Well, street mostly. Jenkem Mag asks if skateboarding is ready to openly embrace a transgender skater, and responds “I think so. I think it’s just waiting for someone to step up to the plate.” It’s an interview with Hillary Thompson, a skateboarder born with male genitalia that has always identified herself as female. It’s called Gender Identity Disorder or gender dysphoria. True to, er… form, King Shit Magazine actually broke the story, but in the tabloid/Big Brother style they made famous – remember the Jarret Berry interview? You can read that interview in one of the most annoying Flash-based magazine readers I’ve ever seen. Jenkem’s approach is more mature and journalistic, like something you’d find in a sympathetic mainstream magazine. Hillary’s got the skills, as many photos will attest. Her own peers accept her for the most part, but at her age she’s in no danger of turning pro, so there’s little chance the rest of the skateboarding world having to come to grips with it.
[Photos: Sam Mcguire]
POLICY UPDATE: I’m going to delete any asinine comments here. Don’t even bother commenting unless you have something intelligent or thoughtful to say. You don’t have to agree with anything presented here, and you can rattle on about choice versus nature, but you do have to be an adult about it. (Yes, I’m aware of the irony of my statement in light of recent discussions)
35 comments
Rachel
As another trans M to F skater, THANKS!!!!and HUGS!!!!
Aside from that, by the pictures I’ve come across, You rip! The fact that we’re all skaters here is the best part. Thanks and Hugs to all the rest of you here who have been supportive of Hillary as a skater and a person.
Thanks- Rachel
Ashley
She’s an inspiration to me and many other transgender people and skateboarders. Her achievements in skateboarding promote the need for good physical health and the breaking down of social barriers for transgender people. You go girl!
Melanie Gloriosso
It’s about time there is another Male to Female transsexual skateboarder out there. I thought I was the only one for a second,, Awesome to know but it really doesn’t matter.
sharkley
Its shocking to me that people still give a shit about issues like this. Does she rip? Yes ? Awesome, end of story.
Bozo Texino
I’m with this guy. Does she rip? Yes. Does she live her life in a manner she sees fit?? Yes. Is the latter any of our business? Not really, unless somebody decides to treat her with anything but respect.
I will never understand how a subculture with a history of persecution (that would be skateboarding) tolerates hateful behavior in any form.
Gay, straight, transgendered, questioning, rollerblader, scootster, BMXer, etc… Who fucking cares?! I like those who think and act their own way. Way more interesting.
kilwag
All great points, but you are not Bozo Texino.
Bozo Texino
Who is Bozo Texino?
Incog.
Why can’t skateboarding just be skateboarding..why do people feel they need to ‘break barriers’ or make things political when its so simple. Im not going to say that this person is ‘brave’ or whatever. Its not personal, its just skateboarding. I dont know, i just dont get this stuff. We’re not talking about this person because they’re gnarly. We’re talking about them because of some shit i dont care to even know about..thats lame. Maybe i missed the point of it all..but thats my uneducated, impossibly ignorant opinion on skateboarding!
kilwag
I don’t think Hilary feels the need to break any barriers, she probably just feels the need to skate!
Lou Sassel
I can’t believe no one had commented on her shoes in the posed photo.
kevin
good for her , took alot of courage. keep on ridding that’s what life’s about
That should be who, that is
This is not your grammar’s Oldsmobile aside… (on a less officious not, in other words)… I was struck by an ad I heard on mainstream radio today, for a show at a big, very mainstream South Florida tribal casino, for a female burlesque review with music directed by so-and-so… and only once in the ad did it even see fit to mention “female impersonators”, instead of “sizzling female review” and the like… and it struck me as funny that it IS probably more acceptable for that casino to have its “sizzling” quasi-female show than it would be for it to have some “sizzling” biologically-female review… so I guess it’s just about niches. Also, I don’t worry much at all about the kids throwing the word “gay” around (anymore than I worry about black kids throwing a certain word around) because they are usually applying it to some move which they themself did, not one someone else did, and I’ve heard at least one say, neither perjoratively nor seriously, “but that’s okay, I am gay”, after saying it about one of his own moves. Yes, it doesn’t respect the pain of their elders (or of grampaw Bill “don’t call yourself that word” Cosby)… but it is more accepting, intra-generationally, in its own way. (In other words, it’s not as if they’re more, or even as much, homophobic as our generations were… or, are in any danger of reverting through some poor choice of words.) In fact, my favorite youth culture moment remains the time a girl shouted, not at all angrily, across a park at a Russian bumpkin (who spoke surprisingly good English): I’m from OHIO!!… My dad’s a NIGGER!… And my mom’s a fuckin’ CRACKER!!” …Which seemed like a wonderfully nonsensical response to anything… until I realized that the Russian kid must have asked her if she was Mexican. So just don’t take ’em for what their not, I guess, and we’ll all be fine….
