I applaud any journalist who brings attention to the absolute travesty that is the Lia Thomas case; sport is played with our sexed bodies, not our 'gender identities' and we need the public to be made aware of what is being inflicted upon women under the guise of 'inclusivity'.

I am also generally a fan of Sarah Vine; she doesn't usually shy away from difficult subjects and does not seem to be afraid of controversy; so why am I angry about this article?

It's because of this paragraph:

"The truth in this case is that Lia Thomas, while emotionally and psychologically a woman, still retains much of the physical attributes she acquired as a man. And as such, she should not be competing against other women who do not possess her inherent advantages."

The truth? Let's be absolutely clear: Lia Thomas is a man. Born male, a boy, now grown to adulthood and therefore a man. It doesn't matter what Thomas does to his body, or how he wants to be perceived, the fact is he is a man. Our mainstream press seem to believe it would be wrong to say this, or perhaps believe it would be unkind to say it, so we end up with paragraphs like the one above.

How is Thomas 'emotionally' a woman? Does he cry at chick-flicks? How can anyone make sense of that description without resorting to stereotypes?

How is Thomas 'psychologically' a woman? Again with the stereotypes; as I was reading this article, (in a break from sorting out some financial arrangements), my husband was sewing.

Is he 'psychologically' a woman?

Then 'she should not be competing against other women'. We all know that this should read 'he should not be competing against women'. The use of 'she' and the phrase 'other women' gives the impression Thomas is a type of woman. He is not. He is a man. He may prefer us to comply with his belief he is some type of woman, but he is not, and let's be honest, the often heard plea 'be kind' really means 'be compliant'.

In a brilliant article by Barra Kerr, (now on the Fair Play for Women website after being removed from Mumsnet and Medium) the effects of this abuse of reality are made clear:

“Forcing our brains to ignore the evidence of our eyes, to ignore a conflict between what we see and know to be true, and what we are expected to say, affects us.”

Now I know some of you may feel this is unfair, that Sarah Vine is doing her very best under difficult circumstances in order to bring this issue to the attention of millions of readers. We agree, the circumstances are difficult; ask one of the many women (and some men) who have been banned from social media and from various websites for the crime of speaking the truth.

But while we continue to repeat the ridiculous idea that a man can be 'emotionally and psychologically a woman' then we will continue to tread water in the fight for the rights of women and the safeguarding of children. I struggle to believe Sarah Vine believes this man is actually a woman, so why not speak the truth?

As Barra Kerr says:

“I want to be alert. I want others to be alert. I want people to see the real picture, and I want those instinctive reactions that we feel when something is wrong, to be un-blunted, un-dulled by this cheap but effective psychological trick. I feel like I owe this to myself, and I absolutely owe it to other women.

And more than anything, I owe this to girls. I don’t want to play even the tiniest part in grooming them to disregard their natural protective instincts. Those instincts are there for a reason. To keep them safe. They need those instincts intact, and sharp.”

We owe it to women, and we certainly owe it to girls. To keep us all safe. To protect women’s sport. To preserve our hard-won rights.