They are insults transgender people hear all of time, and Schuyler Bailar is tired of them.
In a powerful Instagram post, the trailblazing trans swimmer highlights an array of nasty comments he’s received over the years about his body and genitalia. In particular, Bailar calls out cisgender men who are obsessed with what’s in his pants.
“It’s very sad to me that so many men have no other way to define their manhood than with their penis — how devastating and fear-filling that must feel to believe that if they were to get in an accident and lose their penis, they would also lose their manhood,” he writes.
As of press time, the post has more than 23,000 “likes.” Numerous trans individuals, and parents of trans kids, thanked Bailar in the comments for speaking out.
Bailar joined the Harvard men’s swimming team as a trans male in 2015. He’s believed to be the first publicly out trans swimmer in D1 history.
Since coming out, Bailar has been outspoken about his transition, and decision to compete against men. He told “60 Minutes” the reward of being himself was worth sliding down the leaderboard.
“I think sometimes, ‘Oh, I really wish I could compete as a girl because I want to win that race.’ It’s fun to win,” he told Lesley Stahl in 2016. “It’s a different world on the men’s team. I am working the same amount for 16th place. And that’s OK … it has other kinds of glory in it.”
Since graduating in 2019, Bailar has continued to be an outspoken advocate for trans inclusion. His popular Instagram page is filled with posts dispelling misconceptions about trans and non-binary people. Notably, Bailar is shirtless in many of them. It sends a strong statement about body positivity.
At Outsports, we talk all of the time about the importance of visibility. Bailar’s social media presence embodies that. He is brave and beautiful, and an inspiration to us all.
