Conservatives Target Trans Kid For "Natural Advantage" At... Competitive Irish Dancing?
After a trans kid won in her age category at a competitive Irish dance meet in Texas, right wing media outlets and anti-trans activists claimed that she had a "biological advantage" at dancing.
On Dec. 3, a young transgender girl won her age category in the 2023 Southern Region Oireachtas Irish Dancing competition in Dallas, Texas. This means she will qualify to compete in the World Irish Dancing Competitions. For those who have been following transgender participation in other events, you can probably guess what happened next. Predictably, a slew of right-wing media articles dropped, claiming the 13-year-old girl had a “biological advantage” in competitive Irish dancing. Right-wing media personalities like Riley Gaines and major conservative outlets such as The Daily Wire and The Daily Signal decried her victory, claiming that she had a “biological advantage” in competitive Irish dancing.
Irish dancing is a style of dancing well suited for competition. It typically features quick and graceful foot movement combined with a rigid upper body. According to the Teelin School of Irish Dance, judges grade on things such as good timing, pointed toes, graceful and energetic movement, confidence, and pleasant affect. It is a competition where grace, poise, and technique matter. On that same note, supposed “natural advantages” of transgender competitors after transitioning do not appear to be relevant to participating.
You can see last year’s event to understand the style of dance here:
The girl in question, a 13-year-old, placed first in her age category at the event held in Dallas, Texas. According to reports from the event, parents of girls who lost later discovered that the winner was transgender. These parents then reached out to conservative media outlets, claiming the transgender girl “cheated” by competing according to her gender identity. In an exclusive article from The Daily Signal, one parent expressed that the transgender girl's victory was so upsetting, it made her want to cry. Another adult competitor, who is also a legislative strategist for Conservative Women for America, Maggie McKneely, clearly outlined that a transitioning dancer would likely face disadvantages due to having to learn differences in the dance style, in an attempt to portray the girl’s participation as wrong:
“Most sports, men and women tend to do the same basic activity, just at very different skill levels, but Irish dance is highly gendered,” explained McKneely, who works as a legislative strategist for the conservative organization, Concerned Women for America. “The two sexes wear different shoes, they wear different clothes, they actually have completely different dance styles. They’re really not interchangeable in any way.”
Following the article’s publication, right wing conservatives took to twitter to attack the 13 year old girl. Riley Gaines, the swimmer who tied for 5th place with Lia Thomas and has used that event to lobby against transgender people in congress, stated that “a boy stole a qualifying spot for the upcoming World Championships in Irish dancing” and then urged people to sign a petition. Prisha Mosley, an anti-trans political detransitioner, thanked her for “bringing awareness and attention to these issues” and “the girls and families affected.” James Lindsay, who has been credited as one of the people responsible for the “groomer” slur towards LGBTQ+ people, said that “the trans menace in women’s sports is even showing up in Irish Dancing.” Colette Colfer, an anti-trans activist in Ireland, decried the girl’s participation and proclaimed, “Irish Dancing has fallen.” All of the aforementioned activists then spread a petition titled “Protect Irish Dancers in Gender-Specific World Qualifying Championships.”
The young trans girl was not without support. In a Facebook post by the organization showing her victory in her age category, several other competitors and parents praised her. Irish newsletter Irish Central interviewed Gabrielle Siegel, a Connecticut dancer who has participated in Irish Dancing for 10 years, who was upset over the transphobic backlash the young girl received: “I remember what it was like to be a teenage girl. I was a closeted member of the LGBTQ+ community at that age, and I genuinely can’t imagine being subjected to that level of harassment or bullying at that age.”
She then condemned the timing of the anti-trans comments and the idea of a biological advantage, “I think it’s really telling that CLRG’s policy has been in place for years, and nobody has even noticed. It took a dancer succeeding for there to be an uproar in response. It should be enough to say we need to support all of our dancers — and that any arguments about biological advantage are not only not evidence-based, but don’t even apply to the way Irish dance is judged.”
Siegel has launched a petition to support the dancer, which can be signed here.
The outcry over a young trans kid in competitive Irish dancing is the latest in a string of events where increasingly dubious claims of “natural advantages” for transgender people are being made. These include darts, pool, fishing, disc golf, and even chess. By targeting transgender people in these competitions, anti-trans activists reveal that “athletic advantage” is likely pretense for the real goal of these bans: exclusion of transgender people from public life.
Meanwhile, the Irish Dance Teacher’s Association of North America Southern Region, which held the event, unequivocally supports the trans dancer. They released the following statement prior to the event:
I am aware that there is a great deal of upset in the Southern Region about the CLRG and IDTANA policies that transgender Irish Dancers enter competitions that align with the gender identity of their everyday public life; their academic, workplace, social, and home life. I have had conversations and exchanged emails with teachers and parents about the CLRG and IDTANA policies.
Entering and competing in the CLRG World Championship competition that corresponds to the gender identity of the dancer is an established CLRG precedent, it has been done before. A dancer must qualify for the specific World Championship competition in which they will dance. CLRG controls Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne and the process of qualifying to compete for the CLRG World Championship. The Southern Region is obligated to follow CLRG policy. Similarly, entering in the Regional Qualifier competition that corresponds to the gender identity of a dancer is an established precedent for IDTANA competitions, it has been done before including in the IDTANA-Southern Region Oireachtas.
I am writing this post to remind everyone that we teach all the dancers. We advocate for every one of our dancers. We do our very best to be fair to everyone. This situation is not easy for anyone. Not everyone’s point of view or personal interests align. I am asking for your tolerance. You are expected to respect all the dancers.
I wish all the dancers good luck as they finish their preparation for the Oireachtas and safe travels to Dallas Texas. I sincerely hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration.
P.J. McCafferty, ADCRG
Regional Director, IDTANA-Southern Region
I can't wait until they start claiming "biological advantages" when a trans woman wins something at a raffle.
They're doing this because they desperately need an enemy to point the finger at and blame for all the worlds problems. If they didn't, they'd have to own up to the fact that they have no policies that actually help or serve their constituents. so this is how they handle it, jingle the keys in front of their gullible base and hope it riles them up enough to squeak in a victory at the ballot box. Though considering electoral outcomes this year, its not exactly going their way. expect to see more outlash from them, but don't lose focus.