What the cancelling of JK Rowling is really about

Shall we start with an easy question? As a general rule, would it be appropriate for a 15-year-old boy to enter athletic or sporting competitions restricted to children under the age of 12? I fancy that, like most people, you think the answer to this is ‘No’ – just as you accept that it would be wrong to match a heavyweight boxer with a welterweight. A mismatch is all but guaranteed. It is a question of fairness.

So let’s ask another, slightly more challenging, question. As a general rule, is it appropriate for people born male to enter women’s sporting competitions? Some people think so, even when those contests are in sports in which men, by virtue of their greater strength, enjoy a significant advantage. Thus under current regulations Laurel Hubbard, formerly known as Gavin, and in her youth a champion weightlifter in New Zealand before she changed gender around seven years ago, is eligible to compete in women’s competitions.