Jon Pike

Here is my latest paper, published today in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport and co-authored with Dr Emma Hilton @fondofbeetles from Manchester University. I would like to thank @OpenUniversity for their ongoing support of my research tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Keep speaking up, @Hogshead3Au! You're making waves, and more people need to know that @TEDTalks refuses to let a female Olympic champion swimmer and legal expert speak on the issue of males in women's sports, while platforming men who steal women's honors and opportunities.

@clairlemon Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Walk into my 12 year old's room expecting to bust him doing something dodgy, only to find him coding a "Philosophy for Beginners" game on Scratch. I feel chastened by reality.

It seems so clear that this situation could have been quietly dealt with before now. With a simple, “This isn’t OK.” That it wasn’t reflects a combination of entitlement, fear of challenging, & a wider EDI muddiness. One where some diversities are more equal than others. The result is the college, and the law, becoming an ass.

When women talk about not wanting to be defined by regressive stereotypes, or renamed uterus havers, or lose all language to describe the physical, political and social needs of female humans (including the word "female"), they're talking about *their own lives*

These misogynistic men (Dr Laura) never stop to consider that WOMEN ARE NOT the equivalent of WEAKENED, UNATHLETIC MEN. The female body is amazing - it can do things no male body can. A man “on chemo” does not deserve the opportunity or recognition of a female athlete.

Dude - This is SO stupid. Fist of all - there is no way to undo male development & male advantage. It’s permanent. But, more important even than that… Women’s sports are not to give medically hobbled men a chance to play with women. We don’t let short men play with boys. We don’t let a man with his arm tied behind his back compete in the para categories. We don’t let men who can’t make the men’s team play with women. Women are not weak, unathletic, or cosmetically altered men. It’s so freaking misogynistic.

I agree that there is almost certainly intention, enjoyment, entitlement , etc. in play here. My weaker point is that harassment law doesn't require this mens rea condition. And this seems right. "I didn't mean anything by it" is no defence if the 'it' is behaviour that would typically harass.

@runthinkwrite @RoseFashion191 although in this case there must be both an intention to enjoy the reaction, by women in particular, and the additional ‘can’t believe I’m getting away with it’ sense of achievement/entitlement.

As someone who thinks 'everything is up for grabs, nothing is sacred, let's hear your best argument', I'm a bit dismayed that we seem to be having an argument about whether male academics harassing female students by wearing huge false breasts to work is a Bad Thing or not. ...

@LindaILH @JournalistJill You are right that there is almost always a class dimension to this stuff.

@runthinkwrite @JournalistJill Ask oneself: would a janitor at the same college be encouraged to equally express his desire for fake boobs ? 🤔🧐

@harriet48293 @k_salberta No, I don't always dismiss people who disagree with me as eccentric. I reserve that for when I judge then to be eccentric. As in this case. On the first part, no. I don't think it's a good use of my time: there's none so blind as those who will not see.

@runthinkwrite @k_salberta Prove to me that Mr Rattley has harrassed and intimidated his students - and I'll listen. Do you always dismiss people who disagree with you as - eccentric? Might you be a little old-fashioned in your views?

@harriet48293 @BerdineAnna @k_salberta The test for harassment has very little to do with the inent of the individual. The test is whether a typical recipient of the behaviour would reasonably find it objectionable. All you are showing is that you are not typical. (Well done there).

@BerdineAnna @k_salberta @runthinkwrite Where is the evidence of harrassment? Do you know this guy? Have you talked to his students?

@harriet48293 @k_salberta Your particular eccentric view here is irrelevant, politically, ethically, and legally. Sorry.

@k_salberta @runthinkwrite As a contemporary woman, Mr Rattley, in his ridiculous get up, wouldn't phase me for a nanosecond. In fact, I'd rather like to meet him - and offer some sartorial advice. He could possibly teach me something about his subject - chemistry.

.@TEDTalks cancelled my talk about women’s rights conflicting with men like this, as soon as it was announced. @TEDTalks platformed him. @TEDTalks de-platformed me. I’m an Olympic champion; I have lived experience of sport. I’m a civil rights lawyer & author; w expertise on women’s rights. I’ve taught Sports Law for 20 years. It’s galling. x.com/Jonnywsbell/st…

@RoseFashion191 I agree: just about the first thing you learn about harassment law (as, say, a union rep) is that an intent to harass is not necessary.

@runthinkwrite It’s sexual harassment under the law.

Sad how no one ever credits Gazza for his services to binary-smashing gender-fluid self-expression

... You could just say 'Nah, that's not on. He shouldn't do that.' And we could move on to more interesting stuff.

I really genuinely mean the question, though. I think a lot of women, me included, hear "I get off on imagining I have enormous tits" and/or "To me women are nothing more than tits on legs." At the absolute most charitable, I think the man is expressing, at a minimum, "I love enormous tits." And expressing _any_ of those in a workplace would be unacceptable. How to deal with it - a quiet conversation, a lawsuit - is secondary. I'm struck by the number of men who are saying "it's free expression, case closed," when they would easily see what was wrong with a man turning up to work with any of those slogans on his T-shirt. It wouldn't take a dress code to make it obvious that was sexual/sex-based harassment of female colleagues and students.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has welcomed the IOC’s decision to introduce sex testing for women’s events from LA28. He described the move as an “important development” for the Olympic Movement. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/coe-w…

🧵Parkrun has recently been in the spotlight regarding the battle for women's rights. The organization allows men to run in a "female" category where they are then ranked and their times are compared to those of actual female participants. There has been a lot of talk about how this is necessary for "inclusivity" without any explanation as to why. In fact, many of the men who run in the "female" category had no problem previously running in the "male" category, and parkrun even offers a "prefer not to say," option so that men who don't want to call themselves men don't have to. Despite all of this, these men receive quite a bit of support in registering as "female" without the majority actually understanding who it is they're really supporting. So I'd just like to take a minute to introduce you to a few men who believe themselves entitled to run as a "female" participant. Of course, this is not all. (click on the show replies to see them all)

@legalfeminist @SarahvAtDSC That's not just any win. It's a Sarah Vine win. Half time acquittal of the court's own motion! 😎