Perspectives

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Valentina Petrillo will be first out transgender athlete at Paralympics, a trans woman in para track and field

Valentina Petrillo will get to show her speed at the Paralympic Games in Paris, after more than four years of uncertainty and setbacks.

The Italian Paralympic Committee confirmed her selection to their Paralympic team over the weekend. The selection makes Petrillo the first publicly out transgender athlete in Paralympic history. 

Ness Murby came out publicly as trans after the last time they competed at the Paralympics. They did not compete at the Tokyo Paralympics after coming out and is not currently listed to compete in Paris.

“I have been waiting for this day for three years and in these past three years I have done everything possible to earn it,” she told BBC Sport. “The historic value of being the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics is an important symbol of inclusion.”

Petrillo, visually impaired since contracting Stargardt disease at age 14, will compete at 200-meter and 400-meter races in the T12 classification, which adjusts for visual impairment. 

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Petrillo may lack sight, but she’s had a sharp focus on a vision of being on this grand stage for most of her life. She’s stayed the course and keeping running fast even when the way to the Paralympics looked to be a dead end.

How Valentina Petrillo got to the Paris Paralympics

Prior to transition, Petrillo was an 11-time national champion in the men’s competition. She sought to compete in women’s para athletic events since deciding to come out as trans in 2018 and starting hormone replacement therapy in 2019. 

She met International Paralympic Committee and World Para Athletics standards to compete in the female category. But she ran up against friction from FISPES (Italian Federation for Paralympic and Experimental Sport), the national governing body for adaptive sport. 

Officials initially refused to allow her to compete in female events. They finally relented prior to their national para athletics championships at the end of the 2020 season.

Petrillo became the first transgender woman to compete and win a national athletics championship in Italy in 2020. (Photo by Marco Mantovani/Getty Images)

Petrillo made the most of the chance with championships at 200 and 400 meters. Her success began the push toward for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021. 

The next barrier her way came in 2021 when she was reclassified from T12 to T13 at mid-year, which meant having to meet a faster qualifying standard. Despite setting a 400-meter national record and promising international debut with a 5th-place effort at the 2021 European Para Athletic Championships, Petrillo was left off Italy’s roster for Tokyo.

“The day that I learned I was not going to Tokyo, I happened to find myself on an athletics track,” she stated in an interview with BiDiMedia in 2023. “From that day I immediately started to think about Paris and building what was possible.”

She met the next obstacle in her path in March 2023. Petrillo withdrew from the World Masters Indoor Athletic Championships in Poland due to anti-trans threats and concerns for her safety. A few days later, the ban on transgender women by World Athletics went into effect and worries grew that World Para Athletics would follow suit.

World Para Athletics choose to stay with current IOC standards and guidelines instead, and Petrillo earned a place at that year’s World Para Athletics Championships.  She ended up a pair of bronze medals in Paris, including a personal best at 400 meters and huge boost toward to making a return trip for the big show in 2024.

The scrutiny, hopes and a dream from the past

Petrillo is scheduled to make her first appearance on the Paralympic stage on September 2. She will step in the starter blocks for the opening round of the women’s T12 400 meters, where she has the 6th fastest time in the world this year. 

The discussion and speculation around a transgender woman with speed and accomplishment is brewing with competition more than two weeks away, as expected. Some say the scrutiny around Petrillo may be worse than the recent Olympic boxing controversy.

The IPC’s public stance on Petrillo’s eligibility in the seems hold even after a year. “It was only a question of when and not if,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said to La Gazzetta dello Sport after Petrillo’s efforts in 2023. “It is up to the federation to establish the rules. At IPC we do not establish another rule, we want the issue to be guided by science.”

Pietro Mennea’s golden sprint at the 1980 Olympics inspires Petrillo’s try for Paralympic gold in 2024. (Left photo by Tony Duffy/Getty Images Right Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

For Petrillo, 50 years young as she prepares for Paris, this chance is also a dream decades in the making. As a young child growing up in Naples, she was in front of a television in 1980 watching Italian sprinting icon Pietro Mennea pull off an upset to win Olympic gold at 200 meters in Moscow. 

The 200 meters is Petrillo favorite event because of Mennea. The memory of his win 44 years ago has been her inspiration since. “I play that race over and over again,” she remembered in an interview with Outsports in 2020. “It gives me that same feeling of motivation and excitement.”

The memory spurs her bring her best races to the Paralympics, but she also seeks to set an example through her story which write a new chapter in front of the world.

I want to become the symbol of a world that is rebelling. I believe that in the future we need examples like mine,” Petrillo noted in an interview with Fanpage.it in July. “I am convinced that it will lead to something. Just see me in Paris at the Paralympics “

“I’m going to do the most beautiful thing, the one I’ve always dreamed of in life,” she continued. “I’m running with women.”

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Team LGBTQ+ finished in 7th place at this year’s Olympics – their most medals ever

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Team LGBTQ+ (i.e. all of the publicly out lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer athletes) have finished in 7th place in the medal count, with an impressive 42 medals, consisting of 15 gold medals, 13 silver medals and 14 bronze medals. Slay! 

In the traditional medal count (gold-silver-bronze) ranking, Team LGBTQ+ would be in 7th place.

That’s ahead of every single country that criminalises being gay, reports OutSports.

