A black lesbian Harvard law graduate claims she was censored by a blogging site for saying transgender women should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Monica Harris said her post was removed less than 24 hours after Medium posted it for ‘violating community rules’.
She wrote about the ‘impact of transgender inclusion on women’s and lesbian rights’, but claimed she was told she posted ‘hateful content’.
Harris blogged about transgender swimmer Leah Thomas, and noted that former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines felt she was ’emotionally blackmailed and smothered in silence.’
The entertainment lawyer said she was ‘surprised’ the blog was removed, saying it was a ‘timely topic’ and that she had a ‘vested interest in the issue’ as ‘a queer woman of colour’.
Monica Harris said her post was removed less than 24 hours after Medium posted it for ‘violating community rules’.
Harris blogged about transgender swimmer Leah Thomas, and noted that former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines felt she was ’emotionally blackmailed and gaslit into silence.’
Writing in a column for Fox News, she said: ‘Most of my writing focuses on bringing people together around our shared values and interests. I have never been accused of obnoxious positions.
‘This event is fraught with many ironies, not the least of which is that I have spent most of my life invisible and voiceless.’
Harris, who is on the advisory board of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism at Harvard Law, blogged that transgender people need to respect their personal choices.
But the blog-hosting website claims he breached the terms by claiming ‘the playing field is tilting – literally – in the wrong direction’.
The lawyer claimed that content curators removed the article ‘because it’ was powerless[ed]’And others are excluded based on ‘protected characteristics’, ie biological males who identify as female.’
He said: ‘Yet they had no qualms about disempowering and excluding me from their community – a member of not one, but three ‘protected’ groups.
‘Furthermore, I was silenced for expressing my belief that the inclusion of biological men in women’s sports, prisons and other historically protected spaces potentially undermines the rights and safety of biological women and lesbians.
‘Yet the very act of distorting my article is proof of the marginalization I lamented in my article.
Her since-deleted blog post noted that the ‘vast majority’ of transgender athletes ‘experienced puberty as a young male’, including swimmer Leah Thomas.
Tony Stubblebine (second left) takes over blogging site Medium in 2022
The entertainment lawyer said she was ‘surprised’ the blog was removed, saying it was a ‘timely topic’ and that she had a ‘vested interest in the issue’ as ‘a queer woman of colour’.
‘You don’t have to be gay, a woman or a person of color to appreciate this danger to all Americans.
‘If the boundaries of prohibited speech continue to increase, we can silence those who disagree with us.
‘All they have to do is call us ‘despicable’. Yet if we are in constant fear of offending others, how long will it be if we are not afraid to speak up?’
His since-deleted blog post noted that the ‘vast majority’ of transgender athletes ‘experienced puberty as a young male’.
He wrote: ‘Testosterone’s effects on every cell of the male body are profound and explain why elite females cannot compete effectively against elite males.
‘I suspect this is why transgender inclusion has largely focused on women’s sports, because transgender men probably don’t want to compete with biological men.
‘Yet proponents of DEI prefer to ignore this biological reality. They assert that excluding transgender athletes from women’s sports is discriminatory because it favors people who were born as women over those who identify as women. Because identification defies science.’
Last year, Leah Thomas became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title while at Ivy League Penn.
Gaines last month accused Harvard of emotionally blackmailing athletes after they said Thomas was ‘complying with all NCAA rules.’
Harris also took aim at the Women’s Sports Foundation which has publicly stated that ‘transgender inclusion’ is not a ‘real threat’ to girls and women’s access and opportunities in sports.’
‘Think about the message this sends to female athletes’, Harris wrote. ‘Even if you’re a fierce competitor, your chances of getting an athletic scholarship to college may be slim, and your career may be eclipsed or shortened – simply because you’re not biologically equipped to compete with your transgender peers.
‘Furthermore, you are expected to embrace your competitive disadvantage in the name of equality.
‘Women’s sports, which once gave girls the confidence to compete in activities they would otherwise have been excluded from, are now setting them up for failure. Efforts to promote inclusion are not advancing women; They are pushing us back.’
Medium did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter when contacted by DailyMail.com
Gaines last month accused Harvard of emotionally blackmailing athletes after they said Thomas was ‘complying with all NCAA rules.’
Gaines, a former star swimmer at the University of Kentucky, lost to Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Championships.
Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan lifts the lid on sharing a locker room with Leah Thomas
Thomas, after winning the 500m freestyle at the Harvard meet, spoke openly about his decision to transfer.
He called it a letter sent to members of Harvard’s swim team, which emphasized that members support those making the change.
The swimming champ called it ’emotional blackmail’, saying in the letter that Thomas had been ‘transparent’ and complied with all NCAA rules.
Paula Scanlan, one of Leah Thomas’ former teammates at the University of Pennsylvania, also spoke about her presence on the team.
In an interview with The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, Scanlan accused the university of student athletes ‘wanting to be cool’ and said ‘they did it in a very effective way’.
Scanlan said in his interview, ‘They kept telling us that our views were wrong and if we had a problem with it, we were the problem and it was scary and your future job was on the line.’
He also claimed that swimmers would hide in bathroom stalls to avoid changing in front of Thomas.
Transgender athletes who were biologically assigned male at birth would be barred from competing on girls’ or women’s sports teams at federally supported schools and colleges under legislation House Republicans enacted in late April.
The bill, approved by a 219-203 party-line vote, is unlikely to advance further because the Democratic-led Senate will not support it and the White House has said President Joe Biden will veto it.
Supporters say the law, which would put violators at risk of losing taxpayer dollars, is necessary to ensure competitive fairness.