I was thinking of making this an ethics quiz, but I couldn’t decide what to ask.
The Daily Signal reports—an exclusive!—that a teenage boy who identifies as a girl is heading to the Irish Dancing World Championships after placing first in the U14 2023 Southern Region Oireachtas competitions. The conservative website tells us that the winner competed as a boy and placed 11th in the world in the Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) World Championships just eight months ago, in April 2023. (These kids just grow up and change sex so darn fast these days!). In the meantime, a “non-binary” contestant won another Irish dancing competition in August.
Irish dancing competitions are typically divided by gender. The Daily Signal reports, “Parents of girls competing in Irish dance are frustrated and outraged, saying that they cannot understand why a boy with physical advantages is allowed to dance against their daughters.” Huh? I would think a male would have only physical disadvantages in competing against girls in a dancing competition, just as a male dancer would be at a disadvantage trying to win the part of the Sugarplum Fairy in “The Nutcracker.” I assume female Irish dancers are supposed to appear, well, feminine while wowing judges with their footwork. If not, why is the competition restricted to girls?
The argument against what happened in Ireland has to be based on another premise. What would that be? Irish dancing isn’t a team sport or a contact sport; size and strength shouldn’t be an advantage. It’s dancing. Who’s better, Fred Astaire or Eleanor Powell in this epic tap-off from “Broadway Melody of 1940?” (My vote? It’s a tie, but Eleanor is prettier.) Would it be unfair if Fred “identified” as female?
If there is no definable physical advantage in a competition like Irish dancing, why shouldn’t males/non-binaries/ guys “identifying as women/ trans-women be able to compete with the real articles in gymnastics and figure skating? And eliminating gender distinctions in artistic competitions like the Oscars and Grammys seems unavoidable, doesn’t it?
What’s going on here? Or to give the issue a bit more urgency, here’s Lindsey…
Ethics Alarms 
There are physical advantages to dancing in speed, strength, and endurance; this style in particular emphasizes the first and last. Either there is a division but the sexes or there isn’t for competition, but allowing any competitor to switch categories at will makes the existence of different classes a joke.
Alex,
That was going to be my uninformed opinion.
This style of dance may have demands (I was specifically thinking of stamina or endurance) that could favor males.
-Jut
But the dances in dance competitions never involve stamina…and no routine is as long as Fred and Eleanor’s number—and they weren’t even winded!
There may be some inherent advantages that aren’t obvious… I couldn’t pretend to recognize the difference between an 8 and a 9 point gymnastics performance…
…but these gymnists probably can, and they’re flabergasted. https://youtu.be/Jvz3F4HP170?si=3rAdd-fXQShYO84T
A strong willed woman can do anything. They can certainly out-dance a dude. Jane Fonda, carrying a dead Red Buttons over the finish line in one of the dance marathon’s elimination derbies during, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” immediately comes to mind.
[There’s an ethical topic for you.]
Eleanor Powell in that movie clip gets bonus points for tap-dancing in high heels. (Not the “Cuban heels” which were fashionable at the time, but still taller and narrower than Fred Astaire’s.)
I agree. She was magnificent. Quit at her prime.
After watching Powell and Astaire, I realized there are literally not two “stars” in Hollywood of either sex today who could pull off that same number. Makes one realize what passes for talent nowadays isn’t talent at all and at best second-rate.
Of course, what could be happening is that the ‘transgender’ person was awarded 1st place to virtue signal (as has happened in some beauty pagents recently). The parents could be outraged because their children’s hard work means nothing in the face of political correctness.
Quite possible.
Having danced for several years, many moons ago (ballet, tap, & contemporary primarily and only recreational Irish dance for fun as it’s a big part of my heritage), there’s an incredible amount of leg strength & speed as well as stamina/endurance required in the type of competition that Sil (the non binary dancer shown in your pic was performing). By wearing traditional male garb (long flared pants & flat soft leather dance shoes called “reels” that are more like delicate sneakers instead of a very heavy satin top, short skirt and lace up “ghillie” slippers or ballroom heels that the women wear, not to mention the very Irish wig/fall of long, heavy corkscrew curls) there’s a definite comfort advantage that men have as well as those who choose men’s style clothing while identifying as nonbinary.
Obviously, I wouldn’t quibble too much over the clothing/footwear since they don’t add THAT much of an advantage.(Although for me, a big part of enjoying the dancing isn’t just the style of dance itself: it’s the highly unique and identifiable aesthetic. Nothing else quite looks like it.
Someone who identifies as nonbinary like Sil doesn’t have a greater physical advantage because if my Spidey-senses are correct, Sil is AFAB (assigned female at birth) and is a biological female who simply chooses their look/clothing/name to be more gender neutral. However, someone assigned male at birth who goes through male puberty and then takes hormones to start the gender transition including feminizing surgery will absolutely have an advantage over a biological woman in at least some of the various dance categories/competitions.
