Transgender Carolina Panthers Cheerleader Justine Lindsay receives huge support from NFL community

Justine Lindsay is a cheerleader for the Carolina Panthers squad. In addition to that, she is a transgender woman.

The fact that these two pieces of information have not resulted in a massive backlash is evidence of some really positive development.

The fact that Lindsay identifies as a woman has never exactly been a closely guarded secret.    In other words, people are aware of who she is because they have seen the news.

On social media, there have undoubtedly been a few idiots who have said that she is in some way stealing a chance from a woman or engaging in some other form of nonsense.

There are at least two males on the TopCats cheerleading squad, and their names are Tre Booker and Chris Crawford. The squad does not discriminate on the basis of gender. The Los Angeles Rams, the New England Patriots, the Atlanta Falcons, and other teams in the NFL all have cheerleading squads that reflect this gender variety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CQKcfTmHnk

The notion that Lindsay is denying a woman the chance to do something is one hundred percent and incorrect.

The question of how transgender athletes might be most effectively integrated into a (largely) binary system of athletics, in which the female and male categories predominate, is one that deserves to be discussed and debated.

Reasonable concerns about the integrity of athletic competition have been voiced in response to the growing number of proponents of allowing transgender women to compete at any level of women’s sports, including collegiate, professional, and Olympic competitions, without the need to undergo any kind of medical transition.

That is not the case in this instance. No one can claim that the fact that Lindsay is transgender gave her any “edge” in any way, shape, or form in her ability to secure a seat on a cheerleading squad for the Panthers that is neither gender-specific nor competitive.

It’s very encouraging to see that the overwhelming majority of folks get that. It is possible for males, women, cisgender, and transgender people to co-exist equally on a cheerleading team, just as this is the case in practically any other area of employment.

The National Football League (NFL) has shown that it is aware of the issue by including Lindsay and other LGBT Panthers cheerleaders in a film that was published earlier this month in support of Spirit Day.

There are so many people in the United States who have never met a transgender person, which contributes to an atmosphere of mistrust and confusion that can result in significant and unfavorable societal pressures for persons who struggle with gender dysphoria.

It is wonderful to see Lindsay paving a trail in the National Football League and in North Carolina, and along the way, maybe, acceptance of transgender persons will increase as a result.

 

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