The National Center For Transgender Equality says, “transgender people are people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were thought to be at birth.” The organization continues describing what it is to be transgender:
Being transgender means different things to different people. Like a lot of other aspects of who people are, like race or religion, there’s no one way to be transgender, and no one way for transgender people to look or feel about themselves. The best way to understand what being transgender is like is to talk with transgender people and listen to their stories.
A 2019 BBC article states, “the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by police forces in England, Scotland and Wales has risen by 81%, latest figures suggest,” with the increasing to 1,944 from 1,073 in 2016-2017. Merriam Webster defines transphobia as the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against transgender people. This along with famed Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling used her large Twitter platform to make transphobic comments regarding a United Kingdom court case at the end of last year shows transgender people are facing discrimination and violence within the nation.
Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like.
Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
Live your best life in peace and security.
But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019
Nyla Rose, a transgender woman winning the AEW Women’s Championship earlier in the year, exposed how the wrestling community isn’t immune to transphobia as she was and continues to be on the opposite end of transphobic comments. A peculiar interaction involving Pro Wrestling: EVE (EVE) co-founder Emily Read and a transgender fan highlights this. The conversation upset transgender activists, fans of the promotion, and as of the publishing of this article has gone without comment from the promotion’s ownership. The following tweet alerted fans to the remarks.
https://twitter.com/gayfrogandtoad/status/1237148260290224128?s=20
The transcript of the released interaction follows:
Emily Read: People not fitting a mold are welcome at ALL OTHER EVE events
Unnamed fan: Would I be turned away?
Unnamed fan: Mind you, that pic is a few years old, but still.
Emily Read: Do you feel a woman who was raped and is traumatised [sic] by men is [sic] social situations, who has come out for the first time finally finding an even where they feel safe, would feel comfortable with you there?
Emily Read: This is what I’m asking people to consider
Emily Read: It’s about consideration for others and I trust people to judge that for themselves
The conversation was discussing EVE’s policy regarding its upcoming No Man’s Land event on May 8th, where tickets are only available for women.
“Do you feel a woman…” seems to disregard that the fan is a transgender woman and asserts she may not look enough like a woman to prevent other fans from being ‘disturbed’ by her attendance. While Read does not tell the fan she would be turned away, her comments are far from reassuring or welcoming.
EVE was founded in 2010 within the United Kingdom, focusing on feminism and providing positive female role models in professional wrestling. Relevant to this interaction, EVE champions a zero tolerance policy regarding Harassment, Bigotry and Bullying on its official website.
We don’t care what lifestyle you follow, what lifestyle choices you make, how you identify, or what your preferences are.
The only things we will not tolerate are harassment, bigotry and bullying.
This is a zero tolerance policy. No second chances.
If you are the victim of harassment, bigotry or bullying please speak to us.
It is unknown whether the policy extends to company ownership.
Pro Wrestling: EVE did not respond to a request for comment.
An update to the story including Emily’s apology can be found here.
