This has mostly been reported as "trans women banned from women's chess" but it's much more sinister. (as if it weren't already.)
ALL trans people are targeted by this ruling. Trans men will be stripped of all chess titles won, which can only be returned to them by “changing the gender back to a woman” (from the ICF’s ruling). ALL transgender chess players will be marked as trans in their files.
If you play or know anyone who does take a stand on this. It's ugly.
This news has caused some people to ask why "women's chess" even exists -- women can compete in the open tournament. The women's competitions were a recognition of just how far behind chess is when it comes to cultivating and welcoming female players.
Not that shocking they are even more far behind when it comes to even knowing what that would mean. (eg not excluding trans women.)
But all this misses the bigger point. They don't want any trans people at all in their games.
@futurebird FIDE does not have a good track of anything.
It's time to ban the chess from our mind.
@futurebird Well, the only reason for segregating different player groups, in this case by sex/gender, is to protect the weaker one. With chess being a purely intellectual thing, this means that FIDE is of the opinion that sex makes a significant difference, intellectually.
In my opinion, this is a real double whammy: You see at first look that it's anti-trans, but on closer inspection it's also one of the most extremely anti-women things I've seen in recent times... Infuriating to the max.
@zappes my understanding is that, in this case, it's less "women aren't as smart as men" and more "women aren't playing chess in our leagues, so let's make a space to encourage them to do so"
But the road to good intentions etc
@futurebird I think it's not a coincidence that Saudi Arabia got a seat on FIDE last year, after spending a lot of money. They were "so generous" to allow women to play in religious clothing, even if not muslim.
I doubt women or gay participation in any FIDE chess tournament will be allowed soon.
That could work.
I think there are some obvious reasons why thats true.
My brother was pretty good at chess and won some trophies on the school team so I tried to join. (he told me when he joined he didn't even know how to play.)
This ended up being one of the most explicit experiences with sexism in my life! The first time I showed up they pretended I was in the wrong place. "This isn't the chess club it's the Anime club."
I told the advisor who now resented me for making him come to the meetings. 1/
So, now they couldn't get me to leave by lying ... no one would play against me since "you don't have a rating its a wast of time"
I managed to get a few games out of the advisor (who clearly wanted to be grading papers) unlike my brother I came to the club already knowing the game.
On the third meeting they relented and they had what I learned later was their best player go against me. Of course I lost very quickly and badly!
"You see there's no point in your being here."
2/
Looking back I can recognize that I was "ruining" their club in a way they couldn't articulate. Because not everyone there was already skilled and with time... I probably would have beat one of the weaker players-- and this just couldn't be allowed to happen.
That's how I read it.
I remember calling my brother at college and asking "did the chess club haze you or anything?" and he was so confused.
I tried out for the fall play and when I got cast I forgot all about those guys. 3/
Well, mostly forgot about them. They were the "hardcore STEM crew" so I kept popping up wherever they did.
I remember riding with one of their dads down to the state science fair finals. Seeing them at math competitions.
I think if they didn't have some kind of masculinity fear complex we could have been really great friends.
OH WELL sucks for them.
4/4
@futurebird Even though it’s the same system that oppressed them. Instead of making them empathetic, it turned them into soldiers who will fight for the system that made them miserable as children in an attempt to cling to the only sense of self-worth they have.
It’s kind of sad, but also infuriating, given how transparent it is. Like, men will do anything to avoid going to therapy, and by “anything” I mean perpetrating the same abuse they received onto others…3/
@futurebird … in hopes of scoring points in the toxic masculinity game.
And no, just because you understand why someone is a bully doesn’t make them not a bully. This is awful behavior. Much comfort to those targeted by these bullies!!
@futurebird
Chess wasn't much of an draw for me, but most other science or speculative-fiction adjacent hobbies were.
I've heard women recount this sort of situation before & I completely believe it. But, remembering my own teen years, the guys attitude always baffled me.
I remember at that age desperately hoping for a future romantic companion (or just more general friends of either gender) who shared my nerdy interests. Was always mildly afraid of accidently alienating them.
@cadenza @futurebird
Hah. Well maybe.
At that age I was aware enough to know that some girls were certainly more capable than me when it came to various subjects. But I'm afraid if anyone managed to get me on a topic I had a dedicated interest in, I might have babbled on incessantly or [something]-splained out of sheer enthusiasm or excitement at the attention.
My self control at that time was not so good when it came to knowing when to shut up.
Men fear disapproval of whom they consider their peers more than anything else. Prisoner of the male gaze, socially.
They only want unequal relationships with women.
@futurebird I remember the chess club at my middle school was run by one of the school parents who was a pretty accomplished chess player himself.
But, his only kid was a daughter.
Everyone in the actual chess club was a boy, and our chess teacher's daughter would just like... hang out, and not play chess, and help her dad with stuff like bringing us snacks.
I remember being 11 or 12 years old and being shocked at how obviously sexist it was, but I didn't know what to do about it, either.
@sidereal @futurebird Why was she even there then? Was she just not interested in chess but had to hang out with her dad anyway? Or did no one think that chess was her prerogative?
(edit) this question was mostly answered but i didn't see the answer when i typed it 😅 sorry
Ok, #ChessBros, listen up!
Your #penis enabled king staggers around like a drunken peasant.
Your #vagina enabled queen slashes her way any direction she wants, eliciting instant death to any in her way.
Use wisdom while trying to understand gender power.
A little empathy wouldn't hurt either.
This news has caused some people to ask why "women's chess" even exists -- women can compete in the open tournament. The women's competitions were a recognition of just how far behind chess is when it comes to cultivating and welcoming female players. Not that shocking they are even more far behind when it comes to even knowing what that would mean. (eg not excluding trans women.) But all this misses the bigger point. They don't want any trans people at all in their games.
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