Transgenderism and the CFC

[Tom O'Donnell]

Does the CFC have a policy on this with respect to playing in the various junior events and women's events? Surely it is only a matter of time before this becomes an issue, hopefully one that doesn't involve a pile of lawyers.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

I have a simple solution. No sexism in chess.

[Ken Craft]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

I presume that the divisions are by sex not gender.

[Dilip Panjwani]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

That would indeed be simple and straight-forward, but the caveat is that we do have to comply with FIDE requirements, and hence I wonder what FIDE's position on this is...

[Tom O'Donnell]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

I guess I should make my question more clear. You have four situations:

1) A person claims they identify as (fe)male but provide no documentation whatsoever.

2) A person gets government certification but does nothing else (e.g. Lauren Southern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGpZSefYvwM )

3) A person takes drugs that affects their performance but no surgery, at least not yet (e.g. Mack Beggs http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_...h-wrestle-boys )

4) A person takes drugs and gets surgery (e.g. Michelle Dumaresq https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Dumaresq), evidently there are at least a couple of other cases in cycling.

What would the CFC rule in these four cases?

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

but the caveat is that we do have to comply with FIDE requirements...

No we don't. Everyone should just play chess together, regardless of whether they are male or female, regardless of what gender they identify with. Let us just all play chess together and stop with the sexism.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

We will comply with federal law, WAPO and FIDE rules and hopefully the three will be consistent. I do expect this to be an issue at some point.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

We will comply with federal law...

Bill C-16 is about to become federal law (it has had second reading in Senate as of March 1). It makes it against the law to discriminate based upon gender identity. Thus, if any person walks into a chess tournament designated for females only, this person MUST be allowed to play if they say they gender identify as female, regardless of what they look like.

In other words, in order to comply with federal law, as Vlad suggests it will, the CFC will have to allow what appear to be men to play in women's only events as long as they, those who want to play, are willing to state that they gender identify as female.

I wish you every success in the world, Vlad, in trying to obey the law. Alternatively, simply end sexism in chess.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

It is a very interesting and topical subject in the human rights field.

The high-profile pioneer in transgender sports competition was Dr. Richard Raskins, in tennis, in the mid-1970s. He was an American surgeon who had been a top-class amateur tennis player in college and the military in the 1950s. Transitioning to female gender as Renee Richards in the 1970s, she played professional tennis as a woman, with some success, amid enormous controversy. She sued the United States Tennis Association for discrimination, and won. She later returned to her professional medical career, as she aged beyond high-level productive athletic performance.

Very well known in the current time is the case of Bruce Jenner, American gold medalist at the Montreal 1976 Olympics in the decathlon. He transitioned to female gender, several decades later, as Caitlyn Jenner, but didn't compete as a woman.

Another current and somewhat related case is that of Caster Semenya, South African middle-distance runner. She won gold in the 800 metres at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, after previous controversy about her gender status as being perhaps 'intergender', born with both natural male and female aspects.

There was also a much earlier case of a 'female' Polish track and field athlete from the 1930s, who won medals, but was later found to have actually been male, with no trangendering having taken place, upon investigation of her death, decades later, in New York. The name escapes me. Perhaps chesstalk readers can supply details.

The multiplicity of possible situations renders this field as problematic from a regulatory standpoint.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

That is interesting, Frank.

There is also a female MMA fighter who used to be male, I believe. This presents obvious concerns.

But the issue with C-16 is different in that a personal declaration is all that will be required to change one's gender. If someones shows up at a chess tournament and tells you they are female, you cannot challenge their assertion.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

Referring to my previous post, the Polish track and field athlete was Stanislawa Walasiewicz, 1911 -- 1980, silver medalist at the Berlin 1936 Olympics in the female 100 metres event. My earlier post was somewhat unclear on this aspect. 'Intersex', with both male and female characteristics, was the situation eventually discovered upon his / her death, by which time she was known as Stella Walsh, in 1980, in New York.

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

...and then there's provincial law too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transg...ghts_in_Canada

[Tom O'Donnell]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

...and then there's provincial law too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transg...ghts_in_Canada

The section with regard to Ontario seems pretty lax as to what is required, at least to me. That's probably how Lauren Southern did it.

[Thomas Bean]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

Bill C-16 is about to become federal law (it has had second reading in Senate as of March 1). It makes it against the law to discriminate based upon gender identity. Thus, if any person walks into a chess tournament designated for females only, this person MUST be allowed to play if they say they gender identify as female, regardless of what they look like.

In other words, in order to comply with federal law, as Vlad suggests it will, the CFC will have to allow what appear to be men to play in women's only events as long as they, those who want to play, are willing to state that they gender identify as female.

I wish you every success in the world, Vlad, in trying to obey the law. Alternatively, simply end sexism in chess.

With respect, I don't believe Bill C-16 if enacted would have any bearing on the running of a chess tournament, unless the tournament were being run by the federal government or a federal department or agency.

Bill C-16 relates to proposed amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act (the CHRA) and to the Criminal Code. While discriminatory practices based on gender identity or expression would become contrary to the CHRA once the bill is enacted, I do not see how the CHRA (unlike arguably the respective provincial human rights legislation) would apply in any way to the running of a chess tournament.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Transgenderism and the CFC

Hi Thomas,

My concern is this. Let us say a person who appears to look like a male walks into a female-only chess tournament, tells the organizer that (s)he gender identifies as female and wants to play. What is the organizer to do?