Female skateboarder faces threats after advocating for fairness in women’s sports, while upholding concept that ‘transgender women are women’

In an Instagram post that since appears to have been deleted, Anna O’Neill wrote, "Although people are trying to spin the narrative that I am transphobic and that I bullied transgender women, that is false." O’Neill was referring to a recent meeting addressing eligibility standards for trans-identifying males who want to compete at the elite level in downhill skateboarding alongside women.

"The structure of this meeting wasn’t perfect by any means, and no one who organized this is an expert in conflict resolution," she wrote. "However, our intentions were to bring all relevant parties to the table and to open up communication in a respectful manner the best way we knew how, with the tools and information we have."

"This isn’t about myself, this isn’t about any individual athlete, this is about fairness and safety in sport and how much we are willing to sacrifice for inclusivity."

O’Neill said that "transgender women are women," adding that "you can be an ally who supports trans rights, women’s rights, and fair and meaningful competition simultaneously."

She added that she never intended for everyone to agree at the meeting, "but I did want everyone to have a chance to be heard."

"I firmly believe society will be a better place if we stop trying to intimidate others into silence and instead try to foster healthy communication when discussing polarizing topics."

While saying "transgender women are women," O’Neill added that "sex and gender are two different things."

"To say that there are no physiological differences between transgender women and females is false. Arguments were made for the inclusion of transgender women in the women’s category with zero eligibility criteria."

She said that arguments were also made at this meeting "for trans women only being allowed to race in the women’s category if they have not gone through any stage of male puberty."

"Many other arguments were made. This was the purpose of this meeting, to discuss different viewpoints - even if talking about these possibilities hurt feelings on either side. Critical thinking and the sharing of ideas is integral to understanding nuanced issues and making informed decisions."

O’Neill said that while in some spaces "there doesn’t need to be any differentiation between transwomen and females, as they are both women," in other spaces, "these differences matter and should not be ignored."

"This conversation is taking place across the world, in every sport. We’ve taken that first step and have been viciously bullied and threatened with violence for it."

She concluded, "Regardless, I plan to continue to foster respectful, open and meaningful dialogue with the aim of finding ways to honor all marginalized groups in our beautiful community and for our sport."

The since-deleted Instagram post was posted by Taylor Silverman, a female skateboarder who spoke out about the unfairness of women being forced to compete against biological males.

"I definitely do not agree that 'transgender women are women’ but I’m glad more women are speaking up and I think this goes to show that no matter how supportive you try to be it is never enough," Silverman said.