The latest Gender Identity Policy from US Rowing is causing some amusement - though not from women rowers.
Athletes over the age of 18, who are not considered a youth or collegiate rower, shall be allowed to participate in a rowing activity in accordance with such athlete’s expressed gender identity irrespective of the sex listed on the athlete’s birth certificate and regardless of whether the athlete has undergone any medical treatment subject to the Eligibility Procedures set forth below.
Starting March 1, 2023, domestic events hosted by USRowing will adopt the following categories for competition. For the sake of clarity, this excludes collegiate events, which are subject to following World Rowing’s policy.
• Women’s Events: Events exclusively for athletes who identify as a woman at the start of the
rowing season and/or those who are assigned as female at birth.
• Men’s Events: Events exclusively for athletes who identify as a man at the start of the rowing
season and/or those who are assigned as male at birth.
• Mixed Events [masters only]: Boat entries in this category must consist of 50% athletes of any
gender and 50% athletes assigned as female at birth.
• Open Gender Event: These events are for athletes of any gender.
Women's events, then, are open to anyone. All you have to do if you're male is say you're a woman and you're in: no medical treatment required.
Mixed events, though: suddenly the rules tighten up. The women here must be, in that infuriating jargon, "assigned as female at birth". That is, actual women.
Why the difference? Clearly because, in the mixed events, male rowers with actual female partners would be at a disadvantage if they were competing against a mixed team with trans women - men who identify as women. And that would never do. That would be unfair!
So they know that men have an advantage over women. Of course they do, everyone knows that. When it comes to women's events, they don't care: it doesn't matter. Let the trans women fill their boots with all the prizes. When it comes to mixed events, where men are involved, it does matter.
The contempt for women athletes could hardly be clearer.
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