Its author, Heritage Foundation senior research fellow and Boise State University political science professor Scott Yenor, chooses to introduce the topic in a familiar way: transphobia. Here, he opens with a nod to the right-wing conspiracy theories surrounding Imane Khelif, writing that “in 2024, a Tunisian man defeated a Chinese woman for the Olympic women’s boxing gold medal.” Already, he gets the facts wrong: Imane Khelif is Algerian, and she isn’t transgender, but regardless, he presses on and uses Khelif to call for laws that “define and uphold the physical differences between men and women.”
However, Yenor is merely using the topic of trans athletes—one that right-wing groups have manufactured as a way to get many Americans comfortable with discriminatory policies—as a springboard for his true target: women’s sports, and more specifically, “the deeper feminist settlement that has governed athletics for decades.” This feminism, he writes, aimed to make women “more independent and even dominant and less deferential and less oriented toward motherhood and traditional female graces,”
I usually post in c/boycottus but this is too angering.
It's worth mentioning that women's pro sports are seeing a surge in Canada right now (eg., Winnipeg expansion team, led by Desiree Scott, set to become NSL's 7th franchise), so show your support!
What outcome are you looking at? Length of second stage labour? I haven't seen a study that shows that. And if there is, the effect size won't be huge.
The plain language summary is that exercise and fitness (be sure to check with your healthcare provider before making significant changes in exercise while pregnant) increase the likelihood of healthy pregnancies and babies for all pregnant people. That said, the vast majority 'out of shape' (ie, sedentary, low lean muscle mass, low V02 max?) pregnant people in Canada have healthy pregnancies and babies. I'd rather Mum be out of shape than have poorly controlled diabetes or high blood pressure, lack access to prenatal care, miss prenatal vitamins, etc. It's not that high on the list to be honest and let's not shame