Lia Thomas: “I want to swim and compete as who I am.”

He’s not pretending to tuck, is he?

He is a disgusting cheat. Not a single thought for the women he is stealing from. I hope he gets Nancy Kerriganed

R2 yeah, somebody needs to kick him in the groin.

[quote]Then compete against other males. Declaring himself a woman does not negate the advantages of male puberty, male musculature and testosterone, which have allowed him to go from 462nd place competing against fellow males to first place competing against women.

It's not even the obvious things like puberty.

Michael Phelps has size 14 feet. Men' in general have size 9 to size 12 feet on average.

The average woman has size 8.5-9 women's show which translated into size 7-8.5 men's shoe.

Michael Phelps essentially has flippers on the end of his legs. When you're talking about hundreds of strokes in a race, having feet that are that much bigger is a HUGE advantage.

She's the Rosie Ruiz of women's swimming!

A man with a personality is a man with a personality.

She look like a man.

If she is a woman, here's a great opportunity for her to stand up for woman's rights.

UPenn will not likely be able to recruit good women athletic talent going forward. The administration clearly doesn't care about women's athletics.

She should be praised by conservative men in this country. She is helping destroy title 9 in a way they could've never imagined.

I hope they put her on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Edition. The actual cover, no special collector's edition, no fold out that can be torn off. I want a 90s era sexy photo shoot, and I want to be there when my father opens it to see his face.

Meanwhile in Florida, Jazz is eating nachos in bed.

Nuthin' like that Y chromosome.

You got that, the world is your oyster.

[quote] Lia Thomas: “I want to swim and compete as who I am.”

Then put on a speedo, and join the men's team.

I'm curious what his parents and brother think of him.

Just like love can lead to suicide and murder and must be kept in bounds, a good value like inclusivity can lead to injustices like this and must also be kept in bounds.

Does she still have a shenis? If she’s post-op, I still think trannies should have their own category. If she has not had the bottom surgery, there is no way she should be allowed to compete against biological females.

Serious, genuine question:

If gender and /or sex are social categories and not biological ones reflecting material reality, why have divisions in men's and women's sports at all? Can anyone in favour of transwomen competing in women's categories answer this for me.

You'll never get a coherent answer, R18. Trans ideology is illogical and nebulous and its practitioners possess delusions that rival those of a schizophrenic.

R17, Thomas has not received the chop, and does not appear to be on HRT. I've seen enough transitioning queens to know the signs.

R18 I've asked that and never received a decent response. It was either, "maybe we should eliminate sexed sports altogether then, even if it means it'll be 99% men", or "they are women, no debates allowed" (pretty much treating sex segregation as a club that was created due to feminity, rather than biology.).

There's plenty of coed opportunities too. They aren't going to be big time, but if it's just about getting to play, they could find teams. Or there's the men's teams, which are open to everyone by default. There's no one barring women from joining, there's just not many women that ever could due to biological limits.

He still has his penis. He walks around the locker rooms nude and the women are complaining about his erections.

You are making that up, R22. He isn’t walking around the women’s locker room with erections.

R22 I haven't heard about Thomas' erections in the locker room, specifically, but there have been many articles that state "Thomas exposed her male genitals". The Orwellian tone of that statement would make any rational person's blood run cold.

I don’t think there’s an easy answer to this dilemma but I found the SI article remarkably dismissive of the concerns of Lia’s teammates and their parents.

He is a he ,will always be a he . No amount of surgery will ever change that fact.

The article and author are getting ratioed on social media. Almost nobody supports this.

The easy answer, R25, is that if you're born a man you'll always be a man and therefore do not belong invading women's sports and stealing their titles and accolades.

lol, they label which one is him in a group picture. like, we can't tell which one is him. and, there is an easy answer to this. He's a male, compete with the males you cheater.

"Her moves have been minutely tracked by the U.K.’s Daily Mail, including once with cruel detail about her habits in the women’s locker room provided by an anonymous teammate."

A heterosexual male exposes his genitals repeatedly in a women's locker room, and HE'S the victim of the CRUEL woman who reports the crime / Title IX violation? I feel like I'm losing my mind over this shit. May this ludicrously slanted article peak trans every last man, woman, and child in America.

