Transgender women banned from women's chess events - BBC News
Transgender women banned from women's chess events - BBC News
The ruling by the International Chess Federation is drawing criticism from some players.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) says it is temporarily banning transgender women from competing in its women's events.
The FIDE said individual cases would require "further analysis" and that a decision could take up to two years.
The move has been criticised by some players and enthusiasts.
Many sports governing bodies have been working on policies towards transgender athletes, but chess does not involve comparable levels of physical activity.
This is a disturbing and insulting decision to both cis-women as well as transgender men and women.
Besides the decision itself, here are some additional "gems" that show its backwardness:
Transgender men who transition after winning women's titles would see those titles "abolished," the federation said, while holding out the possibility of a reinstatement "if the person changes the gender back to a woman."
"If a player has changed the gender from a man into a woman, all the previous titles remain eligible," the federation said.
And, if it wouldn't be so sad, this here would have me roling on the floor. It seems, FIDE has not reached 2023 yet.. (It also sadly shows that even some women are still stuck in the 1950's)
A top global chess official Friday called for more research into whether factors such as hormone levels and physical endurance might have an impact on players' abilities at the male-dominated game. Her comments came after the world chess federation was heavily criticized for its decision to block transgender women from official women's events. (...)
(...)"What is still not clear is if the hormonal levels do influence the competitiveness in chess," Reizniece-Ozola said by video from Latvia's capital, Riga. "There is no serious research or scientific analysis that would prove one or the other way. There are speculations, but no more than that."
One of the reasons why so few women play chess and the reality of what female chess players had and have to fight against:
UK MP Angela Eagle, who was a joint winner of the 1976 British Girls' Under-18 chess championship, said: "There is no physical advantage in chess unless you believe men are inherently more able to play than women - I spent my chess career being told women's brains were smaller than men's and we shouldn't even be playing."
"This ban is ridiculous and offensive to women," she added.
Edit: removed redundancy
Jfc, you'd think that people so deep into a game that is touted as being an intellectual pursuit would be able to use their brain better than that.
I think it's because it's touted that way. Men who are pro-patriarchy or toxically masculine are kind of notoriously prestige selfish and love to narrow the playing field of women because their perceived masculinity is threatened by any notion of equality.
This is why my local game shop holds girls nights for Magic the Gathering. It's not that women are inherently worse at the game, it's because the open play harassment and terrible behaviour drives a lot of women out of the hobby before they have the chance. Trans women are absolutely subject to this same misogyny because they represent to these douches the same threat. They can never be allowed to be proven superior in any fashion because of all the mysoginistic /transphobic beliefs that they are mentally ill and/or weaker because they do not agree being bearded chest pounding ape children is the apex human form. The prize of prestige must be protected from falling into the hands of someone who will "immasculate" them so they rig the fucking game so their precious dick wagging contests never damage their fragile masculinity. To have someone who isn't masculine win is to damage the prestige itself.
Chess champions get treated like geniuses so of course this particular psychosis applies.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691400261X
This study is very interesting, evidently Georgian chess has been historically equal.
Equally interesting study comes to the conclusion: gender differences in chess go back on the overrepresentation of men in chess in general
Article on the research: Why Men Rank Higher than Women at Chess (It's Not Biological)
I don't have access to what seems to be the actual study, but maybe you do: Why are (the best) women so good at chess? Participation rates and gender differences in intellectual domains
I have no clue about chess, but why is there a separation between genders?
From what I’ve gathered it’s about making chess more accessible to women, since a very large majority of chess players are men, which can be uncomfortable. Which makes the ban even more ridiculous.
Okay, but why does it make women uncomfortable? It's chess.
I understand enough about biology that AMAB people typically have more muscle mass, but unless we are talking about chess boxing (personally, I wouldn't step into a ring with any boxer, I would actually be killed), separating divisions by gender as opposed to skill level is stupid at best. Banning trans people is outright bigoted. There is no question. Unless the chess grand masters or whoever had that stupid idea think women are just, what, less strategically minded? Do they think women are more stupid than men? Why ban trans women AND strip them of their awards? Nah, this is bigotry in action.
I'd say this is a textbook example of the Patriarchy at play here. Use of institutions to systemically undermine women's agency.
I just never thought that an international Chess organization would be the one to do it.
Yikes!