A municipal carnival was had to apologize when one of its floats, which mockingly depicted burly men costumed as the “female Olympic athletic team in 2024,” was labeled “transphobic.”
During the Great Torrington Mayfair and Carnival in Devon last May, trans stand-up comedian Donna Landy criticized a float for being “offensive” and presenting a dated perspective on transgender problems.
The float had signs reading, “Of course we’re women, we sit down to poop” and “Olympics 2024 woman’s 100m final”; these statements made reference to FINA, the organization that oversees swimming in the world, which recently adopted a new rule banning transgender women from competing in women’s events.
On the day of the festival, three men wearing funny wigs and sporting sports bras and Speedos secretly joined the procession behind the float that was not officially entered into the carnival.
As they followed the homemade float that contained a toilet and a man standing in a white coat who seemed to be acting as an official referee, they were joined by five women who were racing beside them.
They giggled as they followed the float.
‘First float I see at Torrington Carnival is a bunch of blokes in drag and a sign proclaiming ‘of course we are female we sit down to pee,” Ms. Landy wrote on Twitter the day of the celebration.
Blatant transphobia. They were not *completely* naked, they were wearing shorts and a singlet.
I was going to the Torrington Carnival to watch my girls, who were in the parade, she said, according to Devon Live.
I was just catching up with the procession because I arrived a little late when I noticed this float, which was the final one in the parade, and I was a little perplexed.
There were unmistakably some guys dressed as ladies and some women dressed in appropriate sports attire.
Every so often, they ran a little sprint to keep up with their float.
My heart fell when I saw the message on the float and realized it was obviously denigrating transgender athletes in sports, and by extension, all trans people.
Ms. Landy expressed concern that because people might have started “mocking her,” she “might get attacked” at the event.
The fact that they accepted it so easily, she continued, “I think demonstrates how little understanding there is of gender issues in our local community.
“I remember feeling astonished, irate, sad, and terrified at the time. What if people discovered I was transgender and began making fun of me or worse? I began to worry.
I might get bumped or attacked. Perhaps that seems improbable, but I know trans friends who have experienced physical abuse and public mockery simply for being trans; what’s to say it couldn’t happen here?
The 13th-century yearly event apologized to the transgender community last month and claimed they had identified one person who will “get a visit” from Councillor Doug Smith to “address the inappropriate entry.”
She made the following statement on Twitter: “First float I see at Torrington Carnival is a bunch of blokes in drag with a sign proclaiming “of course we are female we sit down to pee.” blatant transphobia.
They were not entirely naked; they were wearing singlets and shorts.
Great Torrington Mayfair & Carnival Committee released the following statement: “We held our committee meeting on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 when the chairwoman discussed the problem and we were able to verify that the float did not submit a carnival entry form and did not enter for judging.
The judges and stewards would have rejected their entry/float if they had done that.
We assume that the float entered the procession after it left the committee’s view and that the signage was covered up so it could be revealed later on the route.
“The committee had a lengthy discussion about what we can do to stop this from happening again.
It became obvious that in order to prevent another instance like this, we must have better controls in place.
Looking ahead to the following year, we intend to increase the number of stewards present on the Commons and in the immediate neighborhood, as well as provide judges with better training and direction.
We were able to identify a person who participated in this submission, and Councillor Doug Smith, the chairperson, will visit them to talk about the entry’s inappropriateness and how the larger community has reacted to it.
The committee will do all in its power to ensure that they do not enter again with anything that is likely to offend similarly after making it plain that this entry was unsuitable.
“Overall, the committee is sad that this has occurred and does not in any way condone or promote a hateful attitude.
“The committee deeply regrets how this has affected people’s feelings and sincerely hopes that all parties concerned are confident in our good intentions and that we have correctly handled the issues raised with improved planning for future years.”
The message of the float comes at the same time that Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who broke women’s records this year, will be prohibited from competing against biological women in international competitions after the world swimming governing body declared on Sunday that transgender athletes who experienced male puberty are not allowed to compete.
The international swimming body FINA stated on Sunday that it will change its rules so that transgender women would only be permitted to compete in the women’s events of the group if they had finished their transition by the age of 12.
Then, they will need to demonstrate to the federation that they have consistently lowered their testosterone levels ever since.
FINA is creating a “open category” allowing transgender athletes to compete against one another at tournaments like the World Aquatics Championships, World Swimming Championships, and Swimming World Cup, in order to accommodate the transgender athletes.