The New York Times brings the happy news that the French government has removed “gender identity disorders” from a list of “long-term psychiatric diseases.” That puts France well ahead of the USA, which is only now starting to consider that such “disorders” might be “curable” by means other than torture.

Checking the French news, I am not surprised to see this decision being hailed as a personal triumph for my friend Stéphanie Nicot, who is a leading trans rights activist as well as one of France’s best fantasy editors.

Sadly the French government is also well ahead of the International Olympic Committee which is now recommending that intersex athletes such as Caster Semenya be forced to undergo medical treatment before they can compete in order to neutralize any “unfair” advantages that their condition confers. The Huffington Post and Time put the boot in. I look forward to the day when Serena Williams is required to undergo medical treatment so that she can compete on a level playing field with me. I rather fancy winning an Olympic medal for tennis and it is clear that differences in her genetic makeup, not to mention her age, give Ms. Williams an unfair advantage over me.