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Always the same: chess is a hostile environment for women

#2
It's a lie according to my observations, as usual. Everything from CNN is a Lie.
#3
@Sarg0n said in #1:
> It‘s pretty much the same according to my observations over last 35 years.
>

Yes. And only just beginning to be acknowledged as the serious problem it always has been.

It's something we all need to keep in mind and to openly challenge the sexist, women-unfriendly behaviour in our sport whenever we see it.
#4
@mrbasso said in #2:
> It's a lie according to my observations, as usual. Everything from CNN is a Lie.

PS: By the way, I have been reported such things even before I have known CNN.

Sometimes one doesn’t even have to comment. Thx. I rest my case.
#5
Perhaps the tournament directors should have used more tact when addressing Cramling wearing shorts instead of something more formal to tournaments. And players should be more conscientious about flirting with her so relentlessly. And definitely, just because a girl is pretty doesn't make it right to use that as an excuse to discredit her skills.

If she said on her stream that she wasn't interested in dating chess tournament players, word would quickly spread and men with any ethics would quickly stop.

Women who have made the effort to be respected in chess, DESERVE that respect. But the disrespect is by no means reserved for women, so it is difficult to tell if it's a "sexist" problem.

For example, Cramlings gripes seem to pale in comparison to being, for example, falsely accused of wearing anal beads. The news channels haven't seemed to be bothered about the deviant and toxic smears what-so-ever, but have rather perpetuated them. It is difficult to imagine the rumours being spread so vociferously if the accused was a woman, by the chess world or the media, so perhaps there is some bias recalibration needed on deciding if the problem is targeting women per se.

And in all fairness, MeToo is a stretch, Weinstein is a convicted serial rapist who was hidden by Hollywood elites for decades. It is grossly irresponsible to try to cast the GM Ramirez accusations in this light, before any convictions on that matter.
#6
Okay, so for people messaging her that they couldn't stop looking at her, I can see that as inappropriate since we can consider a chess tournament as a work-like environment. On the other hand, if someone messaged her that and she was interested in him and they started dating, this wouldn't even be looked at as a scandal.

And for chess players becoming distracted because someone is wearing revealing clothing, either don't mention it at all since it's the players' fault or implement a dress code to prevent such distractions. But it is inappropriate to single out an individual for how they dress without having a dress code in place.
#7
@Sarg0n
"PS: By the way, I have been reported such things even before I have known CNN."

I am not sure what you have reported, if it is anything more than misguided immature male attention, if you have evidence, I am sure you can count on the chess communities support, you can definitely count on mine.
#8
Words are often miss used. www.thesaurus.com/browse/hostile

I find it very hard to imaging any of the red words in the link happening in tournaments and if it did, why was that person not reported or asked to leave. It's not the sex, it's one individual vs another. Does the word some mean 99% or is it 1% of the tournament players. Numbers are clearer and more concise then words that tend to exaggerate beyond control. That's the assumptions pumping our imagination and then we cannot let go the thoughts. It drags on and on. Quoting after quoting to really rub it in.

Many schools now have chess classes or chess clubs. The drop outs happen most often when a student wants to play more then learn. Some have as an excuse their best friends are playing outside. So the challenge is best friends vs chess opponents. Best friends wins. Bye, bye chess opponents.

Players of all ages need to stop assuming and complaining. Honesty is very important. It's hard enough to sit at a table that is already occupied by strangers. Imagine being forced to sit in front of a person that you don't want to sit with. Maybe it feels like it cuts the air out of your lungs. So you have to resign because of the body odor or the breath or the words they say or the way they look at you or simply because of your own imagination that's sitting in the gutter.

There will always be discomfort in sitting in front of others. If a person cannot overcome this discomfort, then tournament chess is probably not made for them. All players need to resolve their differences and really wonder if they are made for the challenges that they must face. Not everyone is made to interact with every one. That's why we pick who we go out with or the job environments we work in or if we want to be part of a team or sport.

Are there still boy schools or girl schools? If there are, then this problem will be here for centuries to come. It seems unfixable because it starts when we are born and we impact our mind set over generations to come.
#10
@Toscani

> Imagine being forced to sit in front of a person that you don't want to sit with. Maybe it feels like it cuts the air out of your lungs. So you have to resign because of the body odor or the breath or the words they say or the way they look at you or simply because of your own imagination that's sitting in the gutter.

There's a difference between being uncomfortable with sitting across from someone and being uncomfortable with sitting across from someone *because they say they couldn't stop looking at you.*

The real question is whether it's okay to express sexual or romantic interest in someone you played with in a chess tournament, and if so, in what ways is it appropriate to express that interest?

@ForsookTheRook

> Misogyny is genetic? Interesting take.

What was misogynistic? It seems more like insensitivity or awkwardness.

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