Earlier this month, a transgender girl won a popular Irish dancing competition in Dallas, Texas as the organizers of the event followed an established international precedent to allow the girl to compete.
The transgender girl won the under-14 girls’ category at the Southern Region Oireachtas competition earlier this month. And despite backlash and criticism on social media, the organizers of the event defended the decision to allow the girl to compete.
The organizers of the event announced about 10 days before the competition that they would be following the policy of An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), which is considered to be the oldest and largest competitive Irish dance organization in the world. The CLRG approved the policy to allow transgender athletes to participate according to their gender identity.
“Entering and competing in the CLRG World Championship competition that corresponds to the gender identity of the dancer is an established CLRG precedent, it has been done before,” the competition’s regional director, P.J. McCafferty, said in a statement according to Fox News.
“This situation is not easy for anyone. Not everyone’s point of view or personal interests align. I am asking for your tolerance. You are expected to respect all the dancers.”
[Fox News]
