According to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) updated “Representation Guidelines,” using the terms “biological male” or “biological female” in reference to trans athletes is “problematic.”
The IOC updated its guidelines this week on how Olympic Games-affiliated media and external media should appropriately cover athletes with respect to their various identities. This third edition also included a list of “problematic” terms that should be avoided when covering transgender people competing in the Olympic Games.
“A person's sex category is not assigned based solely on genetics and aspects of a person's biology may be altered when they seek gender-affirming medical care,” the IOC guidance stated in its section listing “biologically male.” and “biologically feminine” as “problematic language.”
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Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee published a language guide urging the media not to refer to trans athletes as “biological men” or “women.” (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
The language guide was published on Thursday, just weeks before the Summer Olympics in Paris this year. A press release published alongside the document described its purpose, saying it seeks to “raise awareness of the differences in how female athletes and sport are portrayed compared to their male counterparts.”
“The guidelines provide practical checklists and tips to help ensure fair and gender-equal representation of all athletes in all forms of media and communication,” he added.
The guide provides advice on how to break down “gender-based preconceptions” and “stereotypes”, for example.
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It included brief entries on “key barriers” to equal representation in sports, such as female athletes having a “lack of recognition” compared to male athletes when covered by the media, and provided guidance on how to write about women who compete in a way that is non-sexist.
In one example, he indicated that instead of writing “She is the next Michael Phelps,” journalists should write “She is an extraordinary athlete.”
The guide also touched on the reality of gender pay gaps, how female athletes' appearances are more talked about than men's, and even included quotes from IOC chiefs denouncing gender discrimination.
The guide quotes IOC Human Rights Advisory Committee President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as saying: “Stereotypes, discriminatory social norms and lack of representation remain some of the most pervasive barriers to gender equality.” Worldwide”.
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Promotional image of the next Olympic Games in Paris. (NBC)
The “Language and Terminology” section recommended that words like “humanity” be used instead of “humanity,” or that “partner/spouse” replace terms like “husband/wife.”
The “Problematic Language” section, toward the end of the guide, classified terms related to the biological reality of trans athletes in the tournament as “harmful language practices to avoid.”
It read: “TERMS TO AVOID: 'born male', 'born female', 'biologically male', 'biologically female', 'genetically male', 'genetically female', 'male to female (MtF)', '”female to man” (FtM)”.
“The use of phrases like the above can be dehumanizing and inaccurate when used to describe transgender athletes and athletes with sex variations,” the entry said, adding that “it is always preferable to emphasize a person's actual gender rather than potentially call into question his identity. referring to the sex category that was recorded on her original birth certificate.”
Among other “phrases to avoid,” the guide included terms such as “identifies as,” “sex change,” and “transsexual.”
At the bottom of the page, the guide attributed this section to “GLAAD's Media Reference Guide and its Guides to Coverage of LGBTQ Athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
GLAAD, or Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is one of the country's leading pro-LGBTQ lobby groups.
The IOC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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