I have played women's hockey for 30 years. I have played in the women's top grade for my state. I now play in the women's 3rd grade social league. I have played socially in mixed teams with consent. Yesterday was the first time I have played against a male person without consent. The inclusion of a young man in the women's competition changed the dynamic of the game and of our own feelings as women, our rights to assume we are participating in a fair and safe competition. It is not just nor fair to include men in women's sport on the basis of an identity claim.
We did not consent to this. We did not consent to the female competition being reorganised by 'identity', we did not consent to the replacement of our sex with a boy or man's feelings about himself. We have no recourse for a formal complaint about discrimination on the basis of our sex. A complaint must be endorsed by the President of the Club. A club, built from a grassroots movement of local players, a club susceptible to financial constraints, will not put their reputation and that of the hundreds of their players at risk to do this. Ironically this club was established decades ago by lesbians who created their own club to participate in a strong and dedicated women's competition. It has grown since then to become a mainstream and popular local club. There is no anti discrimination legislation to support ordinary girls and women in their day to day lives and participation in spaces and sport assumed to be single sex. Womens right to fair, safe and single sex sport is apparently discrimination against men who identify as women. Inappropriate legislation, the risk of physical and reputational harm are all ways to disadvantage and marginalise women. Women face systemic barriers to achieving fairness, equality and justice because of our sex. Men in women's sport is sex discrimination yet we have no recourse in this culture to be supported to argue a sex discrimination case against us. This is my record of systemic failures to support girls and women in society. We did not consent. Thank you for setting up this website so there is a record of these injustices. #SingleSexsports
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