Let’s take a moment to celebrate trans and non-binary representation in sport
BY KRYSTA MCKENZIE, IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM (@THEQUINNY5)
In 2020, the Canadian footballer known by the mononym Quinn, came out to the world (through Instagram) as a trans non-binary person whose pronouns are they/them. Although they were already open about their identity with the people in their life, they made the decision to come out publicly so they could be a role model for LGBTQIA people. Their Instagram post explained, “I want to be visible to queer folks who don’t see people like them on their feed. I know it saved my life years ago.”
The impact that this decision has had is the trans and non-binary community is immeasurable, and although they received backlash after coming out, Quinn does not seem to have regrets.
In 2021, Quinn had a historical achievement in being the first openly trans, non-binary person to compete in the Olympics, as well as being the first to win an Olympic medal.
Quinn continues to advocate for themself and for gender diverse young people in sport. Most recently, they partnered with GE Appliances Canada to launch the See Them, Be Them initiative – which aims to help “girls and gender diverse soccer players see their future in sport”.
Recently, in an interview with Xtra, Quinn spoke about the need for visibility and education about trans identities. They said, “We’ve seen trans youth, specifically, weaponized for political gain. As these narratives go into more mainstream media, it’s really important to have that education piece around why trans inclusion is important and why, when we start policing bodies, that impacts everyone.”
It is beyond inspiring to see an openly trans person in sport speaking out about the issues faced by the trans community – especially as it is such a difficult time to be openly trans.
Quinn is hoping to make history at the Women’s World Cup this year by becoming the first out trans non-binary footballer to win a World Cup with Team Canada. In their interview with Xtra, they expressed their feelings about the game, “I think the team is excited to show the world that we can perform at a World Cup because historically it’s been something that we’ve struggled with”.
It’s only been six days since the World Cup began, so we can’t wait to see how everything unfolds!
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