While tennis player Martina Navratilova is being heaped with contumely for stating the obvious, namely that she is fed up with seeing male bodies thriving in women's tennis (the latest case being that of US transwoman Alicia Rowley, you can see her in the centre of the opening photo) adding that 'women's tennis is not for failed males' and that 'it is patriarchy for biological men to insist on the right to compete in the women's category in sport' (La Repubblica speaks with dismay and [...]

A few days ago, we published a report on the competition of Valentina born Fabrizio Petrillo in Ancona, with the reactions of the female athletes beaten by her male body. The female athletes made it clear that, although they respected Petrillo's personal journey, athletically they were not on a par and that they felt discriminated against. The statements made by the female athletes to the Feminist Post were taken up by other newspapers, including Il Giornale (here), and provoked comments from Petrillo, who had [...]

Valentina born Fabrizio Petrillo, born in 1973, turns 50 this year and changes category in national masters athletics competitions. On 11 and 12 March in Ancona, she competed for the first time in the F50 category, i.e. with female athletes aged 50 to 54. And again, with her ultra-masculine body, she easily racked up trophies and records that used to belong to female athletes. But what is it like to see a live ultra-male body competing against female bodies? What are [...]

After the international federations of swimming, cycling and other sports, even the Olympic Committee is backtracking on the 'inclusive' sport of male bodies in women's sports. Francesco Ricci Bitti at the head of ASOIF, the association that brings together the international federations of summer Olympic sports, announced at a recent conference the need to review the current rules on the participation of transgender athletes, especially MtF, men who 'identify as women'. Francesco Ricci Bitti said, "According to the human rights approach [...]

'Valentina' born Fabrizio: new Italian record and convocation to World Para Athletics By now, the victories in the women's category of 'Valentina' born Fabrizio Petrillo hardly make the headlines anymore. Petrillo, a man who identifies himself as a woman, already held the national record in several categories of women's running last year. Recent sporting chronicles report further improvements in his own records. Petrillo took part in the first round of the Fidal Regional Societaries in Forli (14-15 May 2022), where she recorded a new record [...].

Between the Olympics and the DDL Zan last year, sports publications devoted a lot of space to 'inclusive sport' and to Valentina born Fabrizio Petrillo, presented as the 'first transgender athlete to wear the Italian national team jersey in an international competition'. Petrillo, who competes both in Paralympic competitions for the visually impaired and in the masters championships for female athletes over 35 (here is the entry of the athletes beaten by her male body), hoped until the very end to participate in the female category at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The qualification [...]

Ante la proximidad de los Juegos Olímpicos y Paralímpicos de Tokio en julio, los medios de comunicación han empezado a mostrarar imágenes de competiciones de mujeres en las que participan -y casi siempre gan- atletas nacidas como hombres. Gracias a las directrices elaboradas por un grupo exclusivamente masculino del Comité Olímpico Internacional, que establecen como único criterio la autoidentificación con la "identidad de género femenina" y la disminución del nivel de testosterona. Las imágenes de estos cuerpos altos y musculosos, [...]

As the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games approached in July, the media began showing footage of women's competitions in which male-born athletes also participate - and almost always win - thanks to the guidelines drawn up by an all-male group of the International Olympic Committee, which provide for self-identification with "female gender identity" and lowered testosterone levels as the only criteria. The images of these, with a frame that despite the breasts, pink jumpsuits, lipstick and red nail varnish remains [...]

When someone questions the fairness of male-born athletes competing with women, they usually reply that their performance has deteriorated since the 'gender transition'. Apart from the fact that sports competitions are divided by gender according to the sexual difference of men's and women's bodies and not according to performance parameters, is it true that lowered testosterone levels would worsen the results of male athletes who say they 'feel like women'? [...]

As the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games approached in July, the media began showing footage of women's competitions in which male-born athletes also participate - and almost always win - thanks to the guidelines drawn up by an all-male group of the International Olympic Committee, which stipulate self-identification with 'female gender identity' and lowered testosterone levels as the only criteria. The images of these tall, muscular bodies, with a frame that despite the [...]

This business of male athletes 'identifying as women' in order to participate in women's sports and win easily is simply grotesque as well as violent and misogynistic, and could explode in front of a global audience at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics (unless the pandemic forces a further postponement). Given the high stakes, the number of MtF trans-athletes who will be competing in Japan is growing (while it goes without saying that no FtM athlete is pushing for the next Olympics, as they have their skin as well as their face on the line).