All the ‘Trans Women’ Who Were Celebrated During Women’s History Month

 Every year, March is recognized as “Women’s History Month.” This year’s Women’s History Month was one for the books. Townhall has covered time and time again how biological males who identify as transgender women have won titles and competitions against biological women. But, throughout this year’s Women’s History Month, specifically, several transgender women were recognized for accomplishments that could have gone to deserving biological women, from winning beauty pageant titles to receiving recognition from the current presidential administration.

    Alba Rueda

Earlier this month, First Lady Jill Biden commemorated Women’s History Month by honoring Alba Rueda, a transgender person who serves as Argentina’s current Special Envoy for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, and was the first Argentine Undersecretary for Diversity Policies in the newly created Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity, according to a press release from the State Department.

On International Women’s Day, Rueda was honored at the White House’s Women of Courage awards, which recognized “a group of 11 extraordinary women from around the world who are working to build a brighter future for all.” Reportedly, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks mispronounced Rueda’s name in her introductory remarks, according to the New York Post.

Rueda “is a transgender woman who was kicked out of classrooms, barred from sitting for exams, refused job opportunities, subjected to violence and rejected by her family,” Hicks reportedly said during her remarks. “But in the face of these challenges, she worked to end violence and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community.”

Predictably, the first lady received backlash from Republicans for honoring Rueda on International Women’s Day

“It’s International Women’s Day – a good time to remember that the Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is,” GOP Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote.

    
It’s International Women’s Day – a good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is. https://t.co/BPJ1fHhl5u
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) March 8, 2023

“Nice of FLOTUS to encourage the diminishment of women on ‘international women’s day’. Erasing women is abusive,” conservative radio host Dana Loesch said on Twitter.

    
Nice of FLOTUS to encourage the diminishment of women on "international women's day."
 
Erasing women is abusive. https://t.co/SYNfHSE78s
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 8, 2023

    Lia Thomas

Will “Lia” Thomas is a biological male who identifies as transgender and competed on the women’s swim team at the University of Pennsylvania last year. As Townhall covered, Thomas robbed biological women of opportunities and won races competing against women. At the NCAA championships, Thomas took home a NCAA Division I Title. And, when Thomas tied against a female athlete, Riley Gaines, he was permitted to take the trophy home, while Gaines left empty-handed.

This month, ESPN celebrated Thomas by including him as part of a Women’s History Month video.

“In 2022, swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 Championship by winning the 500 freestyle,” the narrator boasted in the video.
    
ESPN celebrated Women’s History Month by promoting a special about transgender swimmer Lia Thomas……a biological male who destroyed real women in the pool. pic.twitter.com/gVLa0rz2NN
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) March 26, 2023

“Being trans is not a choice,” Thomas claimed in the video. “I didn’t have any other choice…I transitioned to be happy.”

“How can any woman work at ESPN after this?” Outkick editor David Hookstead wrote on Twitter. “The network is just openly mocking them at this point.”

In response to the video, Gaines called Thomas “arrogant” and pointed out that he stole a national title from a deserving female athlete. She then urged the women working at ESPN to leave the outlet.

    
Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title. He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman. The @ncaa is responsible.
 
If I was a woman working at ESPN, I would walk out. You're spineless @espn #boycottESPN https://t.co/DF3n5RWsmV
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 26, 2023

In an interview with Fox Business, Gaines said that she never received a response from ESPN about her complaints about the video.

“People are becoming more bold, people are starting to open their eyes to what this gender ideology propaganda being pushed by the left, being pushed by the media, being pushed within education systems, [is].” Gaines said in the interview. “They’re opening their eyes to how harmful this is, specifically, of course, to women and to children.”

    Rep. Leigh Finke

Each year, to commemorate Women’s History Month, USA Today releases a list of trailblazing women from each of the 50 states as its “Women of the Year.” This year, the outlet honored a biological male Democratic lawmaker who identifies as a transgender woman.

Democratic state Rep. Leigh Finke is the first “openly transgender” person to be elected and serve in Minnesota’s state legislature.

“It’s a dramatic understatement to say that I am beyond honored to see my name among this list of honorees,” Finke wrote of the honor on Twitter.
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It's a dramatic understatement to say that I am beyond honored to see my name among this list of honorees. https://t.co/WDIPslwsdH
— Leigh Finke (@leighfinke) March 19, 2023

In USA Today’s profile of Finke, the outlet noted that he transitioned to live as a woman in 2017 and “has been an activist for transgender and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as Black Lives Matter, almost her whole life.”

As Townhall covered, in the interview, Finke said that there are currently 11 LGBTQ people who were elected to the Minnesota state legislature. Finke claimed that “trans liberation is upward flowing” and that “everyone will benefit from the work that we’re trying to do for our young people.”

This isn’t the first time USA Today honored a male as part of its Women’s History Month list. Last year, Townhall covered how USA Today honored Dr. Rachel Levine , the U.S. assistant secretary for health, on the same list. Levine, a four-star admiral, was born a biological male, Richard Levine, and transitioned to live as a female. Previously, Levine was secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. This month, Townhall reported how Levine promised to “normalize” life-altering, irreversible gender mutilation surgeries for minors.

    Fae Johnstone

Candy company Hershey’s faced backlash this month after it unveiled female-themed chocolate bars promoted by a biological male who identifies as a woman in honor of Women’s History Month, which Townhall reported.

The transgender person, Fae Johnstone, a self-described “2 LGBTQIA+ advocate,” appeared in a video ad supporting the company’s campaign.

