Town carnival is forced to issue apology for 'transphobic' float.

2022-07-14

Town carnival is forced to issue grovelling apology after float that jokingly featured burly men dressed ‘as the Olympic 2024 female athletic team’ was deemed ‘transphobic’ by a visiting trans woman

Carnival float featured men dressed ‘as the Olympic 2024 female athletic team’
Trans stand-up comedian Donna Landy attended event in Devon back in May
She blasted float, for highlighting a backwards’ viewpoint on transgender issues
Great Torrington Mayfair and Carnival Committee issued apology to community
Do YOU know the men and women involved? Please email [email protected]

A town carnival has been forced to issue an apology after a float that jokingly featured burly men dressed ‘as the Olympic 2024 female athletic team’ was deemed ‘transphobic’.

Do YOU know the men and women involved?

Please email: [email protected]

Trans stand-up comedian Donna Landy attended the Great Torrington Mayfair and Carnival in Devon back in May and blasted a float for being ‘offensive’ and highlighting a backwards’ viewpoint on transgender issues.

The float featured a sign declaring: ‘Of course we’re women, we sit down to pee’ and ‘Olympics 2024 woman’s 100m final’ – referencing the recent decision from FINA, world swimming’s governing body, who recently adopted a new policy to prohibit transgender women from competing in women’s races.

Three men ran behind the float, which was not officially entered into the carnival and secretly joined the procession on the day of the event, dressed in sports-bras and Speedos while wearing comedy wigs.

They were joined by five women running alongside them, who laughed as they followed the homemade float, which featured a toilet and a man standing in a white coat – appearing to pose as an official referee.

On the day of the festival, Ms Landy took to Twitter and said the float was ‘transphobic’, adding: ‘First float I see at Torrington Carnival is a bunch of blokes in drag and a sign saying ‘of course we are female we sit down to pee’.

‘Bare naked transphobia. OK, not *completely* naked, they had shorts and singlets on.’

Great Torrington Mayfair and Carnival in Devon has been forced to issue an apology after a float that jokingly featured burly men dressed ‘as the Olympic 2024 female athletic team’ was deemed ‘transphobic’

Trans stand-up comedian Donna Landy (pictured) attended the Great Torrington Mayfair and Carnival in Devon back in May and blasted a float for being ‘offensive’ and highlighting a backwards’ viewpoint on transgender issues

On the day of the festival, Ms Landy took to social media and said the float was ‘transphobic’, adding: ‘First float I see at Torrington Carnival is a bunch of blokes in drag and a sign saying “of course we are female we sit down to pee.”‘

She told Devon Live: ‘I was going to the Torrington Carnival to see my daughters, who were in the parade. I got there a bit late and was just catching up with the procession when I came across this float, the last one in the parade, and was a bit puzzled.

‘There were clearly some men in drag, along with some women in proper athletic gear, and every now and again they ran a short sprint to catch up with their float. When I caught up with the float and read the sign my heart sank, it was clearly mocking trans athletes in sport and by extension all trans people, really.’

Ms Landy said she was worried she ‘could get attacked’ at the event because people could have began ‘mocking her’.

She added: ‘I suppose the fact that they accepted it so readily shows how little awareness there is of trans issues in our local community. At the time I was shocked, angry, sad – and afraid. I started to wonder, what if people noticed I was trans and started mocking me, or worse?

‘I could get jostled, or attacked. Perhaps it sounds far-fetched but I have trans friends who have been ridiculed in public and physically assaulted just for being trans, so who’s to say it couldn’t happen here?’

The annual festival, dating back to the 13th century, issued an apology last month to the trangender community and said they have identified one individual who will be ‘receiving a visit’ from Councillor Doug Smith to ‘discuss the inappropriate entry’.

On the day of the festival, Ms Landy (pictured) took to Twitter and said the float was ‘transphobic’, adding: ‘First float I see at Torrington Carnival is a bunch of blokes in drag and a sign saying ‘of course we are female we sit down to pee’

A statement from Great Torrington Mayfair & Carnival Committee said: ‘We held our committee meeting on Tuesday, May 17 2022 where the chairperson discussed the situation and we were able to establish that the float did not submit a carnival entry form and did not enter for judging.

‘If they had done so, the judges and stewards would have refused their entry/float. It appears that the float joined the procession out of sight of anyone on the committee as it moved off and we assume, with the signage covered over, with this being unveiled further along the route.

‘The committee discussed at length what we can do to prevent this from happening in the future. It became clear that we need to have better controls in place to ensure such a situation does not happen again. Looking forward to next year we plan to have more steward presence on the Commons and surrounding areas and also equip judges with improved training and guidance.

‘We have managed to confirm an individual who was part of this entry and Councillor Doug Smith the chairperson will visit them to discuss inappropriate of the entry and feedback perception from the wider community. We will make it clear that this entry was unacceptable, and the committee will do their utmost to ensure they do not enter again with anything that is likely to cause similar offence.

Ms Landy said she was worried she ‘could get attacked’ at the event because people could have began ‘mocking her’

‘Overall, the committee are disappointed this has happened and in no way whatsoever promote or encourage an attitude of hate.

‘The committee are very sorry for how this has made people feel and very much hopes that all concerned are assured of our best intentions and have addressed the issues raised appropriately with improved plans for future years.’

The float’s message comes as Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who smashed women’s records this year, will be banned from competing against biological women in international events after the world swimming’s governing body announced on Sunday that it is barring transgender athletes who went through male puberty.

FINA, the international sports federation for swimming, announced on Sunday that it is changing its policies so that transgender women can only compete in the organization’s women’s races if they have completed their transition by the age of 12.

They will then have to prove to the federation that they have continuously suppressed their testosterone levels since that time.

To accommodate the transgender athletes, though, FINA is setting up an ‘open category’ for transgender athletes to compete against one another at events including the World Aquatics Championships, World Swimming Championships, and Swimming World Cup.

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