Fitz
Please make sense.
Who me
I can’t believe you read that… you should have quit doing so at “officious not”, given that that, being a typo and all, had little hop of making sense. Basically I was just giving Randy flack, for appearing to call an, ahem, member of the skating fraternity a that instead of a who, in a way that read absurdly in context. And, well, the girl outside the skatepark who shouted what I quoted presumably did so because she didn’t want to be – and/or was bemused by being – taken for what she was not… and I was thinking that that sort of applies to the subject… more than the officious question of whether Kilwag, or his grammaw, was stipulating that Stuey could talk. But what, did you immigrate from the old sod because you just couldn’t make sense of rhyming slang? Ya ain’t fully supposed to, unless you are a fellow gypsy criminal or the like. …Or, in this nonrhyming, nonBritish case… are in the mood for near nonsense. And besides, what does making all the sense for you got to do with skating? Whereas, babbling is SO apres skate.
kilwag
Not a typo, just bad grammar I guess.
Bozo Texino
Ten words or less, please.
officious note, that is
*
WHO
Why do you say it is the “male genitalia that has always identified herself as female”? Does it talk?? (Just a plea for adult writing, mind you….)
spurr
LGbtastb? Wtf ,from the photos it looks like a s.k.a.t.e.r oh sorry a g.s.k.a.t.e.r (good skater ) dressed like a chick . Shit g.s.k.a.t.e.r .d.l.a.c. who cares what I think anyway j,ust have fun and grind your trucks , never take a last run and have fun.
Woot
LGBTASDF acceptance today for a LGBTASDF and mongo tomorrow right now!
Bevilacqua
1 picture worth a thousand words. Great skating.
Kilwag:
Interesting comment about the pelvis – a friend of mine said one should ski “prick forward” (that was in the mid 90s … before hard carving skis) and I suppose there is something left of that concise and pertinent remark in the way we get the “balance right” in slalom, pumping, or while doing tricks.
Heath
It always seemed strange to me that many skateboarders use homophobic slurs routinely. One would think that skaters especially would understand what it’s like to be an outcast. Thank you for sharing, Kilwag!
Fitz
Indeed, and homophobia aside,the second we gained any legitimacy in the eyes of the rest of the world, we commenced bashing on inliners, BMXers, and scooter riders.
PIGCITY
Please change the magazine referenced to Kingshit in your article and not Kingpin asap. If you are going to call out a shitty magazine at least get the title right and not slate our respected Euro mag…Disappointing
kilwag
Whoops. I called it King Shit in reference, not sure how that slipped through. I fixed it, ASAP. Thank god I avoided a potential international incident.
PIGCITY
Nice one, you know how these Euro boys can be…
Eric
Try not to take this out of context, but Hillary Thompson skates like a guy. It’s kinda weird to watch. I’ve got no hangups bout transgenders, gays, whoever and whatever. Just that it’s kidna odd to see how she moves like a man, built like a man, but looks like a woman.
Has more guts than I’d have to be in those shoes.
kilwag
Might have something to do with physical differences of the pelvis. One of those interviews touches on the subject.
Jeff
I’m not sure where you get your information from, but Jarret Berry is not transgendered, he’s gay.
kilwag
@Jeff – I think I know what you mean now. Follow the King Shit link and you
Jeff
Gotcha, does make more sense after I follow the link. I only commented because Jarret is a personal friend and I thought he was being misrepresented. Keep up the great work on the site, it’s part of my daily “avoiding work” routine at work 🙂
kilwag
Never said he was. I was putting the King Shit interview into context with the Jarret Berry interview, the same editorial tone was used. It was more about the circus of the the idea as opposed to shedding light on the subject. It’s not a criticism, just an evaluation. It’s relevant to the issue of the perception of LGBT skaters in skateboarding.
Francisco
Get it however you want to.
wes
this person is brave and a good skater. Fuck yeah! Doing it YOUR way is a thing of the past and it is nice to see some courage.
Penick
Used to skate with this person, when this person was a minor. Awesome skater, lots of talent. Honestly, this kind of answers some of the personality issues that were noticed at the time. I hope this helps. I wish Hillary all the best in life.