The CADS: Callum, Augie and 'The Desk'...
It took women 158 years to get a professional women's' Australian Rules Football league, it took men less than a year to demand entry.
A peculiar insanity reigns in Victoria, the heartland of Australian Rules Football. A near pathological obsession with the code throughout the state has reached such a level that all rational thought and reasoned decision-making appears to vanish in its wake But it is not just the unwavering devotion to the game that baffles the non-Victorian mind; it's also their vehement resistance to criticism, especially when it comes to the contentious issue of men pretending to be women playing Australian Rules Football against women.
Exploring Victoria's complex psyche reveals a dangerous cocktail of fanaticism, unfairness, and inherent misogyny, making the case for women's safety a difficult one. A state of mind that is almost impossible to fathom for an outsider. One shrouded in ritual, passion, and a male-dominated tradition.
Since its inception in 1859, Australian rules football has been dominated by men, and female inclusion has been a constant battle. Despite finally receiving formal recognition and the right to compete, after 122 years of fighting for that right, in 1981, women's rights in Australian Rules Football continue to face significant challenges over 40 years on. The 2017 controversy surrounding Callum Mouncey's eligibility to compete sparked outrage, highlighting the grave dangers to women's safety as well as the integrity of fair competition.
The fight for women's rights in Australian rules football has been a long and arduous one, fraught with setbacks and excruciatingly slow progress. After breaking down many of the societal barriers against them, women were finally allowed to play the game with the establishment of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) in 1981.
Cruelly women's rights in Victoria were dealt a major blow with the election of Daniel Andrews as Premier in 2014. Andrews was a man engulfed in controversy and corruption from the start. This was due, in large part, to the infamous "Red Shirts" scandal during his election campaign, where he faced serious allegations of misusing taxpayer funds. It transpired that Labor Party members claimed to be employed as electorate officers but were actually working on party campaigns. Several government officials and party members were investigated, resulting in resignations and legal action although, astonishingly Andrews was somehow completely unscathed by the whole sordid affair.
Andrews has faced criticism for his divisive approach to sex-based rights issues, as well as allegations of misogyny. His assertive and combative communication style has been criticised by some as impeding productive dialogue and inclusive policymaking in areas such as reproductive rights and sex equality. Critics claim that this approach has made addressing sex-based concerns difficult and has contributed to a lack of transparency and accountability.
There have also been claims that Andrews was dismissive and disrespectful of women. These allegations, along with concerns about his administration's insensitivity to sex-based issues, call into question his commitment to promoting sex equality and fostering a respectful and inclusive environment. These criticisms point to the perception that Andrews' leadership style and alleged attitudes towards sex-related issues have contributed to a divisive culture and limited progress in addressing sex-based rights.
While the struggle for sex equality in Australian Rules Football remained far from won. The establishment of the AFL Women's Competition (AFLW) in 2017 was hailed as a watershed moment. However, a new and formidable challenge emerged, threatening the hard-won progress of recent years. This new scandal, coupled with the Andrews regime's toxic culture, did not bode well for Victoria's women.
Callum Mouncey, a biological male athlete attempting to break into women's football by claiming that he was now, himself somehow miraculously ‘a woman’, sparked a heated debate. Concerns about the physical risks that female athletes faced as a result of their inherent biological differences could not be dismissed. High-impact contact sports highlight the stark differences in size, strength, and bone density between men and women, fostering a breeding ground for potentially serious injuries to women and girls who were forced to accept men like Mouncey into their leagues.
The fact is that Australian rules Football is already an extremely dangerous sport. Consider the consequences of a male charging full speed into a much smaller female. The consequences could prove fatal for the smaller female. Broken bones, internal injuries, and blatant disregard for female competitors' safety all become stark realities. We can't turn a blind eye to the potentially unacceptable risks of a male colliding with a female be it accidental or more likely intentional, as is generally the case in Australian Rules Football.
These concerns emphasise the critical importance of ensuring fair competition and prioritising the physical safety of female athletes. Women's sports were developed to level the playing field and keep participants safe. While claiming inclusivity, the inclusion of male-bodied individuals in women's sports now threatens to unravel the very fabric of equality and undercut hard-won women's rights in the sporting arena.
The fight for women's rights in Australian rules football continues, and the Callum Mouncey scandal should have served as a rallying cry to say women’s sports are not for any men even if they are inadequate men. Unfortunately, the Mouncey controversy did not arouse public awareness of the stark biological realities. Mouncey has, in fact, opened the door for other failed men to invade, which they did, aided by Andrews, the arch-misogynist.
With equal marriage rights secured, in a move to keep their noses in the trough, funded by the public purse, organisations like the Aids Council of New South Wales (ACON) effectively ditched their core purpose and made ‘Transgender rights’ their new flavour of the month. Most of these ‘transgender individuals’ are failed men who pretend that they are ‘women’ and are demanding all of the rights that women have fought for, for over 150 years. It's amazing to think that it took women 158 years to get their own sex-based professional league, but it took these men less than a year to demand the right to play in it!
Andrews, a ‘transgender’ zealot, has consistently faced criticism for his divisive approach to sex-based rights issues, as well as allegations of misogyny. His assertive and combative communication style has impeded productive dialogue and inclusive policymaking in areas such as reproductive rights and sex equality. Critics argue that this approach has contributed to a lack of transparency and accountability by creating a difficult environment for addressing sex-based concerns.
