreen’s piece. Here we have a clear example of the radicalisation she describes happening within this movement. Honestly, the government needs to start taking this seriously and view trans-extremism as a similar threat to the public as Islamic or far-Right extremism. After-all if you think your existence is at stake, how far are you going to be prepared to go to defend yourself? The general public needs to wake up to this rising tide of dangerous lunacy.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago

Have a read through Bridges’ response. What a silly boy he is. If only his mother had given him a daily dose of “vitamin no” he might have turned out different?

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  N Forster

Hahahaha, I had never heard of Vitamin No. Must give more of it to my kids.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Arkadian X

The brain can’t form fully without it.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Arkadian X

Yes indeed, it made me chuckle too!

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Arkadian X

The brain can’t form fully without it.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Arkadian X

Yes indeed, it made me chuckle too!

Lindsay S
Lindsay S
1 year ago
Reply to  N Forster

Alternatively we can look to Choice theory and say “if you choose to do this then do so, However the consequences are yours and yours alone. You must also remember that as you are only responsible for yourself. . No-one can make you do something against your will, equally you can’t force your will on others.
So fill your boots Emily, live as a women or don’t but we don’t have to accept/believe it or allow you to compete with women. If you choose to top yourself over it, that is your choice. No-one can make you do it.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Lindsay S

Actually, if we repealed the GRA Bridges and many others may well leave the country. That would solve many problems in one go.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Lindsay S

Actually, if we repealed the GRA Bridges and many others may well leave the country. That would solve many problems in one go.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  N Forster

Hahahaha, I had never heard of Vitamin No. Must give more of it to my kids.

Lindsay S
Lindsay S
1 year ago
Reply to  N Forster

Alternatively we can look to Choice theory and say “if you choose to do this then do so, However the consequences are yours and yours alone. You must also remember that as you are only responsible for yourself. . No-one can make you do something against your will, equally you can’t force your will on others.
So fill your boots Emily, live as a women or don’t but we don’t have to accept/believe it or allow you to compete with women. If you choose to top yourself over it, that is your choice. No-one can make you do it.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago

Have a read through Bridges’ response. What a silly boy he is. If only his mother had given him a daily dose of “vitamin no” he might have turned out different?

Oliver Barclay
Oliver Barclay
1 year ago

Now tell me trans isn’t a mental derangement.

Oliver Barclay
Oliver Barclay
1 year ago

Now tell me trans isn’t a mental derangement.

John Murray
John Murray
1 year ago

To be honest, I think the rhetoric used by these activists is not merely signs of a teenage tantrum (although that is certainly an aspect). It is also creating a permission framework for themselves and others to use violence. That’s why you get the rhetoric about “genocide” and “Nazis.” It is preparing their excuses for why they use violence to intimidate and punch women who contradict them.

John Murray
John Murray
1 year ago

To be honest, I think the rhetoric used by these activists is not merely signs of a teenage tantrum (although that is certainly an aspect). It is also creating a permission framework for themselves and others to use violence. That’s why you get the rhetoric about “genocide” and “Nazis.” It is preparing their excuses for why they use violence to intimidate and punch women who contradict them.

R Wright
R Wright
1 year ago

Given that 0-1 trans people were murdered here in the past year (with margin of error) I am always interested to see evidence of this so called trans genocide. Based on figures like that they are safer than the average Canadian white man.

R Wright
R Wright
1 year ago

Given that 0-1 trans people were murdered here in the past year (with margin of error) I am always interested to see evidence of this so called trans genocide. Based on figures like that they are safer than the average Canadian white man.

Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton
1 year ago

I thought Bridges’ blog was actually a South Park sketch. I don’t think I’ve read something as absurdly hyperbolic in my life.

Still, looking forward to the allegations of antisemitism that should arrive shortly…

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew Dalton

His Holocaust hyperbole certainly seems pretty antisemitic.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew Dalton

His Holocaust hyperbole certainly seems pretty antisemitic.

Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton
1 year ago

I thought Bridges’ blog was actually a South Park sketch. I don’t think I’ve read something as absurdly hyperbolic in my life.

Still, looking forward to the allegations of antisemitism that should arrive shortly…

Zak Orn
Zak Orn
1 year ago

Anyone who uses the ‘trans genocide’ rhetoric needs sectioning for their (and our) sake. With that nonsense being casually thrown around it’s only a matter of time before one of them goes on a rampage again as they did in the US recently.

Zak Orn
Zak Orn
1 year ago

Anyone who uses the ‘trans genocide’ rhetoric needs sectioning for their (and our) sake. With that nonsense being casually thrown around it’s only a matter of time before one of them goes on a rampage again as they did in the US recently.

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago

To be competitive at any level of professional sport, one would require a certain level of mental resilience.