The women swimmers and their families are under a gag order to not talk about this issue, but Thomas gets an interview in Sports Illustrated. Anyone with a shred of fairness and decency should be able to see right through this absurd charade.

Life in general is not fair. Example - some people, for whatever reason, feel they are the opposite gender of the body they were born in. It's a real bitch for those in that boat.

That does not make it ok to render sports competition unfair for everyone else who is NOT in that boat.

And I just can't fathom how you could feel ok with competing and winning like this when you know you have an unfair advantage. She (yes, I will call her that), is taking advantage, and I can't respect her for that reason.

Man over. Man over.

[quote]She (yes, I will call her that)

Why? Anyone can just opt into or out of the opposite sex? What is sex? What is a man, a woman?

Be specific. Support your answer.

Women have been invading men’s spaces for decades, I’m not sure why I sure I should care about this.

Competitive categories that existed to separate competition between two different biological groups, men and women, are being replaced with categories based on feelings. This ultimately means these gender based categories shouldn't exist at all. It's now all against all and women will never again win any sports where physique is an advantage.

Absolutely right r36, but feminists spent years denying men and women are different and this is what it leads to.

R35 You mean like the ranks of doctors, lawyers, corporate boards, law enforcement, government and such?

No wonder Putin and Jinping laugh at the West.

There is no dilemma r25. Thomas should compete in the races that matches with his anatomy, i.e. the men's races.

Feminists never denied that men and women have different bodies and that we're the same biological group, r37. Feminists have spent years talking about women's bodies.

No r35, I mean the Boy Scouts, the gay scene, Mens changing rooms and toilets

Lia is trying to be a CIS woman. But Lia is a trans woman, not a cis woman.

There is only one kind of woman, R42, and “Lia” isn’t one.

I watched an interview with Lia and wanted to punch her in the face. She is totally a man but has long hair and demands to be called a woman. She has tiresome femmy mannerisms. Her affect is all off and her speech is strange and hesitant, but there is something psychopathic about a man who pretends to be a woman in order to win awards. She is totally self-absorbed and doesn’t give a rat fuck about anyone else in the sport. I think it is entirely possible that Lia became “a woman” solely to win swimming contests.

R44, she's like a real-life Tootsie.

Tootsie started dressing like a woman to get acting jobs.

Maybe Lia is dressing like a female to win swimming awards.

The biggest difference was that Tootsie at least tried to look like a woman.

R44 Yeah, "She".

I’ve seen multiple posts references a “gag order” Lia’s teammates and her parents are under. I find this extremely hard to believe. What authority wouldn’t the school have to impose a gag order? They might have asked them not to say anything, but they can’t enforce that. Is it just one poster repeatedly claiming this?

Lia competing against women is obviously wrong. The situation doesn’t need to be embellished with false claims of erections in locker rooms or gag orders.

[quote] “I want to swim and compete as who I am.”

As who you are? You're a man. Go swim/compete with men.

[quote]Lia is trying to be a CIS woman. But Lia is a trans woman, not a cis woman.

R42 "Cis woman", "trans/transwoman", "transgender woman", "biological woman" are all political inventions. There are only women.

[quote]I’ve seen multiple posts references a “gag order” Lia’s teammates and her parents are under. I find this extremely hard to believe. What authority wouldn’t the school have to impose a gag order? They might have asked them not to say anything, but they can’t enforce that. Is it just one poster repeatedly claiming this? Lia competing against women is obviously wrong. The situation doesn’t need to be embellished with false claims of erections in locker rooms or gag orders.

I find it plausible that the college would tell the female swimmers that criticising their teammate would result in their expulsion from the swimming team and the university. That would be relatively easy to enforce, but although wouldn't work on the families, but the threat of their daughters education and future competition prospects being ruined would be a good incentive.

At some point, who will be left for her to compete with? Won’t it be boring for Lia once she trounces every other woman in every single competition? What’s next? What’s the end game?