Japan was just in front of Team LGBTQ+ with 45 medals, while Italy was close behind with 40 medals, and the USA was way out in front of everyone with 126. Show offs.

For context, last time round, Team LGBTQ+ won a grand total of 32 team and individual medals – 11 gold, 12 silver and nine bronze – placing 10th in the 2021 Tokyo Games. 

This year, Team LGBTQ+ smashed that number with their most-ever medals won.

How many LGBTQ+ athletes are there?

Team LGBTQ+ consists of nearly 200 LGBTQ+ athletes, with 11 representing Team GB, including diver Tom Daley, swimmer Daniel Jervis and hockey player Fiona Crackles, Outsports reports.

However, that number will no doubt continue to increase over the course of future games as more athletes feel comfortable sharing their identity with the world.

Now the Games have concluded, here are all of Team LGBTQ+’s medals:

Bronze medalists Charlotte Fry, Carl Hester and Becky Moody of Team Great Britain pose for a photo during the medal ceremony for the Dressage Team Grand Prix Special
Carl Hester is part of the bronze medal-winning Dressage Team. (Mike Hewitt/Getty)

Bronze Medals

Laura Aarts, Netherlands, Water Polo – Laura Aarts secured a bronze medal in the pool, beating the US.

Amandine Buchard, France, Judo – Amandine Buchard went from silver in Tokyo to gold in Paris in the 52kg category.

Natalya Diehm, Australia, BMX Freestyle – Natalya Diehm won a bronze medal which marked her as Australia’s first ever Women’s BMX Freestyle medal winner at an Olympic Games.

Lauren Doyle, Alev Kelter, Steph Rovetti, Kristi Kirshe, USA, Rugby Sevens – Rugby Sevens’ US team was bolstered by their LGBTQ+ stars and secured a bronze medal. 

Beatriz Ferreira, Brazil, Boxing – Beatriz Ferreira won her second Olympic boxing medal after a thrilling match.

Carl Hester, Great Britain, Equestrian – Carl Hester (and his horse, Fame) secured his fourth Olympic medal in Paris with a bronze in Team Dressage.

Gabi Guimaraes, Ana Carolina Da Silva, Rosamaria Montibeller, Roberta, Brazil, Volleyball – The Brazillian women’s indoor volleyball team beat Turkey in the bronze medal match.

Evy Leibfarth, USA, Canoe Slalom – 20-year-old Evy Leibfarth, the first American to compete in three canoe/kayak Olympic disciplines, came away with a bronze. 

Cindy Ngamba, Refugee team, Boxing – 25-year-old Cindy Ngamba has won a bronze medal in boxing, becoming the first athlete from the Olympic Refugee Team to win a medal at the Olympics.

Nesthy Petecio, Philippines, Boxing – Nesty Petecio won a bronze medal in boxing and is planning to retire after the Paris Olympics.

Tabea Schendekehl, Germany, Rowing – Tabea Schendekehl competed in the women’s quadruple sculls team event where she won a bronze medal. 

Lea Schuller, Sara Doorsoun, Felicitas Rauch, Ann- Katrin Berger, Germany, Soccer – With four out players, Germany’s soccer team beat Spain 1-0.

Rafaela Silva, Brazil, Judo – Rafaela Silva won bronze in mixed-team judo, she won Brazil’s first gold medal at Rio 2016.

Samantha Whitcomb and Amy Atwell, Australia, Basketball – Winning bronze, Australia’s women’s basketball team secured their first Olympic medal since 2012.

Silver Medalists Thomas Daley and Noah Williams of Team Great Britain pose with the national flag of Team Great Britain
Tom Daley wins a silver with his diving partner Noah Williams. (Clive Rose/Getty)

Silver Medals

Olivia Apps, Sophie de Goede, Maddy Grant, Canada, Rugby Sevens – The Canadian team took home the silver medal in women’s rugby sevens.

Perris Benegas, USA, BMX Freestyle – Perris Benegas freestyled her way to a silver medal after knee surgery a few months earlier.

Tom Daley, Great Britain, Diving – Avid knitter and Olympic icon Tom Daleywon a silver medal in the 10-meter platform synchro competition, his fifth Olympic medal, while his husband and sons looked on.

Raz Hershko, Israel, Judo – Raz Hershko won a bronze in Tokyo and secured a silver in Paris in the +78kg Judo category.

Michelle Kroppen, Germany, Archery – After a bronze team medal in Tokyo, Michelle Kroppen earned silver in the mixed team event.

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, Denmark, Equestrian – Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour was part of the Danish dressage team who won silver.

Marta, Adriana, Tarciane, Tamires, Luciana, Lorena, Taina, Lauren Leal, Brazil, Soccer – The Brazilian women’s soccer squad had the second most out, LGBTQ+ athletes of any team.

Emma Twigg, New Zealand, Rowing – Emma Twigg won a silver medal in single sculls, dethroned from her previous gold.

Sha’Carri Richardson, USA, Track & Field – Bisexual track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson won a silver medal in the 100-meter sprint.

Lauren Scruggs, USA, Fencing – Lauren Scruggs won silver in an all-American women’s individual final, she also won gold in a team event.

Maria Perez, Spain, Track & Field – Maria Perez proved queer people do walk fast; she got a silver medal in the 20km racewalk.

