The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has reached its final weekend, throughout these games, instead of simply celebrating the outstanding athletic talent of the world, prominent celebrities and public political figures have been flagrantly transphobic, homophobic and racist by labelling certain female athletes as “biological men,” probing their anatomies and spreading disinformation. Why? Because apparently these phenomenal athletes should be “ashamed” of their strength, their physicality and the very determination that makes them star athletes of the world.
Publicly assigning a muscular body and even “hard” facial features to men, and labeling it as positive in men, but maligning these features in women is misogynistic. Going a step further and question the person’s sex assigned at birth to justify this despicable misogyny is transphobic. No surprise, the misogyny and transphobia disproportionately targets cisgender and transgender women of color.
From Serena Williams and Caster Semenya in the 2000’s to U.S. Rugby player Ilona Maher and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in this year’s Olympics, transphobic rhetoric continues in public discourse, particularly in sports. The impact of this hate speech on people in real life is known all too well to us at AVP. Cisgender and transgender women have been murdered because of a misinformed or simply bigoted person “suspected” that the victim was trans, as if it justifies transphobia, not to mention the psychological damage this rhetoric and violence does to the mental health of survivors and the trans community at large.
That ignorance and hate gets weaponized to become a dangerously violence policy machine at national scale as evidenced in the 637 anti-trans bills being introduced in 2024 alone.
When it comes to ANYBODY’S sex, gender identity or sexual orientation, NOBODY has the right to call into question how someone identifies no matter how much “research” you did.
So, what can you do when people are bigoted and mean?
Be an aspiring ally! Call out and correct transphobic and homophobic language and/or behavior (practice self-safety first)! And **unconditionally** support Trans and Gender Non-Conforming people in need. And if you experience or witness any hate violence, contact our hotline at 212-714-1141 to report and get support.
We are all capable of being better to one another, and holding people accountable for their harmful behavior is necessary for a peaceful and safe future for us all.