The Demonization of Trans People and the Riley Gaines Grift

Samantha Fulnecky, a 20-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma, was given a 0% grade on a paper meant to reflect the effects that gender norms have on the mental health of middle schoolers. Fulnecky uses the Bible as her main source of information (though the Bible is still not properly cited) and includes phrases like, “The article discussed peers using teasing as a way to enforce gender roles. I do not necessarily see this as a problem.” She goes on to claim that the idea of there being “multiple genders” is “demonic”. The controversy has resulted in Fulnecky receiving support from many right-wing organizations, notably Turning Point USA, an organization founded by Charlie Kirk, author of the book The College Scam. On the other hand, Mel Curth, the professor who assigned the essay, has been placed on leave. It is worth noting that Mel Curth is a transgender woman. 

After hearing this story, I couldn’t help but think of swimmer-turned-Fox-News personality Riley Gaines, and how quickly the trajectory of her life was changed after she tied for fifth place with Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, in the 2022 NCAA Championships. Gaines tells the story: “In the 200-yard NCAA women’s final I tied Thomas. Despite going the same time down to the hundredth of a second, the NCAA gave Thomas the trophy as they explained this was necessary for ‘photo purposes’ and told me I had to go home empty handed.”

It is important to note that the competition did not account for ties, so it was only possible for one person to take home a trophy; Gaines was sent her trophy by mail. She continues, “…I looked around and wondered why no one was standing up for me and all the other women in the pool and in the locker room.” Gaines was pursuing dental school at the University of Kentucky, but put those plans behind her following this incident and decided to take on a career in anti-trans activism, joining organizations dedicated to excluding trans-women from women’s spaces, such as the Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Voice. Lia Thomas was a student at the University of Pennsylvania at the time they enacted a ban on trans athletes and erased Lia Thomas’ swim records following the incident. 

Though the two situations are quite different in a lot of ways, the theme of a cisgender woman building a name for themselves after being mildly inconvenienced by a trans woman remains. I cannot speak on behalf of Fulnecky or Gaines, but as an observer, I can’t help but wonder: would either of these women have gotten any support if they were rallying against another cisgender woman? The answer there is obviously no, but the larger question is: if Lia Thomas or Mel Curth were cisgender, would Gaines or Fulnecky have tried to rally at all?

No. If the fifth-place trophy were given to another cis woman, Lia Thomas would have been perfectly fine with waiting patiently for hers to arrive in the mail. If Mel Curth were not a trans professor, I don’t believe Fulnecky would have submitted a gender-essentialist paper at all. Transphobic women believe they can use their status as cisgender white women to portray themselves as inherent victims of the existence of trans women. They believe that they can do this to eradicate trans women from public life, and, time and time again, they are being proven right. 

It is important during these times that cisgender women stand in solidarity with trans women. As a cis woman myself, I do not feel unsafe, threatened, or negatively impacted in any way by the existence of trans women. What makes me feel threatened is the increased policing of what it means to be a woman. We have already seen cases like that of Imane Khelif, a cisgender athlete accused of being trans after winning the gold medal in a women’s boxing event during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Figures like JK Rowling, Elon Musk, and, of course, Riley Gaines spoke out against Khelif’s participation in the event, despite the fact that the claims made against Khelif were baseless. Transphobes judge women by their appearance, and anything deemed as “masculine” (including things that are 100% natural to female bodies, like body hair) is taken as an indicator that they are not a “real” woman.  As the world becomes increasingly unsafe for trans women, it becomes increasingly unsafe for all women. 

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