New Olympic events.

With regards to trans participating in sport this is the case that seems to be a hot topic at present.

Part of the issue is that WS, IOC and the national qualifying events for the Olympics and Worlds are the only area where sectarianism between genders occurs in our sport.  Everywhere else can someone turn up regardless of their race, creed or identity and participate ... all you have to do is have a boat and turn up.

Originally posted by craiggo Karen, to be honest I don't see too much mockery in this thread, other than that aimed at iGRF which is surely totally acceptable 🤣. What I do see are genuine questions and uncertainties regarding how at a top level of competition we can seperate male and female events in a way that allows fair competition. The cases of elite female athelites with excessive testosterone levels are well documented and have for years been the source of much anger from spectators and competitors alike as it has been viewed as cheating. As more and more people either change gender or identify as a different gender how we manage this in elite level sport will surely become a key question. At the moment the lack of clarity will do nothing other than create division and uncertainty and this in turn will lead to views and humour that are not necessarily agreed by all. At a more grass roots level it doesn't matter or at least not to most.

Difference being is Graeme is pretty happy to be mocked / sent up , and puts himself
Up to it. Whilst all of this is good natured, The acid test is whether another participant feels offended, and in this case, whilst absolutely no offence was intended, it looks like a line has been overstepped, so apologies from myself.
Whilst I don’t agree with blanket political correctness, it is an absolute catch all that ensures that nobody included the most sensitive can be offended. Trouble is that what is jovial friendly “banter” to some is not friendly to others, and it takes a lot of social intelligence to judge the line. This is easy enough amongst friends one knows in person, where Esp blokes will mercilessly rib their good friends for sport over anything they can think of, we perhaps need to be more mindful of how well we know people in an online environment and how comfortable everyone is given that, whilst an Internet forum is a place where people discuss a common interest, not everyone can know each other’s sensitivities.
Brexit and trump are right out!
Dan

Originally posted by iGRF I'm short, I hate being short, been short all my life, nobody cares about my feelings when the dwarf jokes cut in, what is it with Trans folk or Gays for that matter, that they think they can be some special case and nobody should take the piss? And don't start with discrimination, I could give you chapter and verse about short people being discriminated against. Trans could be even described as a lifestyle choice, Short isn't. Nor is Ginger but that's another thread, then there are folk from up North and Jocks and Taffy... FFS What happened to this country and everyone deciding to be offended at the drop of a hat rather than 'get' the joke?

Originally posted by bustinben Originally posted by iGRF I'm short, I hate being short, been short all my life, nobody cares about my feelings when the dwarf jokes cut in, what is it with Trans folk or Gays for that matter, that they think they can be some special case and nobody should take the piss? And don't start with discrimination, I could give you chapter and verse about short people being discriminated against. Trans could be even described as a lifestyle choice, Short isn't. Nor is Ginger but that's another thread, then there are folk from up North and Jocks and Taffy... FFS What happened to this country and everyone deciding to be offended at the drop of a hat rather than 'get' the joke? There isn't a difference, "they're" just more organised.  If there's been more progress in some areas than others, why not try and make progress in the areas with less progress rather than undo the progress in the areas that have had it? Seems a bit more progressive no?

Because it's ridiculous, everybody has some issue or other they're not comfortable about and humour has been the foil with which we've all dealt with it over the years. Nobody seems to remember the sticks and stones adage of the past, in this world of mollycoddling, life is like this, accept it and learn the witty comeback or just roll your eyes upwards. Life really is too short (pardon the pun) to get wound up, other than maybe the obvious crassness that also seems to pervade society and it's lack of knowledge of what actually is funny and what isn't, like the recent Grenfell bonfire incident, maybe they should teach humour in schools.

Edited by iGRF - 07 Nov 18 at 12:33pm