Veronica Ivy

{{short description|Philosophy professor, competitive cyclist, transgender rights activist}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Veronica Ivy

| image = Rachel McKinnon on trans women in sport.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Ivy discussing transgender women in sport on her YouTube channel in 2017

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1982}}

| birth_place = Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

| nationality = Canadian

| other_names =

| occupation = Cyclist, activist, philosopher

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

Veronica Ivy (born 1982), formerly Rachel McKinnon, is a Canadian competitive cyclist and transgender rights activist. In 2018, she became the first transgender world track cycling champion by placing first at the UCI Women's Masters Track World Championship for the women's 35–44 age bracket.

Early life and education

Ivy is from Victoria, British Columbia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/transgender-woman-track-cycling-1.4863381|title=Transgender Canadian woman sets off debate after winning cycling world championship|website=CBC|access-date=14 October 2019}} She earned a bachelors of arts degree in philosophy from the University of Victoria (2005) and completed her PhD from University of Waterloo in Philosophy in 2012,{{cite web|url=http://philosophy.cofc.edu/faculty-staff-listing/mckinnon-rachel.php|title=McKinnon, Rachel - College of Charleston|website=philosophy.cofc.edu|access-date=26 May 2019|archive-date=1 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601183338/http://philosophy.cofc.edu/faculty-staff-listing/mckinnon-rachel.php|url-status=dead}}'[https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-mckinnon-104010 Rachel McKinnon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016145820/https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-mckinnon-104010 |date=16 October 2022 }}', The Conversation. with a thesis entitled "Reasonable Assertions: On Norms of Assertion and Why You Don't Need to Know What You're Talking About".Rachel McKinnon, "[http://hdl.handle.net/10012/6619 Reasonable Assertions: On Norms of Assertion and Why You Don't Need to Know What You're Talking About]" (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Waterloo, 2012).

Ivy has said she first began thinking she might be transgender when she was thirteen, but took sixteen more years to "come to terms with it". She started transitioning near the time she was finishing her doctorate, and came out "two days after I defended my dissertation."Fred Dreier, "[https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/news/qa-dr-rachel-mckinnon-masters-track-champion-and-transgender-athlete_480206 Q&A: Dr. Rachel McKinnon, masters track champion and transgender athlete]", VeloNews (15 October 2018). She wrote to her students to tell them that she was transgender on 2 May 2012.Rachel McKinnon, "[https://www.chronicle.com/article/Coming-Out-in-Class/132403 Coming Out in Class]", The Chronicle of Higher Education (25 June 2012).

Ivy was an associate professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/46453958|title=Transgender women in sport: Are they really a 'threat' to female sport?|work=BBC Sport|date=18 December 2018}} She earned tenure in March 2019, and became an associate professor in August the same year.{{cite news|last1=Schiferl|first1=Jenna |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/the-tweet-heard-round-the-world-charleston-professor-sparks-global/article_4a462cda-c9c7-11e9-8134-d32dc721835d.html |title=The tweet heard 'round the world: Charleston professor sparks global Twitter debate |work=The Post and Courier |publisher=Evening Post Industries |date=29 August 2019}}

Ivy's primary research focus is the philosophy of language. The majority of her published work is about the norms of the speech act of assertion, pre-eminently her 2015 monograph The Norms of Assertion: Truth, Lies, and Warrant (Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-1-137-52172-9}}). Another focus of her work is feminism and feminist philosophy, particularly issues relating to gender and queer identities.

