No one would ever mistake me for an athletic person, but I love the Olympics. There is something about the pageantry, highlighting our shared global community. We watch the pinnacle of human achievement, calling together the best of our humanity through the lives and accomplishments of elite athletes.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games have called us to do better and be better, in our own lives, and as a global community. We get to be witnesses of the evolution of athleticism and collective advancement. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which kick off on Friday, will be the first Games under new International Olympic Committee rules that are much more centered on a rights-based approach, rather than using policies to exclude athletes who do not fit colonial and patriarchal categories. This move is a step toward recognizing the dignity of all athletes.
The world鈥檚 attention on the Beijing Games also lays bare the work we still have to do. Through my work at GLAAD, I鈥檝e been fortunate to work with Chinese LGBTQ advocates to accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people in China and around the world. We have partnered on campaigns that brought attention to the love stories of same-sex couples. Journalists have been educated about reporting accurately on the LGBTQ community and recognized for their storytelling. Spirit Day has resulted in a wave of purple on Chinese social media apps.
But many Chinese LGBTQ advocates are facing pressure to stay silent. China is not one of the 70 countries that formally criminalize LGBTQ people, but marriage equality is not legal, and advocates have reported that 鈥渟paces for the LGBTQ community to speak openly are shrinking rapidly in China.鈥� And, governmental surveillance has kept advocates from calling for greater human rights and protections while the attention of the world is on Beijing.聽 GLAAD鈥檚 guide to Covering LGBTQ Athletes at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics focuses a lot on reporting on LGBTQ people in China, knowing that their stories cannot be ignored.
This same pressure exists for LGBTQ people in the over 70 countries where being LGBTQ is a crime, and the many more countries where being out is faced with violence. People in these countries deserve an opportunity to live full, abundant lives, pushing themselves to achieve, just as the Olympians and Paralympians have achieved. Imagine the athletes we aren鈥檛 able to cheer on due to discriminatory laws and policies that prevent them from competing in the first place.
While we focus on the global LGBTQ community, we cannot forget the attacks on the LGBTQ community at home. Four of the six out American Olympians are from states that have or are currently considering legislation targeting LGBTQ people, especially youth. American figure skater Timothy LeDuc will be the first nonbinary Winter Olympian, but in their home state of Iowa, legislators are introducing laws that would prohibit LGBTQ people access to athletics, proper restrooms, medical care and basic recognition.
Let抖阴ap use the global spotlight on the Olympic and Paralympic Games to call for the safety and protection of LGBTQ people around the world. We can cheer on more than 30 out LGBTQ athletes while calling for a safer world for those athletes. We can denounce laws that imprison or execute LGBTQ people while calling for an end to violence against people based on who they are and who they love.
For many of us, that call may start as the Games begin in Beijing, but the momentum must continue long past February 20th鈥檚 Closing Ceremony. This November and December, the World Cup will be held in Qatar, another country where LGBTQ people and their relationships are criminalized. In instances of global sporting events, the media often asks how global LGBTQ athletes will be treated. The more pressing questions include, 鈥淲hose stories are not being told?鈥� and 鈥淲hat the living conditions are for everyday LGBTQ people in those countries?鈥�
While I鈥檒l never be an Olympic athlete, I can build a better world for all people, a world where anyone has the opportunity to train and practice their skills and compete on such an elite level. I hope that you also channel some of that inspiration wherever you see discrimination, violence, and persecution, whatever form that takes: in China, Qatar, Russia, Poland, or here at home.
While we are inspired by the determination and grit of the Beijing Winter Games鈥� elite athletes, let抖阴ap follow their lead to make a safer world for LGBTQ people around the globe and at home. We can apply that same dedication, persistence, and tenacity to fight laws and violence that harm LGBTQ people.
Ross Murray is the senior director of education and training at The GLAAD Media Institute and oversees GLAAD鈥檚 global work. His book, “Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry” is available from Fortress Press. He is a member of the 2021 OUT100 and was named one of Mashable鈥檚 鈥�10 LGBT-Rights Activists to Follow on Twitter.鈥�
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
