Trans Sports: Common Sense Nearly Prevails 

I almost stopped my transition process to female when I heard the news that the World Athletics Council (WAC), headed by Lord Coe, had decided to exclude transgender women (aka men) from women’s sports. I was hopeless at all sports at school and had hatched a cunning plan for success: self-identify as a woman, and turn up at my local running club. Drat that Lord Coe fellow, what does he know about athletics anyway? I had already changed my name from Иванов Петров and self-identified as British, so this was another blow to my ambitions.

Seriously, I was delighted at first when I heard the news about the WAC decision, but there is some small print to be taken into consideration. Lord Coe was interviewed about the possibility of pushback on BBC Radio 4 Today. The interviewer—helpful as ever—gave the example of someone (a man) who had transitioned, had trained hard to participate as a female athlete and who would now be banned. With bated breath I awaited the noble lord’s reply. Would it be any of the phrases running through my mind such as ‘too bad’, ‘who cares’ or simply ‘result!’ Well, not exactly, Lord Coe said that he would invite that person to join the WAC committee considering the matter of transgender athletes to contribute to the discussion and policy making. I won’t list the phrases that then went through my mind. What is there to discuss?

If we want to preserve women’s sports for female athletes then women with Adam’s apples and penises need to be excluded; simple, surely? Then there is the proviso that only males who transitioned after puberty will be excluded. This seems pretty lame and open to abuse. Puberty does not take place at a fixed age, so what if someone claims they went through puberty at 30? It is most unlikely, but who is going to challenge that and how would they do it?

Then we have the ambitious parents whose little Jimmy does not quite pass muster at the 100 metres. Who is going to stop them convincing him he’s really little Jemima in Jimmy’s body, and that he should actually have been a girl? If you think that can’t happen then think again. Consider the wholesale transitioning of pre-pubescent boys and girls that took place recently at The Tavistock clinic, and still proceeds as I write. It is due to close in Spring, but a despicable organisation, Mermaids, gives the advice on their website that:

“In the long term, we’re hopeful that we might finally be seeing the start of the root and branch system change we have long been calling for. Including: services closer to where you live, shorter waiting times because there are more people and services, and more consistency in treatment across the country.”

So that’s alright then; things can only get better. You will be able to transition more quickly and closer to home. It strikes me that someone did not think this through properly. At least we knew where The Tavistock was and what it did. Once it closes, their evil mission will continue unseen and unabated right under some of our noses. The problem that was The Tavistock clinic has not so much been defused as diffused.

But back to my ambitions to be a world-leading sportswoman. There remains plenty of scope for me to dominate women and, in some cases, knock them about a bit. I can row and cycle with impunity. I can also compete as a woman in Ultimate Fighting Championships and what’s not to like about that? Meantime, back in the real world…

Admittedly, all these sports have rules about the participation of transgender women, but why is it even an issue? In fact, it is remarkably simple: if you were born male you do not participate in women’s sports where being male offers you an advantage. No ifs, no buts and no penises. I think that was what Lord Coe was trying to say.

Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He is a columnist with Unity News Network and writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including The Salisbury Review and The European Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. He lives in Kingston upon Hull, UK.