Marianne Vos, Netherlands, Cycling – From her first Olympics in 2008, Marianne Vos went on to win silver in the 2024 women’s road race.

Haleigh Washington, USA, Volleyball – Bisexual volleyball player Haleigh Washington was part fo the US women’s volleyball team who secured silver, the runners-up to Italy.

Gold medalist Alice Bellandi of Team Italy celebrate during the Wome's Judo -78 kg medal ceremony
Alice Bellandi secures a gold medal for Team Italy. (Alex Gottschalk/Getty)

Gold Medals

Alice Bellandi, Italy, Judo – Alice Bellandi secured Italy a gold in Judo and to celebrate the win she smooched her girlfriend (fellow judo star Jasmine Martin, who competes for South Africa).

Amandine Buchard, France, Judo – Amandine Buchard was part of the mixed-team gold medal for a home crowd in France. 

Svenja Brunckhorst, Germany, 3×3 Basketball – Svenja Brunckhorst is a professional basketball player in Germany and France who won gold for the German team.

Tierna Davidson, USA, Soccer – Tierna Davidson is currently the only out player on Team US, after winning a bronze in Tokyo she’ll now be taking home a gold.

Paola Egonu, Italy, Volleyball – With Paola Egonu’s triumphant performance, Italy won its first-ever gold Volleyball medal.

Kellie Harrington, Ireland, Boxing – Kellie Harrington is the first Irish female athlete to win gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games. She is now looking forward to a quiet life with her wife Mandy.

Ana Patricia, Brazil, Beach Volleyball – With her World Championship teammate Eduarda Santos Lisboa, Ana Patricia secured the gold in a thrilling match against Canada. 

Maria Perez, Spain, Track and Field – Maria Perez won gold in the marathon walk relay, after earning a silver medal in the individual 20km event.

Sha’Carri Richardson, USA, Track & Field – Sha’Carri Richardson added a gold in the 4×100-meter relay to sit beside her silver medal in the 100-meter sprint.

Lauren Scruggs, USA, Fencing – Lauren Scruggs won a team gold medal, after a silver in individual. Scruggs makes history as the first Black American woman and the first Black, out lesbian to win an individual medal in Olympic fencing.

Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Alyssa Thomas, Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, USA, Basketball – Over half of the Team USA women’s basketball team, including a couple of coaches and staff, are publicly out. The team narrowly beat France for the gold.

Anne Veenendaal and Marleen Jochems, Netherlands, Field Hockey – 

Lara Vadlau, Austria, Sailing – Lara Vadlau and her dingy partner Lukae Maehr won the first Gold medal of this year’s Olympics for Austria.

Frederic Wandres, Germany, Equestrian – Frederic Wandres (and his horse Bluetooth) trotted his way to gold in the German team dressage event.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, New Zealand, Rugby Sevens – Portia Woodman-Wickliffe won gold, her third Olympic medal for New Zealand. Woodman-Wickliffe is married to fellow Black Fern and World Cup winner Renee Wickliffe.

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NY Times report on GLAAD riddled with bad reporting, innuendo, lies

Let me say up front that no one from GLAAD asked me to write this, and I did not run its content by them or coordinate in any way. These are my independent observations based on my experience as Vice President and Chief Programs Officer under the leadership of Sarah Kate Ellis for five years. I was there for much of what is detailed in the recent New York Times story, and I feel compelled to provide a counterpoint to the imbalanced — and perhaps libelous — story put forward by the Times. 

Before I get into the content of the piece, it’s incredibly relevant to point out that the writer of this piece, Emily Steel, signed an open letter last year criticizing GLAAD and more than 100 other organizations and leaders who spoke out against The New York Times’ coverage of transgender people. That alone should have disqualified her from investigating and writing this story. I won’t speculate about her motives or those of her editors, but the fact that she had taken a public position against GLAAD’s work speaks volumes. 

Beyond that, the piece is riddled with bad reporting, innuendo, lies, mistruths, facts out of context, and misinformation. I know because I was there — but no one at the New York Times bothered to call any of us (and there are many) who could have instantly debunked this nonsense. 

So let’s get into it — facts first. 

Sarah Kate Ellis’s salary is not $1 million per year. It’s not even close. It’s easily searchable and publicly available on GLAAD’s IRS 990 forms, which are filed annually. The most recent documents indicate a salary of roughly $575,000 and a bonus of about $27,000 — a lot of money, yes, but a far cry from $1 million and very much in line with the leadership of nonprofit organizations with similar budgets. 

Much has been made of GLAAD’s work at Davos, so let me offer some context there as well. The World Economic Forum meets in Davos each year and is composed of leaders from government, business and international organizations, civil society, academia, and media to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. Until GLAAD entered the frame in 2017, LGBTQ issues were not on the agenda. Today, they are a centerpiece. 

While I did not attend any of GLAAD’s trips to Davos, I was privy to the strategy, logistics, and other details related to those activations. Here’s the truth. Those trips are funded by a donor who specifically designated those funds for that purpose in order to provide GLAAD an opportunity to have a seat at the table with world leaders, Fortune 100 CEOs, and global influencers in order to make progress on criminalization of LGBTQ identities, HIV medication access, and reform in the Catholic Church. You don’t do that with events and meetings at the local Hampton Inn. If you want to have a seat at the table with world leaders, you go where they are. 

