‘Hateful’ anti-transgender leaflets distributed at women’s FA Cup final
Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal scores her team’s first goal of the game during the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea Ladies on May 5, 2018 (Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
LGBT groups have condemned anti-transgender leaflets that were distributed to fans at the women’s FA Cup Final this weekend.
Fans attending the Arsenal v Chelsea game at Wembley Stadium were handed leaflets by activists from ‘Mayday4Women’, a group that campaigns against transgender rights.
The leaflets urge fans to support calls for a ban on transgender women – referred to in the leaflets as “male-bodied athletes”.
The leaflets, which are believed to have been distributed outside the stadium, read: “Women have fought very hard over the past century to get their own recognition of their athletic values and have a place on their own in sports.
“Women’s athletes will lose out if we allow men to compete in our competition.”
The leaflet claims that “testosterone levels hardly decrease” in trans women who take hormones and undergo gender confirmation surgery – a claim that would appear to be at odds with biology – before claiming that “Men recognised as Transwomen are allowed to compete with 3X higher testosterone levels.”
The leaflet rounds off with a string of anti-transgender talking points, adding:”Gender non-conforming kids need feminism not hormones or surgery! Changing rooms should be sex segregated! A man can never be a woman! Keep men out of our sports!”
The leaflets have been condemned by LGBT groups who work to challenge homophobia and transphobia in sport.
Chelsea celebrate victory following the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea Ladies at Wembley Stadium (Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
Lindsay England of Just A Ball Game? told PinkNews: “[We condemn] the hurtful and disrespectful leaflets handed out at Wembley Stadium during the 2018 SSE Women’s FA Cup Final.
“This is nothing more than a hateful anti-trans agenda by a small minority of uneducated people which puts the safety of many young trans people (and others) trying to find their own identity and belonging at risk.”
“We at (JBG?) know of no men wanting to compete ‘as women’, only women including trans women, who have followed the regulations set out in FA guidance to achieve this.”
A spokesperson for Pride in Football told PinkNews: “We are concerned that transphobic hate literature was distributed at Wembley for the Women’s Cup Final and have asked the FA to let us know a) whether stewards and police were aware and b) if any action was taken.
“We, along with LGBT+ fan groups Gay Gooners and Chelsea Pride, encourage anyone who has any information to contact Kick it Out, who will liaise with the Met Police.
“Football must be a safe and inclusive space for all.”
Katie Chapman of Chelsea holds off pressure from Dominique Janssen of Arsenal of Arsenal during the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea Ladies (Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
The FA did not immediately return a request for comment.
There are zero openly transgender players in the top tiers of football in the UK, either in the men’s or women’s league.
Transgender sports stars who have participated in other sports, including Aussie rules footballer Hannah Mouncey and transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, have suffered horrendous abuse for doing so.
Most athletic bodies only allow transgender women to compete in women’s sport if they have a level of testosterone equivalent to that of cisgender women.
