The Grantland Dr. V Transgender Controversy

[The Midnight]

Here's a slomo show of the tar putter showing limited spin on the ball as it comes into contact with the putter - as it claims to be the only putter currently on the market with zero MOI (moment of inertia).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6ItJW5xM4

 

[The Midnight]

Hadn't seen this discussed here yet, but I think given this board's long-standing issues with transphobia this might be an appropriate place to talk about it.

The original article is here: https://grantland.com/features/a-mysterious-physicist-golf-club-dr-v/

On the merits, the article is very good. The story is fascinating and a good example of in-depth investigative journalism. It has some portions that are potentially problematic as well.

Did you read the part where he says: "Writing a eulogy for a person who by all accounts despised you is an odd experience."


LOL... what kind of reception did he expect from a woman who was about to be outed to the whole world as a transgender? To me, I thought the article had a very vindictive tone about it. Moreover, as the article was published after her death, it seemed me to very disrespectful and really distasteful.

 

[UGLI baby]

IB4 KatieMCR and Beantown turn this into a 19 page thread.

 

[The Midnight]

Edge of my seat seeing if HH reps his nemesis...

Still waiting... oh well, to be expected.

 

[Deleted member 848]

@Kicky I started reading that article last week cuz I'm a golfer but was like "holy shizz this is long" and stopped.

The follow up discussions are also TLDR for me.

Care to sum it up?

You need to read it. Brilliant article.

 

[8]

If this person didn't want anybody to know, then why did he/she do what he/she did? Could have declined being interviewed for the article as well.

Sorry, about the he/she thing, but I don't know a better way to identify the subject.

 

[UGLI baby]

If this person didn't want anybody to know, then why did he/she do what he/she did? Could have declined being interviewed for the article as well.

Sorry, about the he/she thing, but I don't know a better way to identify the subject.

Transphopic *******.

 

[Deleted member 848]

If this person didn't want anybody to know, then why did he/she do what he/she did? Could have declined being interviewed for the article as well.

Sorry, about the he/she thing, but I don't know a better way to identify the subject.

To me it just strikes me as a very sad story of a very troubled person. Whether we find her behaviour irrational or not-- our society is constructed to make people like her feel outcasted, and feel the need to hide certain facets of her personality. Keep in mind (to those of you who are less sympathetic to the LGBTQ community) that she married twice before coming to terms with what she felt most comfortable with in terms of sexuality-- so to me this just strikes me as saddening, and I feel like we are letting people like her down. It's sad that some people feel the need to hide certain things about themselves as a defense-mechanisms-- as one who used to hide his faith growing up, I have s small semblance of what it feels like, and it really isn't a great feeling.

 

[KatieMCR]

Good hell what a long article. I started reading it, and wondering what in the world does golf have to do with being transgender? Why am I reading an article about golf? I came back to this thread, and found the summary provided by Hotttnickkk. Still haven't read more than the first few paragraphs of the article. It's just so long. Perhaps I'll read the entire thing later.

I'll just touch on the topic of coming out. It is a very personal situation, and should be handled by each individual in whatever manner they choose. It is not right for anyone to out another person, especially without that person's permission. For me personally, I choose to try to be open about my transgender identity. I do so in the hopes of helping to rid the world of even just a little bit of the ignorance and prejudice towards transgender people. My mind is going in a lot of different directions with this topic, so I'm just going to stop for now. I may post more in this thread at a later time.

 

[The Midnight]

If this person didn't want anybody to know, then why did he/she do what he/she did? Could have declined being interviewed for the article as well.

Sorry, about the he/she thing, but I don't know a better way to identify the subject.

Well when the writer contacted her for an interview, she made it very clear to him in an email correspondence that she wanted this to be about the "invention" and not about the "inventor" behind the invention.


However, as the correspondence progressed, she also talked to him on the phone a few times, she started to reveal more of her personal life to him. It wasn't until he confronted her with the "facts" that she started to become more defensive.


Right near the end she re-iterated to him that she didn't want the piece to be about her personally, etc. But by that time though it was too late. The writer made the mistake of outing her to one of her investors, which I think blew the whole thing up. She also got paranoid thinking the writer works for one of her competitors trying to bring her down (her competitors have made threats to her in the past).


The article was published well after she was dead, so it was non-consequential in the sense that the article itself did not "kill" her.

 

[8]

Well when the writer contacted her for an interview, she made it very clear to him in an email correspondence that she wanted this to be about the "invention" and not about the "inventor" behind the invention.


However, as the correspondence progressed, she also talked to him on the phone a few times, she started to reveal more of her personal life to him. It wasn't until he confronted her with the "facts" that she started to become more defensive.


Right near the end she re-iterated to him that she didn't want the piece to be about her personally, etc. But by that time though it was too late. The writer made the mistake of outing her to one of her investors, which I think blew the whole thing up. She also got paranoid thinking the writer works for one of her competitors trying to bring her down (her competitors have made threats to her in the past).


The article was published well after she was dead, so it was non-consequential in the sense that the article itself did not "kill" her.

Word. The author should have been more sensitive to the interviewee. I'm sure he would expect reciprocal behavior.

Obviously the interviewee felt that the backlash she would receive outweighed the opportunity of reducing transgender stigma by .0000000001% by being open about it. Somebody had also posted about personal problems she may have had, like harrassment charges and such, so it may not have been about being transgender anyways.

Not gonna blame this article for the suicide at all. That was her choice. It could have been a contributing factor tho, who knows?

And props to everyone for telling me how long this article is, I am certain to never read it. Thanks everybody!

 

[KatieMCR]

Well I read it all. The original 8,000 word essay. The Bill Simmons apology. The response from Christina Kahrl. That was a LOT of reading. It's rather horrific. The reporter had absolutely no right to out this person to the investor. That is the biggest blunder of this entire situation. The article published after their death is horrible. It's all very disturbing.

Why is it so hard for people to use the correct pronouns? It happens on this forum, and I have already pointed out previously how it is offensive. It's very simple. Follow the lead of the individual in question. Use the pronoun that fits their presentation. If you aren't sure, find a polite way to ask them. Treat people with respect. It should be simple.