GLAAD is not a direct services organization — it is an agent of culture change, and culture change is a long and expensive game. When you show up to Davos, Cannes Lions, the Emmys, Sundance, and other places of elite influence, you must show up as their equal in order to earn a place in the conversation and be trusted to co-create the change we are advocating for. And what is the change that has happened, exactly, from GLAAD’s presence in Davos? 

A simple Google search will produce a laundry list of impact for the LGBTQ community from GLAAD’s work there, especially critical at a time when DEI and other inclusive programs are under attack in the corporate world. It’s also worth noting that GLAAD’s fingerprints are all over many things that never are acknowledged publicly because to do so would damage the work and the end goal. 

Nonetheless, here are just a few headlines tell the tale: 

Washington Blade: GLAAD, HRC Presidents Attend World Economic Forum

Associated Press: Pope Approves Same-sex Blessings For Couples

Associated Press: Pope Says Homosexuality Not A Crime

World Economic Forum: What Davos Taught Me About Supporting My Transgender Child Partnership for Global LGBTQIA+ Equality: Davos Promenade Lights Up Rainbow 

New York Times: Vatican Says Transgender People Can Be Baptized and Become Godparents Here’s the bottom line. 

Sarah Kate Ellis has taken the organization from literal bankruptcy to the stages at Davos, the Emmys, Cannes Lions, the Super Bowl, and countless other places to represent our community and make change. She has made GLAAD a juggernaut with a place at the table at the world’s most influential cultural moments and among the globe’s leading decision makers and culture shapers. That’s why Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023 and why she commands the respect of the team she leads at GLAAD, the board of directors who hired her, and the leaders of the industries in which she is making change every day. On a personal level, she is one of the most honorable, visionary, judicious, and impactful leaders I have ever worked with. 

It’s a shame to see the New York Times stoop to petty vindictiveness and shoddy reporting for clicks and revenge. It’s not just an attack on Sarah Kate Ellis — it’s an attack on all of us who have been a part of turning GLAAD around and making it a leading global voice for equality and acceptance. My only demand of GLAAD’s leadership would be to go even bigger, even louder, even harder, and even faster. Stay the course. The world needs you now more than ever. 

(Editor’s note: Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the New York Times, disputes Stokes’s characterization of the open letter. He wrote in an email to the Blade: “The letter was not critical of GLAAD. It was signed by over 80 members of our newsroom opposed to the NewsGuild of New York engaging in or taking sides in public debates over internal editorial decisions at The Times. The letter stated: ‘Our duty is to be independent. We pursue the facts wherever they may lead. We are journalists, not activists. That line should be clear.’”)

Zeke Stokes is former Vice President and Chief Programs Officer at GLAAD and an executive producer of the award-winning documentary ‘TransMilitary.’

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New Zealand rower takes to OnlyFans to keep his Olympic dream afloat

While many athletes scrabble for sponsors to keep their Olympic dreams afloat, gay rower Robbie Manson has taken a novel approach by setting himself up on the adults-only OnlyFans website.

The 34-year-old New Zealander told Reuters that the revenue from the subscription-based service used for publishing adult-themed content had vastly increased his income.

“I get more than double what I would be on otherwise as an athlete — read into that what you will, but I am making more from OnlyFans than I am from rowing at this stage,” he said on Wednesday.

“I thought, if I’m going to do it, you have to tell everyone, be really open and I think you need to feel that any publicity is good publicity.”

Manson was speaking the day before his Olympic men’s double sculls final together with Jordan Parry, and said he had been inspired to create a profile on the website by Australian diver Matthew Mitchum, whose Olympic gold in the Beijing Games was the first won by an openly gay athlete.

“The fact that I’m gay, I have the gay following and the audience already, and I’m slightly leaning into that. I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone, (but) for other athletes, there’s definitely an opportunity there,” he said.

Asked what kind of content he put behind the OnlyFans paywall, Manson did not want to give too much away.

“Artistic nudes — I don’t want to say too much more than that, I think people need to subscribe if they want to know what’s exactly on there,” he said.

“But in the captions, I just try to give people a little bit of an update from time to time, like what’s going on in my life or training or journey to this point, towards the Olympics.”

Manson said that there were some nerves before he made his first post on the site.

“I guess a little bit, I just kind of did a post — I had thought about it and set it up in the background, and then it was like ‘oh, I don’t know if I want to tell everyone’, but you have to, I think that’s the thing.”

Many athletes at the Paris Games have companies and individuals that sponsor them personally, but sports like rowing have to compete for that money with more high-profile competitors in more glamorous events.

Funding from Rowing New Zealand covers Manson’s training costs, but he said that he needed to find other sources of income and the governing body has no problem with how he is doing so.

“I have a few friends that have supported me, but I don’t have any big personal sponsors or anything — the team obviously has their sponsors, but I’ve never had an issue with that or Rowing New Zealand,” he explained.

“I guess the people at Rowing New Zealand, the bosses if you like, they’re aware that this is making a huge financial impact and helping me get to where I want to go, and they understand that we’re not highly-funded as well. It’s great, I haven’t had any issues.”

