James Factora
Fri, December 15, 2023
Sonja Filitz/Getty Images
Over 3,600 people and counting have signed a petition in support of trans practitioners of Irish dance, in response to right-wing anti-trans backlash directed at a trans teen dancer.
In November, a trans girl placed first at a regional competition in the division for girls 14 and younger, qualifying her for the Irish Dancing World Championships. (A press release provided to Them states that the dancer, her family, and her school have requested that her name not appear in media, since she is a minor.) Right-wing outlets such as The Daily Signal, Breitbart, and The Daily Wire pounced on the story, claiming that the dancer’s win was proof that she possessed “physical advantages,” and that it was unfair for her to compete against cis girls.
Last week, a group calling themselves Concerned Irish Dance Teachers Adjudicators Parents and Dancers circulated a petition urging separate categories for trans and cis participants in the name of “fairness.” The following day, Irish dancer Gabrielle Siegel started a counter petition in support of trans Irish dancers, which has garnered 3,597 signatures at the time of publication.
“As soon as I saw the backlash to this dancer's win, I knew we had to find a way to organize our support,” Siegel told Them via email. “That response represents a minority of people within the world of Irish dance, and I was afraid that the organizing bodies of Irish dance would believe that this backlash represented the will of the community.” She noted that as an LGBTQ+ dancer herself, Irish dance has provided a safe space for her “and for so many people,” and that it is “crucial that we keep it that way.”
Siegel started the petition after a friend, a fellow Irish dancer who fought to compete in the men’s category years ago, recommended writing an open letter to show her support for trans Irish dancers. With her friend’s help, Siegel drafted and posted the petition, to which she said the response has been “incredible.” “We have gotten signatures from many world champions, teachers, adjudicators, and prominent figures in Irish dance, along with countless dancers and supporters across the community who have come together and said, unequivocally, Irish dance is for everyone,” she said.
Addressed to An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), the governing body for competitive Irish dance, the petition voices “unequivocal support for transgender dancers and for these dancers to continue competing as their true selves in the category that best aligns with their gender identity.”
“We recognize the right of transgender dancers to succeed in our sport, and celebrate their wins without exception,” the petition reads. It also rejects the idea that trans girls might have an inherent upper hand, writing that “success in Irish dance is, and has always been, a multi-factorial result upon which no assigned birth sex can confer a biological advantage.”
Siegel says that trans dancers have competed in several regions for some years now, a point that was echoed by a statement from the Southern Regional director of IDTANA. In the statement, posted to Facebook, Regional Director P.J. McCafferty wrote that trans dancers competing in the categories that correspond to their gender identities “is an established CLRG precedent” that “has been done before.” McCafferty added that trans dancers have previously competed in the IDTANA regional qualifier competitions, including in the Southern Region.
CLRG has yet to respond to either petition publicly. On November 21, the IDTANA Southern Region Facebook page posted a statement acknowledging the “great deal of upset” regarding trans participation. P.J. McCafferty, the regional director of IDTANA, maintained that trans dancers participating in the category that corresponds to their gender identity “is an established CLRG precedent.”
“I am writing this post to remind everyone that we teach all the dancers,” McCafferty wrote. “We advocate for every one of our dancers. We do our very best to be fair to everyone.”
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The controversy comes at a time when a number of global sports governing bodies have enacted policies limiting trans participation. Earlier this year, the governing bodies for pro cycling and track and field effectively barred trans women from elite competition. Even the international board for competitive chess enacted such a rule in August, despite the fact that chess is not a physically competitive activity.
Originally Appeared on them.
This image shows dancers in the girls' 12-13 competition at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
The day after the first petition was launched, Gabrielle Siegel, an adult Irish dancer who says she has been competing in Irish dancing for 10 years, launched a counterpetition titled "Support Transgender Irish Dancers."
The petition consists of an open letter to CLRG, praising the organization for its position of admitting trans dancers. The petition has around 3,600 signatures.
"We recognize that the decision to enact this policy was an informed one, made with the endorsement of the teaching community, in alignment with up-to-date scientific research," the petition reads, in part.
"We thank the Southern Region and CLRG for standing strong in the face of ill-informed transphobic backlash against this well-established precedent."
"We look forward to a future where dancers not only continue to compete in the category that aligns with their gender identity but are celebrated universally by all members of their community. Trans dancers have the right to compete. Trans dancers have the right to succeed."
One signee, Dylan Wenz, wrote in support of the petition.
"I am a trans dancer and I deserve to have a place in my sport that does not misrepresent my identity," Wenz wrote. "Trans dancers have been in this sport for years, but it only becomes controversial when one of us wins? Not fair."
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