It was already well known that Andrews had a dismissive and disrespectful attitude towards individuals based on their sex. These factors, along with concerns about his administration's lack of sensitivity to sex-based rights issues, all called into question his commitment to promoting sex equality and fostering a respectful and inclusive environment. These criticisms point to the fact that Andrews' leadership style and alleged attitudes toward sex-related issues have contributed to a divisive culture and limited progress in addressing sex-based rights. Feed this misogynistic political culture that Andrews fueled into the historical misogyny of Australian Rules Football and it is not hard to see how a toxic mess developed that Victorian women now have to contend with.
Suddenly, in the name of inclusivity and equality, we were teetering on the edge of a precipice in Australian Rules Football. The prospect of men, no matter what they pretend to be playing against women, failed to send shockwaves through the sport as it should have done. The reason for this could have been down to what some simply call Victorian insanity; others suggest that the misogynistic atmosphere created by Andrew’s also had a large part to play in the insanity of it all. Whatever the answer, it is time to confront the grim reality and prevent this ongoing disaster for women. It is essential that we present a forceful argument against these men participating in women's Australian Rules Football, highlighting the alarming unfairness and the grave risks that loom over the game.
Fast forward to 2023 and the state of the Victorian Amateur Football League today, where a player, whom we will name "The Desk", a biological male who says he is now ‘a woman’ dons the Melbourne University women's jersey every weekend. "The Desk" is a hulking figure, built like a fortress, covered in spidery tattoos reminiscent of those that adorn former jailbirds, towering as he does over the women who take to the field to do battle with, what they expect to be, other women. With a strength disparity akin to a gorilla facing a squirrel, his imposing presence alone is enough to shatter any notion of fair competition. This menacing mismatch threatens to turn the game into a merciless spectacle where safety takes a backseat and female players become mere collateral in the face of his sheer size and power.
Like “The Desk”, "Augie, now Amy Ross," a man who identifies as a woman, plays for the Brunswick Women’s Football Club each weekend. He is also a colossal figure capable of easily overwhelming any female opponent. But the ‘brave and stunning’ Augie has, thanks to ACON and Daniel Andrews ‘transgender’ Self ID laws, embarked on a minor social transition while still retaining all the biological male advantages bestowed upon him. Because he has ‘transitioned’ he is now, according to Daniel Andrews and the VAFL, ‘a woman’ and therefore eligible to play women’s football. For the women who stand in his way, the consequences are nothing short of devastating. They are forced to share a changing room with him and take part in a perilous experiment in which their well-being is sacrificed on the altar of misguided ideals in the name of ‘diversity and inclusion’.
In Australian Rules Football, the collision of men and women is a catastrophic clash of forces, with 'The Desk's' thunderous tackles resembling a freight train barreling through a field of wheat. Female players' fragile bones and unsuspecting bodies crumble under immense pressure, leaving shattered dreams and fractured futures in their wake. The scenario is akin to tossing a nut under the wheels of a steamroller, where it will be obliterated.
Allowing this abomination to continue is a disregard for the sport's safety and integrity. We risk undoing the gains made in women's football and ushering in an era of unconscionable inequity. By allowing men to compete against women, we sanction a grave injustice. It's a terrifying prospect that threatens to reduce women's Australian Rules Football to a mere show of strength, where dreams are crushed and aspirations are shattered.
We must safeguard the integrity and spirit of women's Australian Rules Football. Above all, we must prioritise female athletes' safety and well-being. The prospect of men competing against women casts a long shadow over the game, extinguishing the hopes and dreams of those who have worked tirelessly to carve out a place in the sport. We must act quickly to prevent this travesty, protecting the future of women's Australian Rules Football and the dreams of countless female athletes.
The impending clash between men pretending to be women and women in Australian Rules Football threatens to devastate a sport that has fought for recognition and equality for decades. “The Desk” and “Augie, now Amy Ross”, are haunting examples of the inherent unfairness that lurks beneath the surface. This is not an experiment; it is a battle of unequal proportions in which the powerful crush the weak. We must fight back against this heinous disparity by advocating for the safety and integrity of women's Australian Rules Football. Failure to do so will result in a flood of physical and emotional damage that will leave the sport and its participants permanently scarred. Now is the time to act, before it is too late. If this was genuinely about ‘diversity and inclusion’ where are the women who pretend to be men in men’s Australian Rules Football? There aren’t any I hear you say, I wonder why that might be…
We must fiercely protect fair and safe competition, firmly rooted in the unassailable realities of biological sex. Women's voices must be heard and respected. It is imperative to champion the concerns raised by females and forge solutions that uphold the principles of sex equality while safeguarding the rights and physical well-being of our female athletes.
The time for complacency is over. We must stand united and unwavering in our resolve to protect women's rights in Australian rules football and ensure that the battles fought by our predecessors do not go in vain. The struggle continues, and the fight for fair play and the preservation of women's safety remains paramount.
Finally, we must demand that men move aside and allow women what they have essentially been denied for 164 long, years of struggle for a simple basic right. The right to have a competition of their own, free from men and free from male interference that guarantees that women can play safely and fairly with their own sex after far too much misogyny has been allowed to thwart their dreams.
Excellent piece Fraser.
Andrews has a lot to answer for.