This is a very engaging read (and accessible, with minimal Googling of specific terms, to non-philosophers).

Well done, @runthinkwrite
Jon rejects a cost-benefit analysis - the oft-repeated ‘balance’ of safety v fairness v inclusion:

‘What amount of ‘fairness’ ought to be sacrificed for what amount of increase in ‘inclusion’?’
Instead, Jon argues that World Rugby (and other ‘combat’ sports) have a special duty to manage risk:

‘[I]t is particularly incumbent on World Rugby to be alert to increased risk, and to oppose any increased risk that is not an ineliminable part of the essence of the game.’
That is, if you regulate a sport that is inherently risky - indeed, as for rugby, where risky play is the very essence of the game - you have an ethical obligation to limit risks.
He draws a nice parallel with World Sailing, who have a special duty not to minimise the risk of one body crashing into another but to minimise the risk of a body falling into water.
Thus, Jon argues that this special duty to minimise risk in rugby acts as a first line filter, and it is only once safety concerns are satisfied can one begin to evaluate fairness and inclusion claims.
He also, importantly, points out the inherent asymmetry of potential harm:

‘[I]f female rugby players have done nothing to deserve the harms of unfairness or the harms of increased risk, then it cannot be reasonable or tolerable to visit those harms upon them.’

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More from @FondOfBeetles

22 Dec
What is absolutely remarkable about the brief is that it is an equally good argument for protecting sports for females. One could almost regurgitate it, replacing just a few words, and submit it in *defence* of HB500.
It appeals to the value - personal, social, academic - of sports participation, the importance thereof for physical and mental well-being.

It’s always worth revisiting the benefits of sport, but HB500 is not to prevent participation. Do they realise this?
They appear to be ignorant of the premise that the wonderful benefits of sports *should be equally available to females*.

In fact, there is a federal law called Title IX to ensure that is the case.
Read 7 tweets
8 Dec
I am delighted to announce that Hilton and Lundberg, 2020 is now published! @TLexercise

‘Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage’

link.springer.com/article/10.100… Image
Anyone wishing to spot changes from our pre-print:

1. We included a section on pre-pubertal differences (that is, even young boys outperform young girls, thus the performance gap is not solely down to pubertal T).
2. We extended our analysis of CV capacity changes and potential impact on endurance performance (although we had acknowledged a likely effect, we have drilled deeper into mechanism).
Read 8 tweets
8 Dec
Here follows my quick first thoughts of Roberts et al., 2020.

I predict this paper will generate much discussion over the coming weeks and months.
The link to the paper is here:

bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/…
The authors studied 46 transwomen (TW) and 29 transmen (TM), majority in active service with the US Air Force.

Highly-active people, albeit not specifically-trained athletes. Mean age 26.6 yrs +/- 5.5 yrs.
Read 30 tweets
7 Dec
@MondayStory The words ‘male’ and ‘female’ have scientific definitions, and describe reproductive biology related to ones role in propagating the species (for almost all complex species on earth).
@MondayStory My husband and I, for example, have qualitatively-different roles and, correspondingly, qualitatively-different reproductive anatomy.

The word to describe my body type is ‘female’. The word to describe his is ‘male’.
@MondayStory Now, if you are going to say that both of us can be described, in some context, as ‘female’, then the word ‘female’ no longer describes my reproductive anatomy or any specific medical needs I have, and it decouples humans from standard nomenclature across evolutionary space/time.
Read 5 tweets
29 Nov
Here is my transcript. Actual details may vary.

#FeministAcademicsTalkBack

On modern day creationism. A thread.
"In the 1920s, in concert with many other American states, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed the Butler Act, making it illegal for state public schools to: “teach any theory that denies the Story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.”
In other words, this law banned schools from teaching the theory of evolution.
Read 57 tweets
27 Nov
Louise, you’re absolutely right.

I rarely involve myself in the extracurricular politics of those I interact with on specific issues.

I believe women’s rights and general freedoms are cross-party.
Miller is, of course, free, within the bounds of law, to associate with whom he wishes. I support, and will continue to support, that right.

But I am also free to denounce those associations. And I do. I am appalled.
There is no place in any of my politics for anyone who gets into bed with Tommy Robinson.
Read 4 tweets

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