Oof. Fucking FIDE. Trans women should be able to compete in the women’s sections.

About the gender gap - the gender gap in performance is a statistical relic of the participation gap. Control for participation and the performance gap vanishes.

Women’s sections exist to help promote participation and competition in that cohort. Its the same reason junior sections for kids exist, senior sections for older adults exist, and ratings limited sections like U1200 and U1500 exist.

Unlike other sports, a trans person would have no physiological advantage or disadvantage competing across gendered sections.

Aglets.

Racism is worse, because it’s about community - us against them. It provides a focal point for anger and action that doesn’t require self reflection or personal growth.

Misanthropy … Have you met our species? Violent, destructive, shortsighted, tribalistic apes swarming across their only home devouring it resources and destroying their own habitat with careless abandon.

Individual humans - we can be amazing. Humans at moments when we overcome our tribalism and selfishness - wonderful. But humankind? Overall, we suck. Misanthropy just realism.