Clearly lacking in Emily, this ruling should rather signal it’s time to find another path in life.

Steve Murray
Steve Murray
1 year ago

To be competitive at any level of professional sport, one would require a certain level of mental resilience.

Clearly lacking in Emily, this ruling should rather signal it’s time to find another path in life.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago

Whatever happened to the comments that were here 10 mins ago???

Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton
1 year ago
Reply to  Arkadian X

Mine is no longer in my posting history – they usually stay there even when being moderated.

Xaven Taner
Xaven Taner
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew Dalton

The toxic trans “debate” strikes again! Will we all end up being disappeared?

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew Dalton

Neither of them have reappeared. Goodness only knows why they went.

Xaven Taner
Xaven Taner
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew Dalton

The toxic trans “debate” strikes again! Will we all end up being disappeared?

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  Andrew Dalton

Neither of them have reappeared. Goodness only knows why they went.

Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton
1 year ago
Reply to  Arkadian X

Mine is no longer in my posting history – they usually stay there even when being moderated.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago

Whatever happened to the comments that were here 10 mins ago???

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago

Honestly, the comments made by Bridges don’t deserve the space devoted to the topic here. Comparing herself to someone being shipped to Rwanda is silly and performative.

Alison Wren
Alison Wren
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

*himself

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Alison Wren

Thanks for dealing with this.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago
Reply to  Alison Wren

Thanks for dealing with this.

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

The utter lack of awareness here by Bridges includes the fact that *no one has actually been shipped to Rwanda yet*.

Alison Wren
Alison Wren
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

*himself

Peter B
Peter B
1 year ago
Reply to  Jim Veenbaas

The utter lack of awareness here by Bridges includes the fact that *no one has actually been shipped to Rwanda yet*.

Jim Veenbaas
Jim Veenbaas
1 year ago

Honestly, the comments made by Bridges don’t deserve the space devoted to the topic here. Comparing herself to someone being shipped to Rwanda is silly and performative.

Tom Scott
Tom Scott
1 year ago

What a sad reflection on manhood.

If I pretend to be a woman, hopefully I will gain fame even though I know it is cheating.

Tom Scott
Tom Scott
1 year ago

What a sad reflection on manhood.

If I pretend to be a woman, hopefully I will gain fame even though I know it is cheating.

Justin Clark
Justin Clark
1 year ago

He should not be referred to a trans-woman but a trans-man; a man who wants to transition elsewhere. From the start the language has been intentionally misused – granting an instant and undeserved “woman” status, when clearly not one. It’s a mental unacceptance of reality that has been politicised from the start.

Justin Clark
Justin Clark
1 year ago

He should not be referred to a trans-woman but a trans-man; a man who wants to transition elsewhere. From the start the language has been intentionally misused – granting an instant and undeserved “woman” status, when clearly not one. It’s a mental unacceptance of reality that has been politicised from the start.

Tina Lennon
Tina Lennon
1 year ago

Apparently British cycling have said no men in women’s cycling but they can use women’s changing rooms!!! So are they men or are they women?? I’m confused(not)!! Also letting men/boys take part in amateur cycling will put women/girls off taking part. What’s the point if they always lose!! As far as I’m concerned any men who take part in any female sports are cheats!!

Tina Lennon
Tina Lennon
1 year ago

Apparently British cycling have said no men in women’s cycling but they can use women’s changing rooms!!! So are they men or are they women?? I’m confused(not)!! Also letting men/boys take part in amateur cycling will put women/girls off taking part. What’s the point if they always lose!! As far as I’m concerned any men who take part in any female sports are cheats!!

Tony Price
Tony Price
1 year ago

Before I’m jumped on I agree with the principle of the article but I wish that there was more compassion for those who are afflicted by gender dysphoria.
One line confuses me though; re racing bans (with which I agree) “Some female athletes feel it doesn’t go far enough, because there won’t be protection at non-competitive levels of the sport”. If it’s ‘non-competitive’ then there is no racing, so what exactly is being advocated, that trans women can’t ride a bicycle in the same place as biological women, or at all?

Fiona English
Fiona English
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

In most case there’d be no problem. After all, we spend most of our lives in mixed environments and enjoy each other’s company. But sometimes women want (or need) to be without men around, e.g. a lesbian cycling club or a group of Muslim women, or simply women that sometimes want to be together only with other women. A man who identifies as a transwoman doesn’t loose his male socialisation however much he changes his outward appearance. And as we have seen, some trans-identifying men don’t like to be told ‘no’ and may insist on joining women only groups regardless of whether they’re welcome or not.

