transvestigation
{{Short description|Conspiracy theory regarding gender and sex}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Transgender sidebar}}
Transvestigation (a portmanteau of transgender and investigation) is a conspiracy theory that asserts that many celebrities and other prominent individuals are transgender (or, conversely, that some openly transgender celebrities are cisgender).{{cite web |date=2023-11-02 |title=Transvestigation: Definition, Meaning, and Origin in Anti-LGBTQ Hate |url=https://glaad.org/transvestigation-definition-meaning-anti-lgbt-online-hate/ |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=GLAAD}} Proponents claim to be able to determine the assigned sex of individuals, primarily through photographic and video evidence. The methodology used by "transvestigators" adhering to this theory is subject to pareidolia and often suffers from confirmation bias.{{Cite web |last=Lenton |first=Patrick |date=2024-02-08 |title=A Wild Investigation of Transvestigators, the People Who Think Celebs Are All Trans |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-wild-investigation-of-transvestigators-the-people-who-think-celebs-are-all-trans/ |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=Vice |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Klee |first=Miles |title=Unhinged 'Transvestigators' Think They're the Only Cis People Left |url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/transvestigator-celebrity-conspiracy-theories |website=MEL Magazine|date=18 July 2022 }}
Prominent celebrities claimed to be transgender include Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, Margot Robbie, Michelle Obama, Jacinda Ardern, Jennifer Lopez, and the Kardashians.{{cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/06/20/two-women-go-on-trial-for-claiming-french-first-lady-is-transgender_6675226_7.html|title=Two women go on trial for claiming French first lady is transgender|work=Le Monde|date=June 20, 2024|access-date=August 11, 2024}} Prominent athletes claimed to be trans include Serena Williams and Katie Ledecky.{{cite web |last=Dawson |first=Alan |date=2018-05-31 |title=How Serena Williams responds to accusations that she 'was born a guy' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/serena-williams-responds-to-accusations-she-was-born-a-man-2018-5 |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=Business Insider}} Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the president of France, has filed suit against allegations that she previously identified as a man.{{cite news |date=December 22, 2021 |title=Brigitte Macron to sue over false claims she was born male |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59753535 |access-date=August 8, 2024 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0l0z1p628o|title=Two women guilty of slandering Brigitte Macron|work=BBC News|first=Lipika|last=Pelham|date=September 12, 2024|access-date=January 23, 2025}}
In the aftermath of the boxing controversy at the 2024 Olympic Games, the term gained renewed attention in light of accusations against Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting.{{Cite web |last=López |first=Quispe |date=2024-08-14 |title=How "Transvestigation," An Anti-Trans Conspiracy Theory, Made Its Way Into Mainstream Politics |url=https://www.them.us/story/what-does-transvestigation-anti-trans-conspiracy-theory |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Them |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Radin |first=Sara |date=2024-08-09 |title=What Is a 'Transvestigation?' Misogyny Gets a Rebrand at the Paris Olympics |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/what-is-a-transvestigation-misogyny-gets-a-rebrand-at-the-paris-olympics |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Glamour |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Transvestigating (with Contrapoints) |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/transvestigating-with-contrapoints/id1693739175?i=1000665233431 |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-GB}}
Conspiracy theories
The basis for transvestigation ranges from the belief that some celebrities' gender identity simply differs from their birth-assigned sex, to the belief that their transgender identity is part of an initiation ritual known as "elite gender inversion", conducted by Hollywood and music industry elites or secret organizations such as the New World Order and Illuminati.{{Cite news |last=Thomason |first=Kristen |date=2023-06-22 |title=Transvestigation: The new eugenics |url=https://baptistnews.com/article/transvestigation-the-new-eugenics/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |work=Baptist News Global |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last1=Vernon |first1=Hayden |last2=Moreno |first2=Natalie |date=2023-09-21 |title=The Conspiracy Theorists Who Think All Celebrities Are Secretly Trans |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/conspiracy-theorists-believe-all-celebrities-are-secretly-trans/ |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Vice |language=en}} GLAAD considers the movement to be an expression of transphobia. The theories have gained considerable popularity on the social media platform X.{{Cite news |last1=Hsu |first1=Tiffany |last2=Thompson |first2=Stuart A. |last3=Myers |first3=Steven Lee |date=2024-07-30 |title=Kamala Harris Faces a Faster, Uglier Version of the Internet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/technology/kamala-harris-toxic-internet-politics.html |access-date=2024-08-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
= France =
Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the president of France, has sought legal action against the allegation that she was born male. The conspiracy theory, which suggests that she was previously known as Jean-Michel Trogneux, has been traced to a far-right author in France, and has trended on social media.
= United States =
A number of prominent celebrities have been claimed to be secretly transgender, including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Margot Robbie.{{cite web |last=Karleby |first=Peter |date=2023-10-04 |title=Conservatives Roasted After Claiming Taylor Swift Is Secretly 'Trans' With Bizarre Conspiracy |url=https://www.comicsands.com/taylor-swift-trans-claim-conservatives-2665793292.html |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=Comic Sands}} Athletes accused of being trans include Serena Williams and Katie Ledecky.{{cite web |last1=LaMagdeleine |first1=Izz Scott |date=27 July 2023 |title=No Proof For Rumors That Katie Ledecky Had 'Come Out' as Trans |url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/07/27/katie-ledecky-trans-rumors/ |website=Snopes |language=en}}{{cite web |last=Dawson |first=Alan |date=2018-05-31 |title=How Serena Williams responds to accusations that she 'was born a guy' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/serena-williams-responds-to-accusations-she-was-born-a-man-2018-5 |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=Business Insider}} Kyle Rittenhouse has been accused of being a trans man, with the claim partly motivated by his criticism of Donald Trump.{{cite magazine |last=Klee |first=Miles |date=2024-08-02 |title=MAGA Trolls Bully Kyle Rittenhouse Into Sticking With Trump |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/maga-trolls-kyle-rittenhouse-trump-1235073356/ |access-date=2024-08-06 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{cite web |last=Thalen |first=Mikael |date=4 August 2024 |title=QAnon launches transvestigation into Kyle Rittenhouse after he wavered on Trump |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kyle-rittenhouse-trans-qanon-conspiracy-theory/ |website=The Daily Dot}} Former First Lady Michelle Obama has frequently been accused of being a trans woman, which Noah Berlatsky of the Pacific Standard considers unsurprising, stating that "[j]ust as trans women are stereotypically caricatured as faking femininity, [B]lack women are caricatured as innately non-feminine" within the United States.{{Cite news |last=Berlatsky |first=Noah |date=October 14, 2014 |title=Michelle Obama Trans-Truthers Reveal Persisting Prejudices |work=The Pacific Standard |url=https://psmag.com/social-justice/michelle-obama-trans-truthers-reveal-persisting-prejudices-92320 |access-date=November 29, 2022}}
See also
{{Wiktionary}}
- {{Annotated link|Passing (gender)}}
- Sex verification in sports
- {{Annotated link|Transmisogyny}}
- {{Annotated link|Transphobia}}
- {{Annotated link|Misogynoir}}
- {{Annotated link|Physiognomy}}