Media career

Ivy has written articles on transgender and intersex issues for outlets including NBC News,{{cite news |last1=Ivy |first1=Veronica |title=J.K. Rowling's Maya Forstater tweets support hostile work environments, not free speech |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/j-k-rowling-s-maya-forstater-tweets-support-hostile-work-ncna1105201 |access-date=23 December 2019 |work=NBC News |date=20 December 2019}} Vice,{{cite news |last1=Ivy |first1=Veronica |title=The U.K. Has a Transphobia Problem and J.K. Rowling Is the Latest Offender |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jk-rowling-transphobic-tweet-maya-forstater-terfs-in-the-uk/ |access-date=23 December 2019 |work=Vice |date=19 December 2019}} and Newsweek.{{cite news |last1=McKinnon |first1=Rachel |title=Caster Semenya Decision is Wrongheaded and Discriminates Against Elite Female Athletes |url=https://www.newsweek.com/sports-caster-semenya-rachel-mckinnon-athletes-olympic-intersex-testosterone-1412841 |access-date=23 December 2019 |work=Newsweek |date=6 May 2019}}

Athletic career

Prior to moving to the College of Charleston, Ivy played badminton. Lacking a strong badminton scene at Charleston, Ivy developed an interest in sport cycling. On 12 October 2018, she won the world 200-meter sprint record for women in the 35–39 age range,A. C. Shilton, "[https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a25736012/transgender-world-champion-track-cycling-race/ Transgender Track World Champion Defends Her Human Right—To Race]", Bicycling (4 January 2019). and the next day won the UCI Masters World Track Cycling Championship in the Women's Sprint 35–44 age bracket, becoming the first transgender world champion in track cycling.Fred Dreier, '[https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/news/commentary-the-complicated-case-of-transgender-cyclist-dr-rachel-mckinnon_480285 Commentary: The complicated case of transgender cyclist Dr. Rachel McKinnon]', VeloNews (18 October 2018).{{Cite web|url=https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/news/qa-dr-rachel-mckinnon-masters-track-champion-and-transgender-athlete_480206|title=Q&A: Dr. Rachel McKinnon, masters track champion and transgender athlete|last=Dreier|first=Fred|date=15 October 2018|website=VeloNews.com|language=en-US|access-date=28 May 2019}}Alex Ballinger, "[https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/rachel-mckinnon-becomes-first-transgender-woman-win-track-world-title-397473 Rachel McKinnon Becomes First Transgender Woman to Win Track World Title]", Cycling Weekly (17 October 2018).

Some in the sports world expressed their belief that her birth sex gave her an unfair advantage.{{cite web|title=Transgender Track World Champion Defends Her Human Right—To Race|website=bicycling.com|url=https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a25736012/transgender-world-champion-track-cycling-race/|date=4 January 2019}} American cyclist Jennifer Wagner, who finished third (bronze), said Ivy's birth sex gave her physiological advantages.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/46453958|title=Transgender women in sport: Are they really a 'threat' to female sport?|date=18 December 2018|access-date=14 October 2019|language=en-GB}} The second-place (silver-medal) winner, Dutch athlete Caroline van Herrikhuyzen, supported Ivy.{{cite web|title=Transfrau erntet Hass für Sieg bei Bahnrad-WM|periodical=Queer.de|url=https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=32148|date=16 October 2018}} Ivy argued that there was no evidence that being born male gave an advantage in the race and that she had lost to Wagner in the past.{{cite web|title=Rachel McKinnon becomes first transgender woman to win track world title|periodical=Cycling Weekly|url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/rachel-mckinnon-becomes-first-transgender-woman-win-track-world-title-397473#R5CePXuloJklhVy5.99|date=18 October 2018}} British columnist Katie Hopkins wrote that the decision to allow Ivy to compete was evidence that "the world is gripped by a febrile madness"."[https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12143308 Commentators clash over controversial first transgender world champion]", nzherald (16 October 2018). Tennis player Martina Navratilova said that allowing people born male to compete in women's sports was "insane" and "cheating".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/17/martina-navratilova-criticised-over-cheating-trans-women-comments|title=Martina Navratilova criticised over 'cheating' trans women comments|date=17 February 2019|website=theguardian.com|access-date=24 October 2019}} Ivy criticized Navrátilová's comments as transphobic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/tennis/110720055/martina-navratilova-ignites-transgender-athlete-debate-calling-it-cheating|title=Martina Navratilova ignites transgender athlete debate, calling it 'cheating'|website=Stuff|date=19 February 2019|language=en|access-date=11 September 2019}}

