"Just be quiet" - Martina Navratilova criticizes Daniel Radcliffe for considering transgender women as women
Martina Navratilova has criticized Harry Potter fame Daniel Radcliffe over considering transgender women as women.
Radcliffe had come out in support of transgender women three years ago after Harry Potter author JK Rowling's statements on transgenders were met with sharp criticism. In a tweet, Rowling had said:
“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
Radcliffe, who became a household name for playing Harry based on Rowling's fictional series, publicly denounced the author's opinion with a statement that read:
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo [Rowling] or I.”
The English actor also called for increased validation for the people from the transgender community.
“We need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm,” he said via The Trevor Project (an LGBTQ suicide prevention charity).
An excerpt from Radcliffe's comments was shared recently by a user on X (formerly Twitter). Martina Navratilova, who is a staunch supporter of exclusive sex-based spaces for women in sports, rebuked Radcliffe over his stance.
"Just be quiet Daniel. Be quiet," she wrote.
"Physically they're just men" - Martina Navratilova on transgender athletes
Martina Navratilova recently suggested that biological men, who undergo gender transition surgeries, retain basic physical capacities.
"Do you realize that, according to a recent Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 69 percent of males who identify as women have not undergone any hormone treatment, and 84 percent have not had surgery?
"Physically, they’re just men. Even those who undergo any or all medical procedures retain performance advantages in strength, power, height, weight, heart size, and oxygen capacity," Martina Navratilova wrote in an essay for Genspect.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion backed her claim with Serena Williams' remarks that she made during a TV Show almost ten years ago.
"Serena Williams made the same basic point when Grand Slam champion Andy Murray challenged her to an exhibition match in 2013.
"She refused, explaining to David Letterman, 'Andy Murray, he’s been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, Andy, seriously, are you kidding me? If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0. The men are a lot faster, and they serve harder. They hit harder. It's just a different game'," Martina Navratilova quoted Williams.