A small protest against a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) tabling event drew about 15 students on the UC Alumni Mall on Tuesday, where demonstrators gathered to voice their opposition to what they described as anti-transgender messaging displayed by the organization.
The protest began around 12:45 p.m. when freshman Ari Short, a transgender woman, noticed the table and its sign while walking through the area. TPUSA representatives asked people if they believed biological men should compete in women's sports, a question referencing transgender women, along with pins and stickers promoting the organization's conservative viewpoints.
“I saw this sign about biological men competing in biological sports, and as a trans woman, I think it’s very unwelcoming,” Short said. “It’s disrespectful to my kind.”
Several students said the wording of the sign, which referred to transgender women as “biological men,” was offensive and misleading.
“It makes me uncomfortable. I’m intersex, but I grew up mainly with testosterone, and I find it disrespectful,” Short said. “It’s okay to be educated and know that trans women are biological women and the other way around, but I don’t think people should refer to trans people like that.”
Short quickly organized the protest, which started small but grew as students passed by.
“I was coming back from my class and noticed my friends holding signs. Turns out it was for trans rights,” said Ava Jones, a sophomore and officer with Stonewall Tigers. “I’m nonbinary, and I like my rights.”
Protesters held signs, waved pride flags, and talked with other students about transgender rights. Many passersby students voiced their support.
“If you really do the research, you’ll know that if you have been on estrogen or hormone replacement therapy, you lose the muscle mass and bone density that people say give an advantage,” Short said. “There should be lenience for people competing who are on estrogen.”
The tabling and subsequent protest came one day before Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and prominent anti-transgender activist, was scheduled to speak at the University of Memphis. Gaines’ event, organized by the university’s TPUSA chapter, is set for Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in the UC Theatre.
The Daily Helmsman reached out multiple times to the University of Memphis TPUSA chapter and its media contact but did not receive a response.
Mel Eleftheriou can be contacted at mlfthrou@memphis.edu.
