Women's rights groups have expressed shock and disappointment that the UN has picked as UK "Women's Champion" a transgender activist, who has furthermore been implicated in racist and homophobic scandals.

According to The Times, seventeen women’s rights groups have signed a letter addressed to the UN Women organisation as well as the UN Women UK charity expressing their dismay and disappointment at the selection of a transgender activist as a champion for Britain’s women.

UN Women bills itself as „an organisation for gender equality and women’s empowerment”.

The new British „women’s” champion is model, broadcaster and transgender activist Munroe Bergdorf.

The letter was on behalf of 17 UK campaign groups, as reported today by @JamesSBeal in @thetimes https://t.co/K7NMOZ8in5

— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) January 2, 2024

However, the signatory groups to the letter were objecting to more than Munroe Bergdorf being a biological man.

The campaign group Fair Play For Women issued a statement saying „in December the UN Women’s UK committee appointed a male who presents in a highly sexualised stereotype of womanhood as an ambassador for women.”. As they put it in the letter, „Bergdorf’s gender presentation embodies the objectification which most women reject as a particularly demeaning example of offensive gender stereotypes”.

They add: „UN Women has made a point of demonstrating that it considers males can become women. It’s disappointing to see the UK committee go so far as to select a male to represent women. Their credibility is in tatters”.

The letter, written by Fair Play For Women and sixteen other groups including Sex Matters, Transgender Trend and Women’s Rights Network, also highlights that

„The female population of the UK is more than 33 million, yet you have ignored every one of us and chosen a male.”

The rights groups also point out, writes Modernity, that „Bergdorf’s well-publicised activism is not pro-women. This person has objected to women making references to our female bodies.” They continue that “ many issues affecting women, such as FGM [female genital mutilation], child marriage and forced marriage, reproductive rights, male violence against women and girls, rape as a war crime, pregnancy and maternity healthcare, and more, are inextricably linked with our female biology. How can this person be a champion of women if these issues are deemed unmentionable?”

The groups also recall Bergdorf’s scandalous past, noting that “Bergdorf resigned as an adviser on LGBT+ to the UK Labour Party after previous homophobic and racist posts on social media were revealed. These included saying that “all white people” are “violent racists” and “f*ck you, stupid dirty and smelly ni*ga”. There are numerous examples of homophobic messaging, using expressions from “f*ggot” to “barren…hairy dyke”.

Bergdorff was also terminated from his contract by cosmetics company L’Oreal in 2017 because of his racist remarks.

In a message to all white people, among others, he said, „most of y’all don’t even realise or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour. Your entire existence is drenched in racism.”

In their letter, the women’s rights organisations further note that “in a separate incident, Bergdorf was dropped as an ambassador to a children’s charity, Childline, because of inappropriate messages which were counter to safeguarding norms.”