Manson said he would encourage other athletes in a similar situation to explore the opportunities offered by paywalled content, especially of the more revealing variety.

“There is a market, I think, for everyone — you’ve got to already have some sort of an audience, and I guess a point of difference, and you’ve got to be willing to tell everyone if you want to do it,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone, but I think I’ve just been very lucky to have the opportunity there, and make the most of it.”

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Olympic boxer Imane Khelif is being targeted with transphobic hate—even though she isn’t even trans

The unceasing Transphobic Twitter Troupe led by J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk has spent the last two days targeting Olympic athlete and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif with transphobic remarks that are entirely inaccurate. The kicker? Khelif isn’t transgender.

In March 2024, Khelif told UNICEF that she’s been “able to overcome obstacles” despite starting her life “with nothing” — highlighting that her father, who worked as a welder in the Sahara desert, didn’t approve of boxing for girls. Thankfully, that dynamic has changed over time. “Both my parents come to support me,” Khelif explained. “They are my biggest fans.”

Why are people attacking Imane Khelif with transphobic remarks?

Transphobic celebrities and politicians are taking to social media to question Khelif’s gender and make the inaccurate claim that the Algerian boxer is a trans woman, which she is not.

According to a fact check from GLAAD and interACT, an organization that “empowers intersex youth and advance the rights of all people with innate variations in their physical sex characteristics,” there has been no indication of Khelif ever identifying as transgender or as intersex.

The transphobic, hateful claims from high-profile individuals are based on a statement from Umar Kremlev, the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), who told Russian news agency Tass that Khelif “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from the sports events,” as reported by The Guardian earlier this year.

The Washington Post subsequently reported that “it remains unclear what standards Khelif failed [in 2023] to lead to the disqualifications.” However, the discourse surrounding Khelif’s gender came back to the spotlight as she started competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

What happened between Angela Carini and Imane Khelif?

Italian boxer Angela Carini competed against Khelif in a boxing match at the 2024 Olympic Games. 46 seconds into the fight, however, Carini withdrew from the match and claimed that she was feeling an intense pain in her nose.

While Carini didn’t directly question Khelif’s gender, she told news outlets that it was “unfair” for her to compete with Khelif. The Italian boxer then noted that it was up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to evaluate whether Khelif was eligible to compete in the women’s boxing tournament at the Olympics.

Carini’s withdrawal from the match and subsequent remarks opened up a flood of transphobic remarks targeted against Khelif.

What did Elon Musk say about Imane Khelif?

Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in 2023 and re-branded it to X, posted the first viral attack on Khelif.

In the early hours of Thursday, August 1, the tech billionaire quote-shared an original post that read, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports. [I Stand With Angela Carini hashtag]. Let’s get it trending [fire emoji].” Musk quoted the post, writing, “Absolutely.”

A few hours later, Musk quote-shared an X post claiming that “Donald Trump will ban biological males from competing in women’s sports” to which Musk reacted with, “Good.”

What did J.K. Rowling say about Imane Khelif?

J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series and a producer on all the upcoming live-action adaptations of her novels being developed by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), also shared X posts disseminating inaccurate claims that Khelif is a trans woman.

Rowling wrote:

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s [sic] knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. [Paris 2024 hashtag].”

Rowling then reacted to a post from X user @YourAnonNews. The original post wrote, “Imane Khelif should sue every single account and outlet saying she is trans. Assholes are putting her life at risk, it is illegal in her country to be trans. The continuance of the blatant trans lie continues unfettered on Twitter.”

Rowling quote-shared that original X post and wrote the following inaccurate statement:

“The idea that those objecting to a male punching a female in the name of sport are objecting because they believe Khelif to be ‘trans’ is a joke. We object because we saw a male punching a female.”

Chris Evert, who was considered the world’s no. 1 tennis player in the 1980s, also commented on this controversy by quote-sharing the picture of a piece of paper that read, “No Males in Women’s Boxing.” Evert wrote, “Why are we even questioning this?”

Rowling reacted to Evert’s X post with a response that read:

“Because we currently live in a world where too many institutions, even those whose decisions may put women at risk of injury or death, are too cowardly to challenge the ludicrous proposition that acknowledging the reality of biological sex is inherently bigoted.”

What did Logan Paul & Jake Paul say about Imane Khelif?

Brothers Logan Paul and Jake Paul, controversial YouTubers and social media influencers who recently launched their own boxing careers, also chimed in. Jake quote-shared a video of Khelif being deemed the winner of the match against Carini following the Italian boxer’s withdrawal, writing:

“This is sickening. This is a travesty. Doesn’t matter what you believe. This is wrong and dangerous.”

Jake then shared another X post that read:

“To Angela Carini, although your dreams couldn’t come true today because of the crazy agendas that are at play in our world at the moment, I would love to offer you to fight on an MVP undercard, to show the world your talents on a fair platform and not against a man.”

In a since-deleted X post, Logan wrote:

“This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end.”

A few hours later, Logan shared a new X post walking back his original statement regarding Khelif. He wrote:

“OOPSIES!! I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app. Although she’s been previously disqualified for failing a ‘gender test’ and has XY chromosomes, some sources say Imane Khelif was born a biological woman. I stand by my sentiment that biological men should not compete against biological women in any sport and if you disagree you’re a sick f*ck.”

