Disclaimer: This entry is a satire piece. It is based on the concept of gender fluidity and the social phenomenon of freedom to choose one’s own gender. This entry is not to be taken seriously and the BEP does not support or promote any opinions on this matter.
15 September 2100
I’ve probably dated it wrongly, but I’m too tired to bother right now. Shit has hit the fan, and we all were in the downpour. Bloody Jai cannot make up his mind, ever! Half of our batch has been sitting in his room reading ancient, crumbling CFs*, trying to find out more about BOSM. Back in 2050, of all times! I was actually a little shocked about how much paperwork EPC has managed to accumulate over the years. The 2051 Pilani Diaries was kind of quaint, but I could feel it. They kept bitching about how they lived in such a village. And to be honest, that hasn’t changed yet. PCR’s complaints about the lack of a Hyperloop really reminded me of how Adit complains about not having a teleporter for Spons’ supplies. I told Jai that I’m going to write about ‘The Great Girl Goof Up’, as the incident was then termed. Whomsoever covered it, that person was beautiful. I’m copying down a portion because I can use it directly, and the extreme hilarity/implausibility of the situation; well, I can’t describe it.
After the resounding triumph of The Turkmenistan Institute of Textile and Science’s tennis team in the finals—beating the BITS Pilani men’s team in straight sets—controversy erupted when allegations were made regarding the gender of the players. In an interview with the somewhat rueful captain of the BITS men’s tennis team, it came to light that no official complaint had been lodged by any of the players. The captain explained that for them, a loss was a loss, and congratulated their opponents on a well deserved win. The ConTrolz CoSSAcn refused to comment and referred us to Firewallz. The Firewallz Coord, in turn, explained that gender was an optional, unverified field in the registration form. Sex had a non-disclosure option and if in controversy could be tested through testosterone levels. In the given scenario, he explained amusedly, the test would simply report low testosterone levels, which due to archaic rules, was not prohibited. He further clarified that testosterone levels were merely a cutoff to prevent men entering women’s sports, never anticipating the rapid advancement in nano-fibre racquet strings that nullified the traditional strength advantage that men had in physical activities.
The situation was exacerbated by an announcement by the Sports’ Council which handed out a provisional ban to the TITS team, pending further deliberation. This was, however, forestalled within an hour when the residents of Meera Bhawan held a protest outside the ConTrolz booth, halting all activity, as half of the fest’s workforce—including ConTrolz, ironically—was seated on the grass in Gym-G. Opinion varies on what caused the Sports Secretary to rescind their previous announcement. Perhaps, the voice of public opinion? A more controversial school of thought postulates the involvement of a female friend of his. The TITS tennis team, refused to comment, as did their coach.
This is brilliant, if somewhat confusing—I’d forgotten that sports used to be segregated on basis of sex. I wonder what these people felt like on this threshold. They seemed really confused; this would be an interesting historical perspective. I’ve forgotten what year the IOF ended this segregation rule; could we show ourselves as being ahead of the times on this basis?
*CF – Cactus Flower, the literary magazine of BITS. It features various creative pieces and a recap of the notable instances of that academic year.