'Stop explaining feminism to feminists': Tennis legend Martina Navratilova slams trans swimmer Lia Thomas over transphobic ‘feminists’ remark
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Tennis legend Martina Navratilova takes a dig at NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas for calling out people who claim to be feminists but only “half-support” her as a transgender swimmer. Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win a division one NCAA national championship last year, made the statement on the 'Dear Schuyler' podcast hosted by Schuyler Bailar, the first openly transgender NCAA swimmer.
Thomas called out her fellow University of Pennsylvania swimmers for supporting her transition but not her ability to compete as a woman swimmer, calling them "transphobic." The Tennis star snapped back at Thomas saying, “NEWSFLASH Lia- it’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over. Also- stop explaining feminism to feminists….” Navratilova wrote on Twitter, Wednesday, April 26.
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Lia Thomas Says Her Critics Using 'Feminism' Claims To Hide Transphobia- NEWSFLASH Lia- it’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over. Also- stop explaining feminism to feminists…. https://t.co/vZxEva3rm2
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) April 26, 2023
What did Lia Thomas say on the 'Dear Schuyler' podcast?
On the podcast, Thomas told Bailar she is "proud" of her accomplishments and claimed that transgender athletes are "almost not allowed to celebrate our accomplishments." "I felt I didn't want to invite any more negativity," she said of her decision to not speak out about her victory in the past, "but I think trans women should be celebrated." The former collegiate swimmer, who swam on Penn's men's team, but joined the women's team after her transition said about her naysayers, "they're like, 'We respect Lia as a woman, as a trans woman, whatever, we respect her identity, we just don't think it's fair.'"
Further, Thomas claimed critics of transgender athletes in sports are "policing women's bodies" to "push transphobic beliefs." "'They're using the guise of feminism to sort of push transphobic beliefs. I think a lot of people in that camp sort of carry an implicit bias against trans people, but don’t want to, I guess, fully manifest or speak that out. And so they try to just play it off as this sort of half-support. You can't do that you can't sort of break down me as a person into little pieces," she said.
'You're fighting for women by excluding women'
Navratilova, a prominent advocate within the gay community and nine-time Wimbledon champion has previously expressed her opposition to transgender women participating in sports competitions alongside biological women. In March, she applauded World Athletics for adopting a policy to exclude transgender female athletes from women's competitions, calling it a "step in the right direction."
Host Bailar agreed with Thomas saying, "they're coming from...this whole protect 'protect women's sports,' [which] has become a very big movement and that they do it under the guise of feminism." He said, "'Oh, we're just feminists, we're just fighting for women,' and whenever anybody says that I'm always [like]: 'Okay, you're fighting for women by excluding women so that's not fighting for women." The host continued to say that feminism has become "twisted" and "turned into excluding women" and reduced them to "reproductive capacity."