Even though Logan Paul’s follow-up X post is still problematic, some X users are praising the fact that he, unlike his fellow peers, has shared a new statement regarding Khelif.

What did JD Vance say about Imane Khelif?

JD Vance, who joined Donald Trump’s ticket as a Republican vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election, also shared an X post about Khelif — and somehow tied this controversy to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Vance wrote:

“This is where Kamala Harris’s ideas about gender lead: to a grown man pummeling a woman in a boxing match. This is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn it.”

What did Amy Broadhurst say about Imane Khelif?

Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst — an actual athlete who beat Khelif in a fight in 2022 — offered her perspective on the situation, writing:

“Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally, I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat.’ I think it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by 9 females before says it all.”

An X user replied to Broadhurst’s statement doubling down on the inaccurate claims that Khelif is a “biological male,” which is incorrect. The Irish boxer replied to that person with an X post claiming that Khelif “was born intersex,” which is also incorrect.

Broadhurst’s follow-up X statement read:

“She’s not biological. She was born intersex, and for all we know, she could have been brought up thinking all she was, was a female. Nobody knows the full truth.”

How did the International Olympic Committee (IOC) respond to this controversy involving Imane Khelif?

On Friday, August 2, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in the organization’s daily press briefing:

“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport. This is not a transgender case. There has been some confusion that somehow it’s a man fighting a woman. This is just not the case, scientifically. On that, there is consensus. Scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman. I think we need to kind of get that out.”

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French Drag Artists Made History as First in Drag to Carry an Olympic Torch

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Three French drag artists took the main stage ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, making history as some of the first in drag to carry an Olympic torch.

In posts to social media, Minima Gesté, Miss Martini and Nicky Doll all shared about the honor to represent their country and community on a global stage.

“As the flame passes through France, it announces the Olympic Games and spreads a message of peace and friendship between peoples,” wrote Nicky Doll, the host of Drag Race France, on Instagram.

“In a world that is deeply unstable at the moment, with all of us feeling completely hopeless about some awful things we watch happening before our eyes, it was important for me to use my platform and try to shed some light. Even though I usually prefer to act on things rather than hope for them: I would like to use this opportunity to hope for the immediate ceasefire in Rafah and for dignity to be brought back to Palestine and its people who tremendously suffered throughout these awful times and beyond,” she added.

Miss Martini, who performs predominantly in Marseille was proud to unite “citizens under the same values,” adding in a post that she was “Proud to have been chosen to represent the LGBTQIA+ community with my sisters, Minima Gesté and Nicky Doll.

Minima Gesté, who was the target of homophobic and transphobic harassment over her participation in the capital city’s leg of the relay, according to a report by them., fiercely carried the Olympic torch last week and thanked her community for the love and support she has received.

Calling the moment as a “unique and phenomenal opportunity,” Minima Gesté rounded out the trio of history-making drag artists to bear the Olympic torch to Paris with the Opening Ceremony taking place this Friday, July 26.

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A bookstore blocks the street: DC’s First Pride

In conjunction with WorldPride 2025, Rainbow History Project is creating an exhibit on the evolution of Pride: “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington.” This is the third of 10 articles that share our research themes. In “A Bookstore Blocks the Street,” we explore 1975 to 1979 and how the Lambda Rising Bookstore hosted Gay Pride Day Block Parties, initiating the annual Pride events in D.C.

In the years following the 1970 Christopher Street Liberation Day March, many gay Washingtonians traveled to NYC for the annual Pride events. But in 1975, according to Deacon Maccubbin, a friend posed a crucial question: I love going to New York for Pride, but why do we have to go all the way every time? Why don’t we do something here in D.C.? Maccubbin, a local activist, community leader, and the owner of the Lambda Rising bookstore ran with the idea.  

With the help of a friend, Bob Carpenter, Maccubbin organized the first annual Gay Pride Day Block Party in front of Lambda Rising: the block of 20th Street, N.W. between R and S streets. The event was intended to both educate and entertain the community. Not a protest nor merely a party, rather, a community building celebration where local gay and lesbian organizations and service providers could do outreach while attendees danced in the streets. The Gay Pride Day Block Party took the revolutionary spirit of New York’s Pride events and incorporated a celebratory and wonkish tone. 

The day was cosponsored by the Community Building Association, an umbrella group for the fledgling gay and lesbian organizations operating out of the building. This included Lambda Rising, the Gay Switchboard, the Gay Blade, Gay Youth, and the off our backs women’s newspaper. Gay and lesbian organizations had tables to share information, sell merchandise, and sign up members. This educational and activist tone served to build unity, share resources, and strengthen the awareness of the gay civil rights agenda. The inclusion of educational booths at Pride events has grown into a mainstay of international Pride activities and rivals the contributions of New York’s march and political rallies, and the vibrant parades of California. 

Entertainment was provided by local gay bars Pier 9 and the Lost and Found who lent their record collection and coordinated dancing in the street. The soundsystem and audio engineering were provided by Boden Sandstrom and her company Women Sound – the pioneering local women-created and operated audio engineering company that went on to define the sound of the women’s music movement. In 1978, popular lesbian guitarist and singer Casse Culver debuted her song “What are we going to do?” about Anita Bryant’s nationwide attacks on gay rights. 

