Jonathan Van Ness posts about trans rights after tense interview with Dax Shepard

JVN posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday elaborating on some of his comments in Monday’s episodein which he became emotional while discussing transphobia in sports.

“There are so many conversations about trans inclusion in sports. “We have state institutions across the United States that are considering passing bills to ensure that no transgender children can play sports at any level in their state,” he said Queer eye Star began.

He continued: “And I just think that’s a huge travesty. The science we have now says that transgender women do not have an unfair biological advantage over cisgender women.”

Van Ness added: “What the whole rhetoric is now is that if someone has gone through male puberty and has ever experienced that male puberty, then it will always be unfair for them to play women’s sports.”

In discussing the narrative around “protecting women’s sports,” Van Ness addressed the blockade in many states against gender-affirming care that would prevent a trans girl from going through puberty, which some say would give them an unfair advantage when it comes to competitive sports.

“So do you understand how we have governments and governing bodies in athletics that ensure transsexuals can’t play sports anyway?” he asked. “But not only have trans women been able to play tennis or swim in the last two decades, how many Olympic trans tennis players or swimmers can you think of?”

“Exactly. Zero,” Van Ness clapped back.

He also explained what he learned from being able to play sports himself. JVN, who identifies as a non-binary trans person and uses the pronouns “he/she/they,” said the opportunity to be part of a team taught him valuable life lessons that trans children miss out on. if they were banned from sport. These include “Rejection,” “Teamwork,” “How to Overcome an Obstacle,” and “People Skills.”

“We’re doing a great injustice to trans kids because we just don’t let them play,” Van Ness claimed.

He also discussed equality and fairness in sport and the dangers of participating regardless of gender. Ultimately, the TV personality said that the entire discussion surrounding the issue is rooted in transphobia.

In the impassioned explainer’s caption, JVN also reviewed some of its statistics on intersex people discussed on Monday’s show, adding: “0.2% of 330 million is 660,000, in case you’re curious.” But to check the facts for yourself, there are actually 5.6 million intersex people in the United States.

The follow-up video comes after Van Ness and Shepard argued about trans rights and trans kids in sports.

The conversation that started over, whether that or not New York Times was a left-leaning publication that referred to JVN as “Trigger City,” prompting Shepard to apologize more than once for putting the TV star and hairdresser in a position where he felt he had to defend oneself.

“Sincerely, I didn’t want you to come in and question your position in all of this,” Shepard said. “I’m just emotionally exhausted,” Van Ness added, from having to advocate for issues surrounding trans people and transphobia in athletics.

“I think you’re right if you feel like it doesn’t fall on my shoulders to set the table for you,” Shepard said.

The podcast episode and JVN’s latest post sparked a lot of discussion online, and his followers took to the comments on his new post to express their support for Van Ness.

“I was so disappointed when I listened to yesterday’s episode of AE. You handled it with so much intelligence and grace, but it shouldn’t have been necessary. Thanks for the clarification ❤️,” one commenter wrote.

Another added: “I liked the point you also made in Armchair Expert that Michael Phelps was biologically born with physical advantages. Just another great point about why sports are inherently unfair. You can’t exclude a group and say it’s unfair unless you create leagues where everyone has to have the exact same biology to compete. Basketball players should all be the same height, all should have the same muscle mass, weigh the same, etc. This is exactly the right narrative for trans people to come after you. Your kids and your gold medals and it’s just crazy.

Division 1 athlete Victoria Browne also shared her excitement, writing: “I love this! As a former D1 athlete, I know how much sport has positively impacted my life and ALL WOMEN deserve this opportunity! 🙌.”

To hear the full conversation between Van Ness and Shepard, check out the podcast episode below.