by A pro-female athletes’ organization revealed that women in the UK are dropping out of recreational sports because they have been forced to compete against biological men who consider themselves “transgender women”.
Fair Play for Women, a group that advocates for female athletes not having to compete against men who identify as women, claims that trans competition has already forced many women to give up athletics altogether.
There is a big focus on elite sport, but trans inclusion policies impact every woman or girl who plays sports. Fairness and safety are also important at grassroots level /1https://t.co/PPV8houPu8
— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) April 3, 2022
The UK-based Fair Play for Women, according to a report in the Daily Mailwho said that the growing controversy over transgender women competing against women in elite sport is trickling down to amateur sport:
Fiona McAnena, director of sports campaigns at FPFW, who has campaigned to ensure women’s sports remain single-sex, warned: “If you think this is a very small issue, think again.”
“This problem is affecting women’s sport across the UK and unfortunately it is driving some women to drop out altogether,” said McAnena.
“Especially for teenage girls, just knowing there’s a trans woman in their club can be enough to put them off leaving for fear of an embarrassing encounter in the locker room or the bathroom,” she added.
A dossier compiled by FPFW includes the testimony of a London amateur league ice hockey player who walked off the field when assigned the task of tagging a transgender opponent.
“The person was 6 feet 4 inches tall and had an Adam’s apple,” the woman said. “Every time I went to the ball, the transgender woman was much faster, and after a few minutes I just fled.
“I was in tears,” said the hockey player. “I came to play against a female opponent and there was a man on the pitch. I just felt the sense of fairness wasn’t there.”
A parent and cricket coach from southern England told FPFW he was concerned about the safety of girls, one of whom was as young as 12 and was asked to play against a team featuring a trans woman.
“As a father to these girls (aged 14 and 16), I find this unacceptable, uncomfortable and dangerous, both morally and physically,” said the father and coach.
the post Office quoted cyclist Bo Novak as saying she stopped participating in the women-only road bike tours when a transgender woman joined.
“It was advertised as a recreational ride for women in small groups led by a woman,” Novak said. “But a person with a male body led the group, not just participated. He was a lot stronger than the rest of us and was going too fast.”
The woman complained, but after her concerns were ignored, she dropped out, according to the post Office.
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