Caitlin, maybe I am reading this wrong but are you asserting that there are no performance differences between biological males and females wrt cycling? The observational evidence against that seems overwhelming. As far as Zwift, I dont really care about gender, but IRL racing biology does matter
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Here we go…
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As I previously suggested, change gender to sex on the profile page and the problem is solved.
we are not talking about real life, racing or biological sex here so maybe park that for now.
All that is being asked for is that people can choose the gender they identify as, or none if that is the case, to allow them to sign up to the game and use zwift.
that is all.
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Except for intersex people. Trying to fit people spread across a non-binary range–gender or sex–into a binary range is the problem.
This discussion is in danger of running into the same old same old (not pointing the finger at you, Colin)–a kind of ‘whataboutism’, where people think we must first solve all the problems of racing and fairness and also by the way somehow decide with precious little data how people of various genetic and epigenetic construction and hormone levels will perform against each other. And if the decision-makers go that route, no decision will be made and nothing will change.
Create a non-binary category, or a none, or a ‘nunya’ (as in ‘nunya business’) designation, make some more gender-neutral avatars, and for now, to stem the tide of objection so something will actually happen here, let everyone choosing those options race in the mens/open categories.
Once these other human beings can participate without being labeled incorrectly, more nuance regarding racing can be discussed. Otherwise, we will once again go nowhere quickly. (Edit: just saw Chris’s post come in as I was typing this…what Chris said 
)
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I fully endorse this comment.
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For Free Rides, RoboPartner rides and solo training there’s no need to have a gender or sex category anyway.
For some Group Rides, Sex and/or Gender is relevant but I don’t have much skin in the game here so would defer to the current female Zwift population.
For racing, Sex remains relevant and can’t be wished away.
Choosing what your Avatar looks like is a problem for many folk (hello baldies! 
) so I think more freedom in that regard would be widely welcomed.
Given we have w/kg categories i don’t really think it even matters for racing except at the very elite level and they have their own rules anyway.
For 99.9% of zwift it makes no difference at all.
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Not wishing it away. Currently just advocating for a temporary imperfect solution to not get in the way of any progress at all.
Chris, I have no issue with that as far as Zwift. My response was questioning Caitlin who seemed to be saying that biological sex has no bearing on athletic performance.
What I think Caitlin was saying is that sex has “little” impact on performance, and the most important factors are access to training, equipment, coaching, etc… and those all have far more to do with your socioeconomic status than your sex.
However, all things being equal… I think sex does play a role.
Actually, its pretty substantial but varies from sport to sport. It may be uncomfortable but those are the card nature has dealt. Cycling example: Men’s hour cycling record is 56.792km; Women’s is 49.254km
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Again, competition and the standards surrounding it is a separate issue with it’s own governing systems and not the current point of contention.
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Everyone, please: this thread is not the forum for discussion of sex and athletic performance.
That kind of railroading of every single inclusion post is why nothing. ever. happens. It is not a discussion that needs to happen here, and it is not a discussion that needs to happen before gender inclusion efforts are made. It only serves to muddy the water and acts as an excuse for the status quo.
Personal request: please stop. 
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Tom, I agree.
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