Ivy cited one of the fundamental rules of the International Olympic Committee that the practice of sport is a human right. Her participation in the competition was consistent with rules in force since 2003.{{cite web|title=Gold an Rad-WM: Trans-Frau Rachel McKinnon im BLICK-Interview - Blick|periodical=Blick.ch|url=https://www.blick.ch/sport/rad/transsexuelle-rad-queen-im-interview-ich-werde-auf-social-media-angegriffen-und-beschimpft-id9048479.html|date=31 October 2018}} Some commentators{{Who|date=December 2019}} felt that Ivy had an advantage because of her size and muscle mass. Ivy objected to this criticism: she must keep her testosterone level low as a prerequisite for her participation in sports competitions.

=2019 cycling time trial=

In an October 2019 time trial, Ivy broke the record for the 200-meter sprint for females aged 34–39.{{cite news |last1=Holmes |first1=Juwan J. |title=Champion cyclist Rachel McKinnon opens up about challenges of being a transgender competitor |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/12/champion-cyclist-rachel-mckinnon-opens-challenges-transgender-competitor/ |access-date=7 December 2019 |work=LGBTQ Nation |date=7 December 2019}}

In response, she received a number of death threats, and was targeted on Twitter by Donald Trump Jr.{{cite news |last1=O'Kane |first1=Caitlin |title=Transgender cyclist defends her world championship win after Donald Trump Jr. calls it "BS" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-cyclist-rachel-mckinnon-defends-her-world-championship-win-after-donald-trump-jr-calls-it-bs-twitter/ |access-date=11 August 2020 |work=CBS News |date=22 October 2019}} In December 2019, she wrote an op-ed in The New York Times about this experience.{{cite news |last1=Baume |first1=Matt |author1-link=Matt Baume |title=Donald Trump Jr. Is Mad About Trans Women Riding Bikes |url=https://www.out.com/sports/2019/10/22/donald-trump-jr-mad-about-trans-women-riding-bikes |access-date=7 December 2019 |work=Out |date=22 October 2019}}{{cite news |last1=McKinnon |first1=Rachel |title=I Won a World Championship. Some People Aren't Happy. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/opinion/i-won-a-world-championship-some-people-arent-happy.html |access-date=7 December 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=5 December 2019}} Ivy changed her name from Rachel McKinnon with an announcement on Twitter on December 4, 2019 {{cite tweet|number=1202326061343805440|user=SportIsARight|title=Yup, officially changing my name from Rachel McKinnon to Veronica Ivy.Thank you for coming to my TED talk.|date=4 December 2019}}

Controversy

In August 2019, in relation to the death of American billionaire David Koch, Ivy tweeted that "it's okay to be happy, even celebrate, when bad people die".{{cite tweet|number=1164906733627686913|user=SportIsARight|title=It's okay to be happy, even celebrate, when bad people die.|accessdate=14 October 2019|language=en|date=23 August 2019}} A respondent, believing Ivy to be alluding to the terminal illness of Magdalen Berns, asked if Ivy "thought it was OK to celebrate the death of a young person suffering from an incurable brain tumor" (quoting the account of the Charleston The Post and Courier). Ivy replied: "if they're a trash human actively trying to harm marginalized people because of who they are? I think it's justified". The exchange provoked a petition by over 500 signatories seeking Ivy's public apology.Colleen Flaherty, "[https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/03/college-supports-trans-scholar-under-fire College Supports Trans Scholar Under Fire]", Inside Higher Ed (3 September 2019).

References

External links

[https://cofc.academia.edu/RachelMcKinnon Academia.edu page]
McKinnon, Rachel [https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/6619 Reasonable Assertions: On Norms of Assertion and Why You Don't Need to Know What You're Talking About]

Category:1982 births

Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers

Category:21st-century Canadian women writers

Category:Canadian cyclists

Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States

Category:Canadian LGBTQ academics

Category:Canadian LGBTQ rights activists

Category:Canadian transgender women

Category:Canadian transgender sportspeople

Category:Canadian transgender writers

Category:Canadian women philosophers