Today we've been on @BBCNews calling out the unfairness of allowing male people who identify as women to compete in the female category at the Olympics /1
This morning @BBCWomansHour had transwoman Joanna Harper on to talk about the science behind whether its fair for male-born trans athletes to compete in female category. You can list to a clip of the show here /1
@BBCWomansHour Tl:dr from JH = "Paucity of data" and "Transwomen retain muscle strength and are stronger that ciswomen"
@Emmabarnett "So when the IOC made this decision they are basing it on nothing then?" "Can it be deemed correct if it's not based on evidence?" /2
@BBCWomansHour@Emmabarnett JH "The Olympics take place every 4 years and they needed to make rule on transgender athletes - so they needed to do something - we had 25 people meet in 2015 and we reached a consensus that this was the best way forward"
EB: "But based on what if you haven't got any data?" /3
We were back on @GBNEWS this morning talking about trans athlete Laurel Hubbard qualifying for the Olympics. This time alongside Joanna Harper; the transwoman who advised the IOC to open up the female sport category. Here are some clips /1
@GBNEWS How come some types of trainers get banned on the grounds of fairness in sport but 20 years developing on testosterone does not? /2
"If anyone's watching this and doesn't think it's unfair probably doesn't think women's sport is very important" /3
@GBNEWS Simon McCoy "She's not male"..... "We need to have a serious discussion about this".
The only way to have a "serious discussion" is to be clear about someone's sex & the impact of male advantage in sport. We can't talk about sex in sport if we aren't allowed to mention sex! /2
"We have a 43 year old person who broke their arm making it to the Olympics. That alone should ring alarm bells" /3
On Friday @fairplaywomen made a formal request to the EHRC to initiate an investigation into the Royal Academy for a potential breach of the Equality Act. You can read our letter here /3
SHOUT OUT FOR @mbmpolicy.
They are crowdfunding to continue the vital work they do to ensure women and girls are not forgotten in good policy making. Please support them if you can. Here's why.... /1
They are based in Edinburgh but their good work matters to everyone across the UK. @mbmpolicy played an crucial role in our high court win against the Census this year. /2
Behind the scenes, @mbmpolicy shared their extensive knowledge on census matters with us, prepared briefing papers and submitted evidence to court. They were an invaluable part of the winning team that stopped the ONS against all the odds /3 murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/scotlands-2021…