Last edited 1 year ago by Fiona English
Shane Wilson
Shane Wilson
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

I think this means that there’s no protection at amateur levels, so that if you play for your local team for example, transwomen can compete with women. All these rulings cover elite and sub-elite sport rather than amateur sport.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

I am not clear what actionable compassion is needed or possible here.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

Compassion for those with gender dysphoria would come in the form of helping them to learn how to cope with a body and a world that does not accord with their perceptions, preferences or wishes.
We also need to have compassion for the majority, who do not suffer from this condition.

Penny Adrian
Penny Adrian
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

My son is a trans man, and of course I want to see more compassion for people who actually suffer from gender (sex) dysphoria. But the people most guilty of destroying that compassion are “trans activists”. Why would Kellie Jay Keen have compassion for people who violently assault her and other women simply for wanting to speak in public? Why would those with loved ones in female prisons have compassion for people who demand that their daughters & sisters be forced to share a prison cell with a male bodied convicted rapist? Why would those who love female athletes have compassion for male bodied people who make a mockery of years of rigorous training by stealing women’s awards & breaking women’s records?
It’s the trans activists who are destroying compassion for trans people and my son (and I suspect most actual trans people who transition to relieve sex dysphoria) are NOT represented by them.
We can and must protect reasonable rights for trans people without denying the reality that female biology is the oldest axis of oppression and must NEVER be erased & replaced in law with the metaphysical concept of Gender ID.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Penny Adrian

It might be an idea for you to delve deeper into what compassion is and isn’t.
Compassion is the wish that I, you and others be free from suffering. But this must be balanced with equanimity, the understanding that everyone does and will suffer, regardless of where they might stand on any oppression matrix.
It is perfectly possible to have compassion for all. Including people who attack women. Those who attack women are suffering. If they were well, they would not attack women.
Being compassionate to those who attack women would involve punishment – a temporary withdrawal of liberty. Prison. And giving them the opportunity to learn how to cope with a world that does not accord with their perceptions, preferences or wishes.
Compassion for those with gender dysphoria would come in the form of helping them to learn how to cope with a body and a world that does not accord with their perceptions, preferences or wishes.
In neither case would it be compassionate to think that it is acceptable to attack those who displease you, or that if you are in the wrong body, that it is the responsibility of others to affirm this.
I’m sorry you’ve gone through this with your child. And I’m also sorry that you feel obliged to go along with their perception. I’m sure it has been no walk in the park for anyone involved.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Penny Adrian

It might be an idea for you to delve deeper into what compassion is and isn’t.
Compassion is the wish that I, you and others be free from suffering. But this must be balanced with equanimity, the understanding that everyone does and will suffer, regardless of where they might stand on any oppression matrix.
It is perfectly possible to have compassion for all. Including people who attack women. Those who attack women are suffering. If they were well, they would not attack women.
Being compassionate to those who attack women would involve punishment – a temporary withdrawal of liberty. Prison. And giving them the opportunity to learn how to cope with a world that does not accord with their perceptions, preferences or wishes.
Compassion for those with gender dysphoria would come in the form of helping them to learn how to cope with a body and a world that does not accord with their perceptions, preferences or wishes.
In neither case would it be compassionate to think that it is acceptable to attack those who displease you, or that if you are in the wrong body, that it is the responsibility of others to affirm this.
I’m sorry you’ve gone through this with your child. And I’m also sorry that you feel obliged to go along with their perception. I’m sure it has been no walk in the park for anyone involved.

Daria Angelova
Daria Angelova
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

Compassion doesn’t mean giving people anything they want.
I have no tears for entitled narcissistic males who insist on barging into female sports, amateur or professional.

Fiona English
Fiona English
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

In most case there’d be no problem. After all, we spend most of our lives in mixed environments and enjoy each other’s company. But sometimes women want (or need) to be without men around, e.g. a lesbian cycling club or a group of Muslim women, or simply women that sometimes want to be together only with other women. A man who identifies as a transwoman doesn’t loose his male socialisation however much he changes his outward appearance. And as we have seen, some trans-identifying men don’t like to be told ‘no’ and may insist on joining women only groups regardless of whether they’re welcome or not.

Last edited 1 year ago by Fiona English
Shane Wilson
Shane Wilson
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

I think this means that there’s no protection at amateur levels, so that if you play for your local team for example, transwomen can compete with women. All these rulings cover elite and sub-elite sport rather than amateur sport.

Arkadian X
Arkadian X
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

I am not clear what actionable compassion is needed or possible here.

N Forster
N Forster
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

Compassion for those with gender dysphoria would come in the form of helping them to learn how to cope with a body and a world that does not accord with their perceptions, preferences or wishes.
We also need to have compassion for the majority, who do not suffer from this condition.