“My name is Fae Johnstone, I’m the executive director of Wisdom2Action. We can create a world where everyone is able to live in public space as their honest and authentic selves,” Johnstone said in the ad.

The ad concluded with a message stating, “See the women changing how we see the future” and encourage users to look up Hershey’s Canada on social media.
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Hersheys is using a trans woman to promote their "HerShe" campaign in honor of international women's day.pic.twitter.com/41lw5yie9M
— OutKick (@Outkick) March 2, 2023

On Twitter, Johnstone said he was featured with four “sisters” in the campaign. And, as backlash began rolling in, Hershey’s Canada shared a statement on Instagram claiming that its pro-woman campaign is supposed to be “inclusive.”

“We value togetherness and recognize the strength created by diversity,” the statement said. “Over the past three years, our Women’s History Month programming has been an inclusive celebration of women and their impact. We appreciate the countless people and meaningful partnerships behind these efforts.”

 
 
A post shared by Hershey’s Canada (@hersheyscanada)

Tweets shared by conservative commentator Matt Walsh also showed that Johnstone had a history of being a “vile, woman-hating extremist.”

    
A few years ago, Johnstone was posting with hashtags like “gayboy” and “proud slut” and writing apologies for his “cis privilege” and for taking up “space” as a “queer” male. pic.twitter.com/SEpM6nNigJ
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 3, 2023
 
Magically he now had the privilege of lecturing “cis allies,” even though he’d just recently been one himself pic.twitter.com/lPvVGBk2Wi
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 3, 2023

    Monroe Lace

This month, the California Bay Area crowned its new Miss San Francisco, who happens to be a biological male.

The new Miss San Francisco, Monroe Lace, appeared in an interview with local outlet KRON4 to discuss winning the pageant.
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Congrats to the new Miss San Francisco! She’s also the first transgender woman to earn a title in the organization’s 99-year history. Watch our interview with Monroe Lace here: https://t.co/kRyEV6l0aT
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) March 28, 2023

“I’ve been dreaming about it for so long, so when the crown was placed on my head, I literally was like, ‘this isn’t real life,’” Lace said in the interview. “All the pictures of me, are me just like crying. Seeing all my friends in the audience made it even more special.”
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This month, California crowned its new Miss #SanFrancisco, the first #transgender woman to win a title in the organization's 99-year history. Monroe Lace joined us this morning on @kron4news. #lgbtq pic.twitter.com/sVFSU2KuJu
— Stephanie Lin (@StephanieLinTV) March 26, 2023

The host, Stephanie Lin, pointed out that “we’re at this time where women have gained so many privileges…at the same time, a number of privileges are being taken away [from women],” seemingly ignoring the fact that Lace won a competition against biological females who were deserving of the title. She boasted on social media that Lace will go on to compete in the upcoming Miss California pageant.

In November, a biological male named Brian Nguyen won a beauty pageant in New Hampshire. Many Twitter users criticized Nguyen’s win, pointing out that deserving female participants who competed were robbed of the opportunity to receive a scholarship and advance in the competition.
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Would a biological woman who looked like that ever in a million years win a beauty pageant? Transwomen are being given awards over biological women simply to virtue signal.
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) November 9, 2022

In November, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that beauty pageant organization Miss United States of America LLC cannot be forced to allow biological males who identify as transgender women to compete in its competitions, which Townhall covered. The lawsuit surrounded an anti-discrimination law on gender identity in Oregon. The judges said the law cannot be applied to the pageant because it violates its free speech rights.

    Tiffany Thomas

Lia Thomas is not the only biological male athlete to identify as a woman and rob females of accolades in their sport. Tiffany Thomas, a transgender athlete, won a women’s cycling event in New York City, which Townhall reported.

Tiffany Thomas, a biological male, reportedly rides for L.A. Sweat.
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🚴Trans-identifying male, Tiffany Thomas (46) wins NYC women's cycling event, angering critics: 'Not fair at all'@i_heart__bikes @libbyemmons https://t.co/fcUCbO580a pic.twitter.com/HG23bNrG0D
— ICONS Women (@icons_women) March 22, 2023

According to local outlet KATV, Tiffany Thomas went from “a total beginner to the elite level in just 5 years.”

In response to the criticism over the race, Tiffany Thomas wrote on Instagram that “my two best friends are just as strong as me, I just happened to have a better day on that particular day. They will assuredly beat me at future races.”

Shortly before Tiffany Thomas made headlines for winning the race, Hannah Arensman, a 35-time winner on the national cyclocross circuit, said in an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court that she retired from her sport when she finished in fourth place between two male-bodied “transgender” athletes at a competition (via the Supreme Court of the United States):
    
I have decided to end my cycling career. At my last race at the recent UCI Cyclocross National Championships in the elite women’s category in December 2022, I came in 4th place, flanked on either side by male riders awarded 3rd and 5th places. My sister and family sobbed as they watched a man finish in front of me, having witnessed several physical interactions with him throughout the race.
 
Additionally, it is difficult for me to think about the very real possibility I was overlooked for an international selection on the US team at Cyclocross Worlds in February 2023 because of a male competitor.
 
Moving forward, I feel for young girls learning to compete and who are growing up in a day when they no longer have a fair chance at being the new record 20 holders and champions in cycling because men want to compete in our division. I have felt deeply angered, disappointed, overlooked, and humiliated that the rule makers of women’s sports do not feel it is necessary to protect women’s sports to ensure fair competition for women anymore.