The International Olympic Committee has released a set of “portrayal guidelines” encouraging broadcasters to avoid using “problematic” language when portraying transgender athletes.
The guidelines say they aim to ensure “gender-equitable, fair and inclusive sporting representation” in Olympic print and television broadcasts, but they are merely imposing ideologies based on gender and sexual orientation through censorship.
The third edition of the portrayal guidelines for “Olympic Movement stakeholders” called for “gender equality” in the portrayal of athletes in all forms of communication and asked broadcasters to adapt their language to respect “cultural contexts”.
This of course means that almost the entirety of the guidelines is focused on gender ideology.
Among the more than 30 pages of doctrine was a guideline on “problematic language.” This particular section of speech regulation explained that reporting on transgender athletes presents a number of “common language issues” and urged reporters to avoid “common blunders” and “harmful language.”
The guidelines recommend avoiding the following terms:
- Born male
- Born a Woman
- Biologically Male/Female
- Genetically male/female
- Male to Female (MtF)
- Female to Male (FtM)
These representations are labelled “inhumane and inaccurate” and it is argued that a person’s gender is not based “solely on genes”. The document also makes the bold claim that a person’s biology can be changed by undergoing sex-related surgery.
“A person’s sex is not assigned based solely on genetics, and undergoing gender reassignment treatment can change aspects of their biology,” Guidelines He claimed.
“Avoid passive, sexy images of athletes that reinforce stereotypes.”
The statement also urged broadcasters “not to question the identity of a player by reference to the gender category listed on his birth certificate.”
Ironically, other terms to avoid were also listed, such as “transsexual.” Phrases such as “identifies as,” “he/she is transgender,” and “transgender” were frowned upon. Even the terms “sex change” and “post-op/surgery” were denigrated in the document.
The guidelines do warn broadcasters about “unconscious bias,” “gender stereotypes” and “gender bias,” and ask journalists to use gender-neutral language – this is advised to avoid “words or expressions that may be interpreted as prejudiced, discriminatory or sexist.”
Regarding photography, the committee asked journalists to “avoid images of passive, sexy athletes that reinforce stereotypes” and not focus on appearance or too much on one athlete. Photographers should also “avoid disproportionate images of one gender community” and should instead “capture diversity.” The document also asked photographers to avoid reinforcing feminine and masculine stereotypes.
The report argued that the low representation of women in sports broadcasting is fundamentally due to discrimination. It noted that only 4% of sports media content is aimed at women, yet 12% of sports news is delivered by women. It noted that the world’s highest-paid female athlete, tennis player Coco Gauff, will earn $22.7 million in 2023, while soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo will make $275 million.
The guidelines rival the most radical activist-backed documents of recent times, citing sources such as GLAAD, ESPN and gay activist groups as references, and citing several United Nations guidelines as additional sources.
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