"They are not female no matter what” – Martina Navratilova fumes as 4 transgender fencers win medals in women’s category
Martina Navratilova expressed her displeasure on social media after learning that four transgender fencers won medals in the women's category during the 2023 USA Fencing National Championships & July Challenge, also known as Summer Nationals.
Summer Nationals is one of the world's most popular fencing tournaments. The event was held from June 30 to July 9 at the Phoenix Convention Center. More than 5,300 fencers participated across 96 different categories for men and women.
As per a tweet from ICONS, four transgender athletes participating in the event were able to secure medals in the women's category.
Navratilova, who has constantly opposed the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's draws, was clearly unhappy. She got involved in a war of words with another X (formerly Twitter) user, who apparently held contradictory beliefs. The user wrote:
"Women's fencing has always outperformed men's in the Olympics. Transwomen fencers do not have an advantage in competition, and transwomen are women."
Navratilova replied to the user's comment, writing:
"Quite the irrational take..."
The user, in turn, posted an argument in their defense, to which the tennis icon responded:
"Transwomen always have an advantage against females in fencing and all fast twitch sports which fencing certainly qualifies as such. The building advantage doesn’t go away or disappear because of one’s brain. Last time I checked only females give birth."
Martina Navratilova continued:
"To be trans one has to transition from somewhere/ something to something else- hence the name. Transwomen are transwomen. They are not female no matter what word anyone chooses…I don’t call them men out of respect but they are male."
The user didn't back down and stretched the conversation further but the 66-year-ended the argument, writing:
"I am not telling them who they are. But I will keep telling them women have a right to their sex based spaces, and that includes female category sports and locker rooms. Thank you and good bye."
"It was always intended to exclude males" - Martina Navratilova on the significance of a separate category for women in sports
Martina Navratilova recently wrote an essay for Genspect, an organization that opposes gender-affirming care, in which she suggested that transgender participants can either contend for trophies against men or form a separate category altogether.
"They [transgender athletes] can play in the men’s category. The men’s category can be redefined as 'open'. Or they can create their own events, as the Gay Games have done every four years since 1982," the 18-time Grand Slam champion wrote.
She further opined that the purpose behind creating separate categories was to provide a platform for women to compete fairly.
"I support any accommodations so long as male athletes do not take participation opportunities or scholarships from female athletes. The female category was created to provide opportunities for women to compete fairly. It was always intended to exclude males. We need to keep excluding them," Martina Navratilova wrote.