Local politics reared its head as well. Council member John Wilson coordinated and presented the first Gay Pride Day resolution in support of the gay and lesbian community. Other Council members denounced the events, tried to block resolutions, and spoke about the “gay shame” being brought on the District. Support of Gay Pride Day resolutions factored into candidate ratings and endorsements by GLAA, the Gertrude Stein Democrats, and other political activists. Even Mayor Marion Barry showed his embrace of the gay community who propelled him to victory in 1978.

“It’s one of those things, like when something’s got to be done, somebody’s got to do it.” Maccubin said about founding Gay Pride Day. Pride Day outgrew 20th Street and later S Street, with attendance increasing from several hundred to between 8,000 to 10,000. Maccubbin therefore handed over the reins of Gay Pride Day to a new community organization: the P Street Festival, Inc. 

Our WorldPride 2025 exhibit, “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington,” centers the voices of the event organizers and includes the critics of Pride and the intersection of Pride and other movements for equal rights and liberation. But we need your help to do that: We are looking for images and input, so look around your attic and get involved

Vincent Slatt volunteers as director of archiving at the Rainbow History Project; Colette Combs works as a volunteer there.

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A record 193 LGBTQ athletes to compete in Paris Olympics

At least 193 out LGBTQ athletes will be in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games.

This surpasses the record-setting Tokyo Olympics, held in the summer of 2021, where there were at least 186 out competitors. 

Arthur Mariano.
Brazilian gymnast Arthur Nory Mariano is one of at least 20 out male Olympians competing in the Paris Olympics. Jam Media / Getty Images file

This year, a record 20 male athletes participating in the summer Olympics are publicly out. Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said equestrian, an Olympic sport with eight LGBTQ men participating, has “long been a leader in this space of out men.”

The vast majority of athletes on the list of queer Olympians, approximately 170, are women. Lesbians and other queer women represent more than half of at least two teams: the U.S. women’s basketball team, where seven of the 12 players are out, and the Australian women’s soccer team, where at least 12 of the 18 players are out.  

Brittney Griner.
Brittney Griner is one of seven out players on Team USA’s women’s basketball team. Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images

However, in the world of men’s sports, where LGBTQ athletes in the past might have been uncomfortable coming out, more male athletes are realizing that their teammates are more accepting than they may have assumed.

“That’s the biggest thing that people are finally starting to see, that despite the nonsense that goes on in some men’s locker rooms, it doesn’t reflect an actual level of acceptance. The level of acceptance is higher than what they think,” he said.

Timo Cavelius.
Germany’s Timo Cavelius will be first out gay man to compete in Olympic judo, according to Outsports.David Finch / Getty Images file

Some of the highest profile queer athletes at this year’s Olympic Games include British diver Tom Daley, track star Sha’Carri Richardson and trans nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, Hiltz punched their ticket to Paris, running the second fastest time ever of any American in the women’s 1,500-meter race.

In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, Hiltz, 29, said the race had significance beyond setting the meet record. 

“This is bigger than just me. … I wanted to run this one for my community,” they said. “All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”

Nikki Hiltz.
Team USA’s Nikki Hiltz will be one of at least three nonbinary athletes competing in the Paris Olympics.Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Hiltz will be one of at least three nonbinary athletes participating in Paris, according to Zeigler. They’ll be joined by U.S. women’s rugby player Kris Thomas and Canadian soccer star Quinn, who helped Canada win a gold medal at the Tokyo Games and made history in the process as the first openly trans athlete to nab an Olympic medal.

Some people believe the ban on trans women participating in the women’s category for certain sports has an effect on the number of LGBTQ athletes at the Olympics, he said he does not believe that the bans are affecting the overall numbers.

However, the elimination of softball as an Olympic sport, a sport that had eight LGBTQ women at the Tokyo Games, for example, has had an effect on the numbers. Zeigler also pointed out that the Swedish women’s soccer team, which “surprisingly” didn’t qualify for Paris, had four LGBTQ players in Tokyo.

Women’s soccer, across all participating countries, is the queerest sport at the Olympics this year, with at least 46 out players. Spain’s team has six out athletes, Brazil’s team has eight and Australia’s roster has 12

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JD Vance targeted ambassador appointees with anti-LGBTQ questionnaire

Sen. JD Vance presented a “questionnaire” last year to career State Department nominees for ambassador to intimidate them — or thwart their nominations. It was recently leaked without comment from Vance. More than a neutral questionnaire, this was a loaded invitation to rumble on the far right of the Republican Party from a senator who does not serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Washington Post headline de-gayed the story, “Leaked memo shows JD Vance’s anti-woke ideology…”.  In fact, the questionnaire was focused solely on LGBTQ issues.

Professionally nurtured and funded with a $15 million donation by gay billionaire Peter Thiel, vice presidential candidate Vance is caught up in the contradiction between having a billionaire gay business and political mentor while launching a searing, anti-gay questionnaire targeting career State Department nominees for ambassadorial posts worldwide. A political contortionist, Sen. Vance became in the last year the single largest obstacle to confirming career ambassadors in the Senate. 