Mostly it’s about muscle strength in the legs: Irish step dancing is ALL about leg strength. You need amazing hips for great turnout & men have a decent advantage here, men & women have a fairly equal ability to develop their glutes, and women win in quad muscle development. But even with the balanced equation I’m outlining…women still only have approximately 75% of the leg strength that men do.
I have to say that while I didn’t see the winning performance by Sil, I did check out her dancing in some other videos as well as two of the young ladies who placed lower than she did…and unless they committed significant errors during the competition, I’m not sure at all how Sil won. The young lady with the generous figure & fall of light blonde curls who is probably 19 or 20 was far more graceful as well as more natural in her movements and showcased the flexible “snap” in her ankles & feet better than all of the dancers, but most noticeably Sil. Perhaps they were just so impressed that Sil is in her late 30s competing with teenagers that they felt she deserved the win…or maybe politics were at play. But speaking as someone with an awful lot of real life dance experience, who still watches a copious amount of every style of dance competition to this day, I was unimpressed.
I do think that biological men who go through puberty would have at least some advantage in Irish dance and an incredible advantage in gymnastics and solo figure skating. In my opinion, the male/female categories should remain separate for nearly if not all types of sports, athletic competitions, and dance. And if people want to compete in a third category for transgender and nonbinary athletes, I have no problem with this whatsoever. I think that gives them an outlet, a showcase for their same hard work and skills as every other elite athlete, and a goal that keeps things fair.
“Having danced for several years, many moons ago (ballet, tap, & contemporary primarily and only recreational Irish dance for fun as it’s a big part of my heritage), there’s an incredible amount of leg strength & speed as well as stamina/endurance required in the type of competition that Sil (the non binary dancer shown in your pic was performing). By wearing traditional male garb (long flared pants & flat soft leather dance shoes called “reels” that are more like delicate sneakers instead of a very heavy satin top, short skirt and lace up “ghillie” slippers or ballroom heels that the women wear, not to mention the very Irish wig/fall of long, heavy corkscrew curls) there’s a definite comfort advantage that men have as well as those who choose men’s style clothing while identifying as nonbinary. Obviously, I wouldn’t quibble too much over the clothing/footwear since they don’t add THAT much of an advantage.(Although for me, a big part of enjoying the dancing isn’t just the style of dance itself: it’s the highly unique and identifiable aesthetic. Nothing else quite looks like it. Someone who identifies as nonbinary like Sil doesn’t have a greater physical advantage because if my Spidey-senses are correct, Sil is AFAB (assigned female at birth) and is a biological female who simply chooses their look/clothing/name to be more gender neutral. However, someone assigned male at birth who goes through male puberty and then takes hormones to start the gender transition including feminizing surgery will absolutely have an advantage over a biological woman in at least some of the various dance categories/competitions. Mostly it’s about muscle strength in the legs: Irish step dancing is ALL about leg strength. You need amazing hips for great turnout & men have a decent advantage here, men & women have a fairly equal ability to develop their glutes, and women win in quad muscle development. But even with the balanced equation I’m outlining…women still only have approximately 75% of the leg strength that men do. I have to say that while I didn’t see the winning performance by Sil, I did check out her dancing in some other videos as well as two of the young ladies who placed lower than she did…and unless they committed significant errors during the competition, I’m not sure at all how Sil won. The young lady with the generous figure & fall of light blonde curls who is probably 19 or 20 was far more graceful as well as more natural in her movements and showcased the flexible “snap” in her ankles & feet better than all of the dancers, but most noticeably Sil. Perhaps they were just so impressed that Sil is in her late 30s competing with teenagers that they felt she deserved the win…or maybe politics were at play. But speaking as someone with an awful lot of real life dance experience, who still watches a copious amount of every style of dance competition to this day, I was unimpressed. I do think that biological men who go through puberty would have at least some advantage in Irish dance and an incredible advantage in gymnastics and solo figure skating. In my opinion, the male/female categories should remain separate for nearly if not all types of sports, athletic competitions, and dance. And if people want to compete in a third category for transgender and nonbinary athletes, I have no problem with this whatsoever. I think that gives them an outlet, a showcase for their same hard work and skills as every other elite athlete, and a goal that keeps things fair.”
The irony is that the same conservative groups that argue for keeping special, sacrosanct categories for women in competition because of their gender are strongly opposed to any affirmative action that helps any other underprivileged group.
How is that irony? It’s just a bad analogy. The issue in the trans sports discussion isn’t discrimination, it’s fairness. If large numbers of students were getting jumped over more qualified applicants by pretending to be minorities, then you might have some basis for an analogy. In addition, affirmative action is, was and has always been illegal discrimination, and unconstitutional. Allowing trans-males to compete as women isn’t unconstitutional—it’s just unethical.
(And stupid.)
Two observations! First, the ethical issue is why is Irish dancing allowed as some form of entertainment let alone a venue for a competition. It is boring and repetitive. After 30 seconds you have seen the entire repertoire. I was tricked into seeing “Riverdance.” Fortunately, I came to my senses before the first set was completed and exited the theater.
Second, regarding Fred and any duet he does, I always vote for the one in heels.