At least Lia isn’t as widely hated as her distant cousin Clarence and his awful wife Virginia.

[quote] At some point, who will be left for her to compete with? Won’t it be boring for Lia once she trounces every other woman in every single competition? What’s next? What’s the end game?

The Olympics, obviously.

The Independent (which doesn't allow links to this site) has run an article by a recently transitioned journalist Io Dodds (formerly Laurence Dodds) who does not specialise in sports or science, but explains why Lia has no advantage over female swimmers.

What the women swimmers should have done the nanosecond Thomas was allowed to compete is simply refuse to compete with him. Boycott/shut down women's swimming competition until Thomas is removed with a very simple "Thomas is a man and I'm not in competition to compete with men".

[quote[ recently transitioned journalist Io Dodds (formerly Laurence Dodds) who does not specialise in sports or science, but explains why Lia has no advantage over female swimmers.

Agenda journalism at its most deplorable.

R50, depending on the form “criticizing” an individual student took, the university MIGHT have the authority to expel. But they would be on shaky ground and probably setting themselves up for quite a battle. And I’m not buying that they could expel a student for saying,” Hey, I don’t think this is a fair policy.”

Has any mention of a gag order been reported in any credible source?

Io Dodds aka Laurence Dodds gave a TED talk on how trolls are corrupting public thought...

the MONUMENTAL amount of selfishness, self absorption, narcissism of someone like him is beyond words....

Seriously, fuck everyone, and everyone else including my fellow "competitors" as long as I get to do what little ole me wants to and win win win, that's all that matters! My personal feelings is equal, one of me, is equal, if not GREATER than everyone else's feelings combined!...

beyond shameful, and shit like this is why dems will have a hard time at the polls, because right wing will hammer, hammer, hammer this ridiculousness to any and all who will listen and this man and yes, it's a man, doesn't care about this either!....

He's so disgusting.

I just want to ride....

[quote] TED talk on how trolls are corrupting public thought

R58 I can't image anyone over 12 years of age listening to, let alone giving credence to, someone who uses the word "troll" in adult public discourse.

Would like to hear Dr. Renee Richards comment on this!

She herself admitted that looking back she would NOT have played against women, and that if she had been younger instead of in her 40s she would indeed have been number #1 ...

and she DID DO THE FULL ON chop it off, female hormones and everything possible route as well!..

[quote] because right wing will hammer, hammer, hammer this ridiculousness to any and all who will listen

As they should. "Progressives"/Liberals/Dems dug their own grave deeply with this social blunder/nightmare.

[quote] and this man and yes, it's a man, doesn't care about this either!....

By using the qualifier "yes, it's a man", you reinforce men in dresses rhetoric. "And this man doesn't care about this either" well makes your point.

I'm so disappointed by Ketanji Brown Jackson, the SCOTUS candidate that will not even say what a woman is and defers instead. And gets lauded for it by the WaPo, because apparently, avoidance on key issues, silence and compliance is now what in fact defines womanhood. The whole show is proof that even insanely educated, clever people can get sucked up in a ... I don't even know how to call it at this point. Farce? Cult? Take-over? And we're expected to smile through it. Hooray Lia Thomas! So brave. Fuck this.

Jackson simply reiterated that she's unsuitable for the job because she can't separate politics from law. Or as a poster wisely posted on the Ketanji Brown Jackson thread: "She doesn't answer because she doesn't want the trans backlash. Cowardess."

[quote]“I want to swim and compete as who I am.”

No, Lea, actually you don’t.

Rather than swim and compete as who you are, you swim and compete as someone you pretend to be.

And you should absolutely be able to —

with other athletes who swim as who they pretend to be rather than who they actually are.

It’s like me saying I identify as a 12 year old, entering a boxing tournament for 12 year olds, beating the shit out of all the competition and then celebrating my accomplishment.

[quote] It’s like me saying I identify as a 12 year old, entering a boxing tournament for 12 year olds, beating the shit out of all the competition and then celebrating my accomplishment.

Haha, someone already compared Lia Thomas to Kramer from Seinfeld beating some children at karate.

Here you go...