Penny Adrian
Penny Adrian
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

My son is a trans man, and of course I want to see more compassion for people who actually suffer from gender (sex) dysphoria. But the people most guilty of destroying that compassion are “trans activists”. Why would Kellie Jay Keen have compassion for people who violently assault her and other women simply for wanting to speak in public? Why would those with loved ones in female prisons have compassion for people who demand that their daughters & sisters be forced to share a prison cell with a male bodied convicted rapist? Why would those who love female athletes have compassion for male bodied people who make a mockery of years of rigorous training by stealing women’s awards & breaking women’s records?
It’s the trans activists who are destroying compassion for trans people and my son (and I suspect most actual trans people who transition to relieve sex dysphoria) are NOT represented by them.
We can and must protect reasonable rights for trans people without denying the reality that female biology is the oldest axis of oppression and must NEVER be erased & replaced in law with the metaphysical concept of Gender ID.

Daria Angelova
Daria Angelova
1 year ago
Reply to  Tony Price

Compassion doesn’t mean giving people anything they want.
I have no tears for entitled narcissistic males who insist on barging into female sports, amateur or professional.

Tony Price
Tony Price
1 year ago

Before I’m jumped on I agree with the principle of the article but I wish that there was more compassion for those who are afflicted by gender dysphoria.
One line confuses me though; re racing bans (with which I agree) “Some female athletes feel it doesn’t go far enough, because there won’t be protection at non-competitive levels of the sport”. If it’s ‘non-competitive’ then there is no racing, so what exactly is being advocated, that trans women can’t ride a bicycle in the same place as biological women, or at all?

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago

Good article.

Richard Craven
Richard Craven
1 year ago

Good article.

Robert Edwards
Robert Edwards
1 year ago

If Richard Roe said that only transwomen and not biological women should be called ‘women’ we would not know what he intended to assert. Transwomen and transmen are only women and men in a derivative sense. This is not to disparage them. Inspired by Wittgenstein.

Will K
Will K
1 year ago

What should be done about the trans trans people?

Christian Moon
Christian Moon
1 year ago

Women in the UK are murdered at about one third the rate of men, but it’s women you worry about. And then you criticise Bridges for being blinded by his self-obsession.

Alison Wren
Alison Wren
1 year ago
Reply to  Christian Moon

The men are being murdered by other men, mostly. The women are being murdered by men. Which sex is the problematic one in relation to violent (and sexual) crimes??

Christian Moon
Christian Moon
1 year ago
Reply to  Alison Wren

Who is to blame is a different question and a non sequitur on this issue. I was just pointing out that, like Bridges, the author was prioritising her own sectional interest (women) and unable to offer the same sympathy to the group that is actually the bigger victim of murder (men).

Christian Moon
Christian Moon
1 year ago
Reply to  Alison Wren

Who is to blame is a different question and a non sequitur on this issue. I was just pointing out that, like Bridges, the author was prioritising her own sectional interest (women) and unable to offer the same sympathy to the group that is actually the bigger victim of murder (men).

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
1 year ago
Reply to  Christian Moon

Men do in fact murder each other at higher rates, but those statistics tend to come heavily from things like gang activity and engaging in criminal enterprises, while women are most murdered as a result of dating men, marrying men, sex with men and/or getting pregnant, leaving abusive men, rejecting men, or just being seen by particularly predatory men who then decide to target us, many of which are things I’d hazard a guess you actually want women to continue to do.
If you’re genuinely concerned about the appalling rates of men murdering each other (as I am), I’d suggest throwing your support behind efforts to break the cycle of gang recruitment and to keep known violent men behind bars. If instead you’re just annoyed by women objecting to men murdering us and don’t really care about the rate of men murdering men beyond as a tool to try to shut us up about it, then please miss me with this argument.

Alison Wren
Alison Wren
1 year ago
Reply to  Christian Moon

The men are being murdered by other men, mostly. The women are being murdered by men. Which sex is the problematic one in relation to violent (and sexual) crimes??

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
1 year ago
Reply to  Christian Moon

Men do in fact murder each other at higher rates, but those statistics tend to come heavily from things like gang activity and engaging in criminal enterprises, while women are most murdered as a result of dating men, marrying men, sex with men and/or getting pregnant, leaving abusive men, rejecting men, or just being seen by particularly predatory men who then decide to target us, many of which are things I’d hazard a guess you actually want women to continue to do.
If you’re genuinely concerned about the appalling rates of men murdering each other (as I am), I’d suggest throwing your support behind efforts to break the cycle of gang recruitment and to keep known violent men behind bars. If instead you’re just annoyed by women objecting to men murdering us and don’t really care about the rate of men murdering men beyond as a tool to try to shut us up about it, then please miss me with this argument.

Christian Moon
Christian Moon
1 year ago

Women in the UK are murdered at about one third the rate of men, but it’s women you worry about. And then you criticise Bridges for being blinded by his self-obsession.