AS a former PE student I was interested in a debate at Holyrood on Tuesday (October 1), brought forward by Tess White MSP, on protecting the female category in sports. I decided to treat myself to an outing to Edinburgh and to follow proceedings from the public gallery.

Some might ask whether such a debate is necessary. After all, most people will take it for granted that men have a natural physical advantage over women, especially in strength-based or contact sports such as athletics or rugby. Likewise, many will take it for granted that, for the sake of fairness, female athletes should only compete with other females.

Yet women’s sports has become an issue since biologically male athletes, who identify as women, have been allowed to take part in some female sport competitions. As a result female athletes have lost out. Such instances have prompted demands to keep the female category in sports single-sex.

Tess White’s motion made the case for recognising this. While there was well-founded cross-party support for this motion two MSPs, Karen Adam (SNP) and Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens), fiercely opposed it. They strongly advocated the inclusion of male-born and male-bodied people in women’s sports. Ms Adam’s mention of “versions of women” raised a few eyebrows. Of course women can be old or young, of different ethnicity or social background. What they all have in common is that they are adult human females. It can be assumed that this is the “version” most people would recognise.

Maggie Chapman described the fact that this debate took place at all as “hostile”. In a crafty act of conflation she insinuated that speaking in favour of defining women and men by their biological sex is akin to transphobia and racism. She and Ms Adam, she intoned, were committed to “this poison to be washed from our politics, our media and our life”. In other words, anyone who dares to disagree with them is on their blacklist. Tellingly, neither Ms Adam nor Ms Chapman allowed any interventions.

During the debate about three-quarters of MSPs' seats were empty. Sports Minister Maree Todd cut a lone figure in the Government front row. Visitors who wished to follow proceedings from the public gallery were ushered to the section furthest away from the well of the chamber. Security staff kept an eye on us, intercepting occasional clapping with stern looks. There I sat, quietly and well-behaved, feeling grateful to every MSP speaking up for women and girls and hoping that common sense will prevail.

Regina Erich, Stonehaven.

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No one is beyond reach

I WOULD agree with Neil Mackay's statement in his recent impassioned article that "the online world has perverted" many people ("Show some humanity and let Janey Godley die in peace", The Herald, September 28) However the tone of his article is on a par with those who would encourage the return to hanging and flogging. While he says those who are "beyond reach" and are making themselves monsters by their evil hounding of Janey Godley as she prepares for end of life care, his tirade does vilify these people. Is it helpful to vilify those who are vilifying? And is anyone really beyond reach?

I was more heartened by Eddi Reader’s insight ("‘I had a sense of life disappearing’", Herald Magazine, September 28) that "miraculous things happen when you cure an old grievance". As was stated two millennia ago, let anyone who is without sin cast the first stone.

Can anyone ever claim that they have never behaved atrociously towards anyone?

Irene Munro, Conon Bridge.

More parking pain for Glasgow

GLASGOW City Council is at it again. Not content with its Low Emission Zone it is going further in its anti-car campaign. This time it is a proposed swingeing increase in city parking permit charges with the usual SNP spin that a few will be paying less (£5) but the vast majority will be paying up to 250% more, well into three figures.

Glasgow is now rivalling Edinburgh in being car-unfriendly. Some of us remember the Glasgow Smiles Better campaign which was a huge success for the city. The banners now proclaim: People Make Glasgow. Why is it the SNP administration can never come up with an idea that actually pleases all of its people? The pain from slavishly pursuing net zero is very rapidly undoing any slight gain. Few of us are smiling.

Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.

Let us have our Gaelic

I DON’T often agree with Brian Wilson, but I agree 100 per cent with his article today ("The urge to destroy something as precious as Gaelic makes no sense", The Herald, October 3).

I grew up without Gaelic although it was my family’s language and my father spoke it all his life. Since I retired and came home, I have tried to put that to rights and can now speak, read and write Gaelic and have access to the wonderful Tobar an Dualchais, the wealth of song, poetry and literature therein, and modern Gaelic writers of whom there are many.

Why do people despise this? Why do they feel threatened? Why do they make "jokes" about Gaelic words, for example "What is the Gaelic for spaghetti?". I wonder what the English is?

Also, “the words don’t sound like they look”; what about "cough, bough, and chough (the bird)"?

English is a language which has swamped many minority languages. English is a great language with wonderful literature and poetry, but let us have our Gaelic.

Dorothy Dennis, Port Ellen, Islay.

Why do some people despise Gaelic?Why do some people despise Gaelic? (Image: Newsquest)

The Trump card

SUPPORT for Trump may be rising in Scotland ("In Scotland, support for Mr Trump is rising. Say again?", The Herald) but I have heard that the former president is decidedly less keen on Scotland, especially the Gaelic-speaking areas, even although his mother hailed from Lewis. Apparently word has got back to The Donald that in the Gàidhealtachd, when people meet each other they utter the words "Kamala Harris".

Jane Ann Liston, St Andrews.