And instead of being prosecuted for assaulting a child, you're celebrated and rewarded.

You’re STUNNING and BRAVE in the face of LITERAL VIOLENCE!!

I would join the women's swim team, just to see wilLIAm's dick!

She does have BDF.

[quote]She does have BDF.

Big Douche Face?

Oh good! He’s going to be competing as a man then.

R68 you forgot to add that if you aren't allowed to do that you will become suicidal.

I’m really torn about this issue. As a gay man, the changes in attitudes have been a huge life-changing benefits so I want trans people to have the same acceptance. I worry, though, that straight female athletes can’t compete fairly with a trans athlete. Trans athletes make up 1% of college and high school athletes. Do they have an outsize influence?

[quote]Trans athletes make up 1% of college and high school athletes. Do they have an outsize influence?

You're being disingenuous.

R2: "yeah, somebody needs to kick him in the groin."

You called?

An unfortunate looking trans woman has written an article complaining that no one ever cares about women's sport until a trans woman comes along and beats them.

The writer's bio made me laugh

[quote]Aoife Martin is a trans woman and activist. In her spare time, she likes reading, going to the cinema and practising card tricks.

[quote]Aoife Martin is a trans woman and activist. In her spare time, she likes reading, going to the cinema and practising card tricks.

Card tricks indeed.

Detroit News:

Jacques: The transgender movement is undoing what Title IX did for women

Today marks the last day of Women’s History Month, which is purportedly devoted to highlighting women’s achievements and contributions. Yet women are increasingly getting edged out of competitions and opportunities by women who started out as men.

(Of course, trans had to pick today to be Trans Day of Visibility. They seem to have a lot of days already throughout the year.)

Why aren't feminists screaming to the heavens about the "penised person" who claims to be a woman? These trannies are robbing female athletes of all the gains from Title 9.

[quote] Lia Thomas: “I want to swim and compete as who I am.”

I agree.

Go compete with the other men with dicks.

R83, what good would screaming do if men refused to listen? The whole point of Lia Thomas that men control things and women shouldn’t forget that.

I guess I don't really care but my view has been what the article above stated. People don't and didn't give two shits about women's sports. They are always underfunded and largely ignored unless its gymnastics or cheerleading. And even then most people see women athletes as less than feminine if not dykes. And as far as fairness goes. What about poor girls vs wealthy. Lower income kids back ely get to compete let alone the kind of training and support wealthy kids get.

And fuck all the hateful legislation. I'm not sure trans should or shouldn't compete with other women but then offer solutions rather than just shutting them out.

why aren't these women boycotting those meets.. he can't compete and can't "WIN" if he's the only swimmer right?

[quote] And fuck all the hateful legislation. I'm not sure trans should or shouldn't compete with other women but then offer solutions rather than just shutting them out.

They’re being shut out? Where? Seems to be that if a trans woman wants to compete against bio women nothing will stop that from happening at all.

Transwomen like Thomas are not being "shut out" of competitions with women (no need for the "other") - they can compete in their biological sex category, just like almost all the transmen choose to do.

Imagine being a 20-year-old female swimmer at an Ivy League university from which you'd probably be thrown out if you implied that transwomen are not 100% women, r88. These swimmers are also on scholarships and are thus obliged to compete. They can't simply refuse to turn up - it would fuck their lives up. That's the situation that letting this heterosexual man compete with women has put the actual women in - not only are they forced to put up with losing to him, but they are also forced to share a changing room with him, and he still has his dick and is attracted to women. If they disagree, then they lose their scholarships and get a black mark on their educational record.

R86 why make enemies of female athletes and their family/friends? Why not leave them alone? Many of them are probably not conservatives.

[quote]Why aren't feminists screaming to the heavens about the "penised person" who claims to be a woman? These trannies are robbing female athletes of all the gains from Title 9.

Women are talking about it. Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies has been speaking about it for several years, in a calm, reasoned and authoritative way. Martina and Chris Evert have spoken out about it. A British tv show had a trans campaigner on this week who lied about Lia Thomas and said she was "only" 5'8 tall, and that Sharron Davies had an advantage over Thomas because Davies is 5'10.

