Nature: 🖕🖕🖕

By: Lee Harding

Published: Feb 10, 2025

The website SheWon.org is asking for public input as it compiles a list of all female athletes who lost records, titles, medals, or scholarships to biological males.

"This website is dedicated to archiving the achievements of female athletes who were displaced by males in women’s sporting events and other types of competitions expressly for women. One day soon we hope their accomplishments will be formally recognized," explains the website's home page.

So far, SheWon.org lists 764 female athletes who gave up 1,086 medals in 528 competitions in 40 sports since 2019.

The United States of America dominates the list. However, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nauru, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Samoa, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Wales, are also represented.

Katia Bissonnette is the most recent Canadian on the list. An hour before she was to box in the Provincial Golden Glove Championship in Victoriaville, Quebec, she discovered her opponent was the male-born Mya Walmsley. Bisonnette bowed out, citing safety reasons.

A 2020 University of Utah study found a male punch has 163% more impact than a woman's, even when adjusted for weight. Nine boxers were on the SheWon.org list.

Among sports, 347 female track athletes led as those most frequently affected, followed by 266 in cycling, 171 in disc golf, 72 in mountain biking, 39 in swimming, 29 in power lifting, and 20 in cross-country running. The athletes lost 351 gold medals, 317 silver medals, and 303 bronze medals.

A partial list of "men and boys who have competed in women's or girls' sports" numbers 344 in 61 sports. A link is included for each person on the list.

The site includes a list of female athletes who have openly identified as men and won medals in men's or open competitions. The total seems to be zero as the entry says "No data found."

The website includes a submission page where visitors can submit additions to the list.

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Here's another one for SECAC; an adult male Short-beaked common dolphin. The female below is an older illustration (though I changed her slightly to match better) but I though it'd be fun to post them together to show the differences.

Although subtle, this species does display sexual dimorphism. Males tend to have bolder markings, especially around the face (the pectoral fin-to-chin stripe in females is often thinner and/or yellow instead of black) and the anal area. Most reliable for sexing though is the post-anal hump, the "bump" between the belly and flukes, which readily identifies all adult males.

A new member of the parrot squad has landed. Well, make that two! Meet the Eclectus parrots! 🦜

These stunning birds are famous for their dramatic dimorphism: the vibrant red and purple beauty is the female, while the brilliant green one is the male. It’s hard to believe these two are the same species, and now you can crochet both of their iconic looks!

i never posted this here. one of my favorite wacky cases of dimorphism, but when i first encountered this species i thought that he had suffered from a bad molt, and that led me to find “nutcracker” crickets from the genus Pristoceuthophilus

Artist Trading Card. 2.5"x3.5" Watercolor. 2023