Another sports star speaks up: Dan Leo

Thanks Jessica, I was a little worried after I'd posted that I'd posted unfounded gossip from a [probably drunken] conversation in the bar at Welford Road many years ago!

That's interesting about Matt Toomua's father. Matt's not that old either so it's clearly an ongoing practice. It's a practical solution to an issue but it wholly disregards feelings and emotional attachments.

YogaDrone

Yes you’re correct about that family, it’s also very typical in an all-Male children family. Matt Toomua, wallabies player, just recently shared his father was swapped with a female cousin, which is another way to uphold the strict traditional Male and female roles. If you can’t find a child to swap with, you made a boy fa’afafine.

I believe that one of the Tuilangi brothers is Fa'afafine. When asked about this Alesana said it was because there were too many brothers and this created too much work for their mother so it was decided that the least good at rugby brother would become Fa'afafine in order to help.

To me this rather showed not that the brother was particularly trans inclined but that the misogynist patriarchal Samoan culture demanded that only women did the housework.

This is second hand though - it was an acquaintance who had this conversation with Alesana not me.

Well done Dan Leo

Thank you Dan Leo

They do not pretend or insist they are women though.

That’s correct, generally speaking.

Also after reading it seems it’s mainly limited to Samoa rather than the other Pacific islands as I insisted earlier which probably explains controversial people like Folau who despite being born and bred Aussie is from a Tongan background and not Samoan

Folau is Assembly of God, a fundamentalist Christian church that was introduced to the islands by western missionaries, that’s why he has the views he does, it’s not his ethnicity or culture. Samoa is extremely homophobic. Tonga does not have a law against homosexual sex, Samoa still does.
Māori do not have an equivalent to Fa’afafine, nor do any other Polynesian cultures that I’m aware of.

I acknowledge there is definitely a homophobic background to their existence culturally and this third gender was created as way of accepting homosexual or at least non heterosexual men without having to directly acknowledge them. They do not pretend or insist they are women though.

Also after reading it seems it’s mainly limited to Samoa rather than the other Pacific islands as I insisted earlier which probably explains controversial people like Folau who despite being born and bred Aussie is from a Tongan background and not Samoan

Thanks Dan

Yes noticed a lot of people trying to use the fa’afainine culture in the Pacific Islands as to a stick to beat him with but the difference is that whilst in the West they would be described as trans women / ladyboy type people they do not profess to be ‘real’ women, deny they are any different to biological women and when it comes to sport either compete with others of their ilk or in many cases other men.

As Dan Leo half joked, if they were allowed to compete in a women’s international tournament they would destroy the competition pretty easily but he’s not advocating for that or saying they should and the fa’afanine aren’t saying they should either

Another thread on his Twitter about Fa’afafine and how they don’t do hormones etc so couldn’t be ‘transgender athletes’, that’s something only the rich can do:

mobile.twitter.com/danleo82/status/1151578086963601409

Dan mentions Fa’afafine:

mobile.twitter.com/danleo82/status/1151850265508814848

"Love this (to the trans woman who called high school student Selina Soul a "little terf bitch" who needs to try harder)."

That is Athena Del Rosario, a transwoman who plays in a women's football team. The person who called Selina Soul "a little terf bitch" was Kirsty Miller, and the actual words were "A good start for the little terf would be to shut her mouth stop whinging like a bitch and start training harder"
I would like to know who the transgender volleyball player is who Dan Leo refers to, because the only one I know of so far is Tiffany Abreu who plays for Brazil. It should be noted that the net in women's volleyball is lower than in the men's game.

twitter.com/boodleoops/status/1150390013399580672

www.outsports.com/2017/5/31/15722952/transgender-ncaa-soccer-athena-del-rosario

Agree Jessica as much as women fight this I believe it will be men that stop the madness. When enough men have had enough I think things will start to change. A sad reflection on society.

I think TRA’s would feel a bit more intimidated of a big rugby player and his rugby playing followers, than they are of all us women Dan played during the hard days with less rules... he isn’t afraid of TRA’s

Just looked through that Twitter feed of Fans and shocked by the lack of TRA. Nearly all people saying thanks for speaking up against the madness. Hopefully this will encourage others.

In that twitter thread he’s interacting with someone who is respectful to him, while being abusive to women about it. Dan has said nothing about it. On his own thread. So... just don’t get too excited ok.

Every bit helps, the more people speak up the more people will see how unreasonable the TRA are and speak up themselves. So whatever Dans motivation I'm greatful he has spoken up.

I say this as a supporter of Dan’s Pacific players organisation, we grew up in the same area & he speaks out for Polynesian players a lot. But even then he fails to see the whole picture there.

I’m cautious, always. I’ve just been reminded far too many times that men often disappoint us and ultimately will prioritise other men. Can never fully rely on them.

I guess only time will tell @JessicaWakefieldSV

I'm trying to remain optimistic, even though at times it's an uphill battle.

I’ve been disappointed my men in rugby before. I’ve literally just had a NZ journo correspond with me for 6 months about domestic violence, telling me all kinds of confidential stuff, listening to my story etc only to turn around and completely change his mind, write an article defending the inclusion of violent men and telling me his attitude would be different if it was his daughter. If Dans sisters sport had different rules tomorrow, he wouldn’t care about this. I guess I’m just taking a cautious attitude, I’m not quite convinced by him. We’ll see.

Well he cares about his sister's rights, and that's a starting place.

Maybe this will make him think more deeply about the other issues you mentioned re the rugby players who beat their wives. I hope so.

That’s doubtful. Dan isn’t doing this because he cares about women’s rights, that’s what I’m saying.

sunset I LOVED that tweet. [[
twitter.com/danleo82/status/1151468024093990913]]

"Athena" seems to be completely obnoxious, shrieking and blocking everyone. Are they in the USA women's beach handball team? Another sports place lost to biological females.

This just needs to stop.

I wish women athletes would organise a boycott of any event or sport where a cheating man had been allowed to take part.

Yes! That would be bloody fantastic.

Unfortunately, @JessicaWakefieldSV this is the only way we'll win this as far as sports are concerned.

We do need more men to speak out and as we've been saying for a long time, they'll only do so when it affects them personally.

Not matter how he got to this point, the fact is he eventually got there. Maybe this will make him think more deeply about the other issues you mentioned re the rugby players who beat their wives. I hope so.