In the last few days a lot British track and field athletes have spoken out about Emily Bridges competing against female cyclists. The female cyclists have been told not to speak publicly about it.

Last week a female organisation called A Women's Place had a conference in Manchester to discuss prisons, sports, female genital mutilation. A protest was organised with blue hair brigades screaming FUCK TERFS outside.

[quote]I guess I don't really care but my view has been what the article above stated. People don't and didn't give two shits about women's sports. They are always underfunded and largely ignored unless its gymnastics or cheerleading. And even then most people see women athletes as less than feminine if not dykes. And as far as fairness goes. What about poor girls vs wealthy. Lower income kids back ely get to compete let alone the kind of training and support wealthy kids get. And fuck all the hateful legislation. I'm not sure trans should or shouldn't compete with other women but then offer solutions rather than just shutting them out.

This is the most bullshit comment I've read and shows the writer's prejudice.

Unlike acting, fashion design. law, journalism etc, you can't fake being good at sport. You can't get ahead based on who you know or how much money your parents have.

There are race/class issues around some sports, especially those that require expensive equipment like cycling and rowing where location is also important, and sports where there are no visible role models for black kids to follow.

But for sports like athletics and football, if you have natural talent you will be encouraged and supported, because there is money there to invest in young people. Just because you don't know the names of the women competing on the world stage doesn't mean there' not there.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R86, they already can compete in the men's division, which has never barred women from competing, if they can be competitive. Which they usually cannot, thus, Title XI.

excuse me, IX

R94, officially the Ivies do not admit students for their sports teams. Unofficially, it's a different matter; they do, in fact, recruit students with the "understanding" that they will participate on sports. College sports matter very much in funding raising.

R97, Ivies don’t unofficially recruit. They recruit. They just don’t give scholarships (although in the past the financial aid packages were often a little more generous for recruiter athletes, no idea if that is still true). I don’t understand your point.

- R94

R94, it doesn't have to be a strictly sports scholarship it can be any scholarship that's at risk, or future applications for any kind of scholarship. The women that Thomas competes against from other universities may be on scholarships, sports or otherwise. And the backlash for speaking out against Thomas and other biological men in women's sports is huge for the young female students - and I don't mean only a financial backlash. The entire environment of university campuses today makes it impossible to say anything against these policies with risking a vicious cancellation.

I didn't say anything about erections, but one of the anonymous complaints from an actual teammate of Thomas's specifically mentioned that he is still attracted to women and they have to share the changing room with him. It doesn't need to be spelled out why that makes the female swimmers feel uncomfortable. He doesn't need to be walking around with an erection for his very male presence in just a swim suit to make the women feel unsafe. Fuck you for not even understanding what it means for women to be forced to share spaces such as changing rooms with men.

I agree about the potential social backlash and negative attention. I can see why the swimmers are hesitant to act. I generally disagree about the threat to scholarships. Depending on HOW the complaining student expressed her view then, yes, future scholarships or admission applications could conceivably be affected. But the risk is fairly low if you are talking about business school or med school and I’m willing to bet that most of the swimmers are pretty practically minded and are not looking for admission to grad schools to study in fields where politics and political correctness are likely to come into play. Law school, yeah, maybe.

But a student who expresses the opinion that Lia should not be allowed to compete against women is not going to lose an academic scholarship. Provided she doesn’t attack Lia personally or otherwise express the opinion inappropriately.

[quote]"I want to swim and compete as who I am"

Wants aren't needs. Sports are segregated on the basis of biological sex (an objectively verifiable characteristic), not on personal feelings of "who I am".

Sadly, the only recourse for female athletes is to boycott and sue. And even more sadly, the wokerati, progressives, deluded Gen Z and the Dems are betraying women's rights.

Their best bet is not to boycott--to swim their best--and then sue to have his name struck from the results.

Neither Lia or Emily care about competing - all they care about is winning.

When are we going to hear from a former romantic partner? And see nudes from the locker room?

