If you were searching for another example of an institution caving to the woke mob and leftist ideology, look no further than The Boston Marathon whose governing board announced the creation of a “non-binary” category for runners who identify as neither male nor female for the 2023 race.
As Breitbart reports, The Boston Athletic Association confirmed earlier this week that this new category will feature in all class of races, including the 5K, 10K, and the half marathon. The Association released the race registration information in which is reflected the new category. The next run will be the 127th and is scheduled to be held on April 17, 2023.
But what does “nonbinary” actually mean, and what are the criteria that runners must meet in order to register as a non-binary person? Race officials have apparently not yet finalized the qualifying standards for “non-binary” runners, but applications do include “non-binary” as a gender option, and runner have already started registering for next year’s race.
This is amazing! Basically, all a man has to do is register as a "non-binary" and he will be treated as a woman and receive points to make the race more equal between men and women. Crazy times! ☹️ https://t.co/8XT6qFiJ8y
— GA NavyVet (@rlyons30707) September 15, 2022
Breitbart quotes the Boston Athletic Association on its stance on ‘inclusion’: “‘Discussions are ongoing with non-binary athletes in an effort to further promote inclusion at all BAA events. We view this first year as an opportunity to learn and grow together.”
While The Boston Marathon, the country’s oldest and most prestigious race, and the world’s oldest annual marathon, it is not the first race to add a nonbinary category to its list of two genders. The race governing bodies in Philadelphia and Brooklyn have already established non-binary categories for sponsored races in those cities, notably the Philadelphia Distance Run and The Brooklyn Half-Marathon and Full Marathon. But non-binary runners in those races complained that they continued to be mis-gendered despite participating in the non-binary category, and that more work needs to be done to have non-binary runners feel included.
As you can imagine, this controversial move is not without its detractors as some wonder that the new category will lower standards overall. One social media user suggested that if they don’t make the standards hew toward the higher male standards, slower runners will abuse the category just to get qualified in a race for which it is notoriously hard to win entry. Having this additional category will allow non-elite runners to effectively cheat their way into a race that has exceptionally high standards in order to participate in it.
"*" indicates required fields
Others have praised the move, saying this is a huge step for non-gender conforming people to be able to participate in the race as their authentic selves. Some even said that it will prevent men who identify as women from registering for the women’s race, viewing the move as a compromise, as there will be a third category for them in which to participate.
How a runner will need to prove he or she (it?) is non-binary remains to be seen. But it is difficult to imagine this new category not being dominated by biological males who still possess a distinct physiological advantage over biological women, despite activists claim to the contrary.