BC needs to get out of the Stone Age
In which British Cycling makes a bad decision, yet again
British Cycling (BC) has been busy suckling at the teat of petrochemical giant Shell, but took the time to wipe its oily hole to tell us it will be sweeping trans and nb riders into the men's racing category when it comes to events.
(image by Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
Not only is this policy weird and misguided (who was on this supposed consultation panel anyway?), it affects a significantly microscopic fraction of potential racers (trans people make up .5% of the population). It ends the career of ONE woman, Emily Bridges. Conversely, the effects on humans as a whole will be resoundingly negative, moving us backwards and dividing us even more.
“British Cycling is a failed organisation, the racing scene is dying under your watch and all you do is take money from petrochemical companies and engage in culture wars. You don't care about making sport more diverse, you want to make yourself look better and you're even failing at that. Cycling is still one of the whitest, straightest sports out there, and you couldn't care less.”
- Emily Bridges
Shame, shame, shame on the other pro women cyclists who campaigned against Bridges. They are digging their own graves, ceding power to men yet again, to outsource decisions on what they can and cannot do with their bodies. This entire charade is about controlling women and they are falling for it. Save women’s sport, my ass.
British Cycling's decisions have alienated many people, who have then decided to rescind their membership in protest:
"In response to BC’s withdrawal of their trans policy and ban on transgender athletes in April last year, I’m limited to fixed gear crits and alleycats, and any non-BC events. However, I can purchase a day licence if I really want to compete in track or another BC event (but I won’t cos fuck them). Exclusionary politics do not belong in sports, and I cannot give money to an organisation that supports or implements this. Money talks, as evident in BC's partnership with Shell, and previously HSBC (which I also wasn't happy about) - be wise where you spend it. There are other cycling organisations - Cycling UK is a great one - and you can compete on a day licence. Additionally, there are more events coming out that don't require BC licences, and I hope that this is a growing trend."
-Hayley Whitehorn, LBK mechanic & instructor
Policies like this HURT EVERYONE.
A woman rugby player with alopecia gets the cops called on her when she uses a public toilet, just because she refuses to wear wigs and has the body of a, well, a professional rugby player. She had to flash the cops to prove she belonged there. And now news comes of the Swedish women’s football team having to submit to “sick and humiliating” genital inspections back in 2011 for the world cup.
Deciding what characteristics belong to a certain gender is another means of persecuting minorities, fuelling division, and keeps the power where it always was: with rich white cis-gendered men. Guess who makes up BC & Shell's boards? And while we're at it, who's in charge at the UCI or every single other sports governing body?
These are not isolated, separate incidents. They are a part of a larger movement to divide and conquer in order to maintain control. If you are a woman (or anyone!) who does not conform to conventional stereotypes, your existence as a human being is questioned. It makes me so angry that we are putting up more walls, creating more made-up rules about how to look/act, and introducing invasive laws to police bodies. Requirements to 'verify' gender will only be used to abuse young people. Women and children will be the losers here; it blows my mind that TERFs will die on this hill.
BC's choices in smoke-filled rooms have narrowed the potential pool of the sport, and made people feel unwelcome. Their dangerous precedent will cause damage for years to come. For an organisation that claims to champion cycling, it's become clear that it's only for a certain kind of person.
Oh, it's pride month. Every month is pride month 🙄
You can read my previous rant about Stone Age Cycling here.
Watch Emily Bridge's short documentary here.
There are other more in depth analyses about this decision here:
/rant
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