Female athletes need to ask their sports authorities and/or university administrations the following:

Are there transwomen in sports who were winning in men's events before transitioning to compete as women? What's the rate of success of transwomen in women's events as compared to their prior success (or lack of) of in men's events?

Ask the same about transmen in sports.

It’s interesting to think about trans women winning college grants from women’s organizations like Job’s Daughters, DAR, the Junior League and Hadassah.

The aristocrat British journalist Emily Sheffield thinks it's unfair Lia is unable to live her truth and compete as her authentic self.

[quote]A photograph of Thomas on the top step of the podium made her appear imposingly tall with three other competitors posing below, as if cowering. The Olympic silver medallist Erica Sullivan tried to explain that the image distorted the truth, that she warmly congratulated Lia in other photographs. That didn’t stop this one going viral. How many people had their views shaped by that single image?

[quote]In international rugby, trans women are banned on safety grounds, even though there aren’t any competing at international level. Both in swimming and now in cycling, regulators are looking to tighten the rules against trans participation further, requiring three years of testosterone suppression.

There really is a LIA PHOTO TRUTHER theory that if people didn't see Lia on the podium and the three girls hugging then they'd be happy with males competing against females and winning races. One trans woman appeared on British tv claiming the photo made it look like Lia Thomas was 6ft 2 when she's only 5 ft 8.

And as for rugby, there are constant stories about the need to protect male players for concussion in what is a very physical contact sport. A young woman died this week in the UK as a result of an injury sustained in a rugby match.

R80, I didn't know Hide the Sausage was a card trick. 😳

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Lia is very lanky. So she will photograph tall. The idea that photographers are angling their lens to make her look bigger is too fucking dumb to take seriously. That’s what the writer above was implying? I can’t even tell.

Nancy Kerrigan looked like she was 5’ 10 on television because of her long limbs. She’s 5’4” I’m just using her as an example because I was so surprised when I read her real height back in the day.

Lia Thomas’s actual height is 6’1”.

"It’s interesting to think about trans women winning college grants from women’s organizations like Job’s Daughters, DAR, the Junior League and Hadassah."

...if by "interesting" you mean "horrifying".

[quote]There really is a LIA PHOTO TRUTHER theory that if people didn't see Lia on the podium and the three girls hugging then they'd be happy with males competing against females and winning races. One trans woman appeared on British tv claiming the photo made it look like Lia Thomas was 6ft 2 when she's only 5 ft 8.

This is the interview with the trans campaigner who claims Lia Thomas is 5'8 and that the infamous photo was faked. When questioned she pulls back and says the photo is being used out of context.

Such a shame that her voice doesn't match her feminine appearance.

It's interesting that they feel the need to lie about Thomas's height. After all, there are some women who are 6ft1.

R114, it’s very rare for women to be that tall, though. It’s highly unlikely that Lia has ever faced a competitor who was anywhere near that height.

[quote][R114], it’s very rare for women to be that tall, though. It’s highly unlikely that Lia has ever faced a competitor who was anywhere near that height.

It's rare for women to be 6ft tall, it's not rare for competitive female swimmers to be 6ft tall.

And it's certainly common for male swimmers for be 6ft.

In the run up to the 2012 Olympics there was a programme looking for young British athletes over a certain height to encourage them to participate in rowing, handball and volleyball. Helen Glover was just under 6ft and was picked for rowing, and went on to win a gold medal.

Someone did an analysis of average Olympic finalists and the average for women is 5ft9, average for men is 6ft2.

WTAF?!!! Duper's delight smirk.

Lia doesn’t give a single fuck about female athletes, so I have no fucks for her.

Then compete with other transgender women. That what you are, and it's not the same as a natal woman, otherwise you wouldn't require medical treatments to transition.

I'm sorry you don't get what you want exactly the way you want it. As my father says, life isn't fair, and it isn't a carnival either.

R120... well said true...

[quote] I want to swim and compete as who I am.

Fine then, compete as a man.

I hate the name Lia.

It's short for Liar, r123.

Titania McGrath weighs in:

Lia Thomas has been nominated for Woman of the Year! 👏👏👊

If all women were more like Lia, the patriarchy would be finished.