The Vance questionnaire is a stunning, obsessive document harkening back to the Eisenhower-era investigations of suspected homosexuals, State Department diplomats (“twisted twerps in pinstripes”) and “Fellow Travelers” of the Lavender Scare. It is written in the icy language of investigators —“Please provide a discreet response to each question.” Like FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s insistence that suspected “sex deviates” be reported to him using a “green pencil,” the Vance questionnaire obsesses over really small things like “gender neutral bathrooms” intended to stigmatize and inflame. But for this questionnaire it is “The Progress” flag, over and over. Will you fly “the Progress Flag?” When would that be “appropriate?” Should “the Progress Flag” be displayed? “If confirmed, on what basis would you determine when and where raising the Progress Flag….”, Vance, the questioner, presses. What the heck is the “Progress Flag?,” I wondered as a gay man in my 70s. Oh, right, it is the banner known worldwide as the rainbow Pride flag, itself something of a cliché, with some new stripes to include transgender people and people of color.

The questioner asks nominees, “how would you explain ‘human rights for LGBTQ people?” where they are neither respected nor exist, in states where imprisonment or execution may be possible. You can feel the questioner doing an eye-roll as though “human rights for LGBTQ people” is a crazy oxymoron. I am reminded of U.S. Civil Service Commission attorney John Steele’s memorandum in the early 1960s discussing why homosexual Americans can have no such rights. “Although there are dissenting voices, our society generally regards homosexuality as a form of immoral conduct … uniquely nasty,” he wrote in a document the Mattachine Society discovered in a file labeled “Suitability” at the National Archives.

It is surprising that recipients of Vance’s questionnaire, the folks whose appointments were put on hold by Vance, did not leak the document sooner. We do have gay ambassadors who have led the way, ably representing our country and its values, even in places like authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Hungary. U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman hosted in 2023 at the embassy in Budapest a Family Pride picnic attended by several hundred guests and their families, including Ambassador Pressman, his husband and their two children. 

In his remarks Ambassador Pressman said, “It has become abundantly clear that right now in Hungary — as leaders call for new laws to “protect children;” as books are wrapped in cellophane; and bookstores fined for displaying books; as rainbow benches are defaced — now is also the right time for the U.S. to celebrate you and your families by hosting what I am told is one of the largest LGBT family gatherings in Hungary’s history.” This is the great soft-power of American example, a force worldwide. During Ambassador Pressman’s confirmation hearing a rubber boat on the Danube River carried a sign that said, “Mr. Pressman, don’t colonize Hungary with your cult of death.” I understand a photo of that protest is proudly displayed behind Ambassador Pressman’s desk. 

LGBTQ historians and archive activists should be grateful to whomever leaked the questionnaire. First, because it so well reveals JD Vance’s character in hot pursuit of anything LGBTQ with the small-bore criticism of displaying the Pride flag during regional Pride celebrations. Most important, in the larger context of targeting State Department nominees, we owe remembrance to the LGBTQ Americans who came before us — those “twisted twerps” who were interrogated and left with stalled careers in ruins.

Charles Francis is president of the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C. and author of ‘Archive Activism: Memoir of a ‘Uniquely Nasty’ Journey.’

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Queer Aussie surfer going for gold at Olympics after overcoming chronic illness

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Australian pro surfer Tyler Wright is a two-time world champion – but now she’s going for gold at the Olympics… although she won’t be anywhere near Paris.

This will be Wright’s first Games – amid what she calls a “sausage-fest” in the sport.

“As a young girl becoming a woman in surfing, 12 years ago, it was an era of ‘sex sells’,” she previously told The Sydney Morning Herald. “Sexy, straight, blonde, female” surfers were most coveted and she didn’t fit into those stereotypes.

“I’m built like an athlete, I’m not straight, I don’t have blonde hair. While men were allowed to go out and be athletes – and get paid for doing it – a lot of women weren’t. If you invest in women, you’ll see them excel.”

While she’s definitely going to the Olympics, she’ll be almost 10,000 miles from the French capital. Instead, she’s headed to Tahiti, the South Pacific archipelago in French Polynesia which is hosting the surfing events.

Wright comes from a family of surfers, including brother Owen who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Does Tyler Wright have a partner?

Wright identifies as bisexual and met her future wife, Lili Baker, in 2021. 

“Lily is just a vibe,” Wright told The Sydney Morning Herald. “She was working in a cafe in Newcastle [in New South Wales] when I was in town for a contest. I felt so respected and appreciated [by her]. Eventually, I asked her out, she said yes and here we are.”

The pair have “an ease and openness” coupled with “love, respect and appreciation”.

Does Tyler Wright have a chronic illness?

Wright suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome in 2018, telling the media that she thought she was “gonna die”. She missed 14 months of surfing after winning world titles in 2016 and 2017.

She has also suffered from a respiratory issue because of narrow airways that left her struggling to breathe during competitions. She underwent a “life-changing” procedure to put “seven screws” in her head to improve her breathing. 

“Through one of the specialists, we ended up finding that most of the time I’m under-oxygenated and I’m semi-suffocating all the time through my nose, and my airways are really small. I shouldn’t be able to do what I do, according to my brain scans and my anatomy. It’s really unusual that I am a professional surfer,” Wright told The Guardian earlier this year.

“I feel different going out and competing this season.”

She also once spent three days in hospital, suffering debilitating period pain.

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