LGBTQ+ advocates rail against Oshkosh Women's Fund's choice for Power of the Purse keynote speaker

Editor's note: A previous version of this story said Discover Oshkosh was hosting the Power of the Purse event. This story has been corrected to say it shared the event on Facebook.

OSHKOSH — LGBTQ+ leaders in the Oshkosh area are demanding the Oshkosh Women’s Fund reconsider its choice of a keynote speaker who has a history of making public statements against transgender athletes.

Earlier this month, the Women’s Fund announced pro surfer Bethany Hamilton as keynote speaker of its annual Power of the Purse event May 9. The event aims to raise “awareness, advocacy, and funds for women and children who are underserved” in the community.

Hamilton, who lost an arm in a shark attack while surfing and whose story was captured in the 2011 film "Soul Surfer," drew criticism in early 2023 when she made statements on her Instagram page indicating she would be withdrawing from future World Surf League competitions in response to the league's updated policy to allow transgender athletes to compete.

In the Instagram reel, Hamilton questioned the fairness and legality that would allow transgender athletes to compete against cisgender women. Later in the reel, she said, "I personally won't be competing in or supporting the World Surf League if this rule remains."

According to the International Surfing Association’s new transgender policy stance, first posted Feb. 3, 2023, transgender women can compete against cisgender women if the athlete provides signed declaration that she identifies as a woman and demonstrates to the ISA Medical Commission she has maintained a concentration of less than 5 nmol/L testosterone in her body for the last 12 months.

Cisgender refers to someone whose sex assigned at birth matches their gender identity and expression.

The Women's Fund said in a statement shared with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that Hamilton’s personal views on transgender athletes were “unknown” to them when they announced her as keynote speaker.

Women's Fund Executive Director Karlene Grabner turned down multiple requests for an interview about the event.

The Women's Fund's statement emphasized Hamilton's stance on trans athletes will not be a focal point of her presentation.

"Although her scheduled appearance has been met with some criticism due to her reported personal views on transgender athletes — a stance unknown to us at the time nor the focus of her appearance — we still very much believe her inspirational message of determination and resilience can transcend our differences," the statement from the Women's Fund read.

According to the event page, the keynote speaker for the Power of the Purse event is “carefully selected.”

Hamilton's argument follows the ongoing controversy surrounding transgender athletes competing in women’s sports categories. Many who argue transgender women should be barred from sports competitions claim they have a physiological advantage over cisgender women.

This stance, LGBTQ+ advocates say, diminishes the reality that not only do transgender women exist, they can even thrive in recreational sports that align with their gender.

Reiko Ramos, who directs the anti-violence program at Diverse & Resilient Appleton, a nonprofit that works to achieve health equity and improve the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites, said denying transgender athletes access to sports is a direct affront to their mental health and well-being.

“When I think of (LGBTQ+) mental health statistics, people talk about the disproportionate impacts,” Ramos said. “I always like to pair that with the protective factors. Belonging and inclusion are the antidote to that. When we’re talking trans athletes, sports are a form of recreation, camaraderie, connection, community-building.”

LGBTQ+ advocates say the keynote speaker choice contradicts the mission statement of the Oshkosh Women’s Fund, which is to "improve the lives of women, girls and all members of the communities."

Advocates TJ Hobbs and Misty Gedlinske penned an open letter to the Women’s Fund and Discover Oshkosh, dated Jan. 15, calling to revoke their invitation to Hamilton.

“A decision to platform and promote a self-avowed trans-exclusionist is an unacceptable choice for any organization to make, but most especially a community-funded nonprofit that claims to be supportive of ‘all women and girls,’” the open letter to the Women’s Fund read.

The letter was signed by around 200 signatories, including Oshkosh Deputy Mayor Lynnsey Erickson, City Council members Joe Stephenson, Karl Buelow and LaKeisha Haase, Winnebago County Board member Timothy Ernst and Democratic Rep. Francesca Hong’s chief of staff Nada Elmikashfi.

The Women's Fund board is made up of past and current officers, community members and female advocates including former president Barb Herzog, current president Vicki Krueger and vice president Amy Albright, who also serves as the executive director of Discover Oshkosh.

The Women's Fund statement said that, in light of the call for Hamilton's removal, the topic of resilience and survival is a relevant one for anyone attending the event.

In years past, Power of the Purse has hosted a broad range of speakers from all backgrounds whose messages highlight lessons of hope and perseverance, according to the fund's statement.

“We want to first stress that we have enormous respect for our LGBTQ+ community and allies, and the voices who shared their views on the rights of transgender athletes,” the Women’s Fund's statement said.

Despite calls to revoke Hamilton’s invitation, the Women’s Fund has made no indication it will do so.

“We look forward to continuing to engage in these important conversations as we champion mutual understanding and empathy as the key to strengthening our local communities and beyond,” the Women's Fund's statement read.

When USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin requested comment from Discover Oshkosh, which shared the Power of the Purse event on its Facebook page, Albright forwarded the Women's Fund public statement.

LGBTQ+ advocates urge the Women's Fund to reconsider keynote speaker

Some people, organizations and businesses are demanding the Oshkosh Women’s Fund reconsider Hamilton as its choice for keynote speaker, describing the choice as “a harmful mistake that needs immediate correction.”

Ramos, who is also one of more than 200 signatories, said LGBTQ+ advocates have been working to educate the Women’s Fund on the impact Hamilton’s selection is having on the community in private messages and by signing the open letter. There’s an opportunity, they said, to listen to LGBTQ+ voices, learn and “do better.”

“We have to have the humility to change course when we realize that we've caused harm, apologize and do something different,” Ramos said. “The other piece of that, though, is that (the Women’s Fund saying) ‘We had no idea’ tells me there was something fundamentally missing in the planning process in the first place.”

Oshkosh Deputy Mayor Lynnsey Erickson also signed the letter, telling USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin she’s worried Hamilton’s appearance would send a message that LGBTQ+ people are unwelcome in Oshkosh.

“I believe people when they say they’ve been harmed, bullied, threatened and dehumanized by anti-trans rhetoric,” Erickson said. “I want us to be a community where people feel welcomed at events like this.”

Surf Equity, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting equity and inclusion in professional surfing, wrote its own letter to the Women’s Fund decrying Hamilton’s selection.

“We strongly urge a reconsideration of Bethany Hamilton as the keynote speaker for the Women’s Fund event,” Surf Equity's Executive Director Sabrina Brennan wrote. “We believe it is essential to uphold values that promote inclusivity, diversity and respect for all individuals.”

Gedlinske and Hobbs’ letter argues allowing Hamilton to speak in Oshkosh would promote anti-trans rhetoric in their community.

Hamilton’s selection "creates and enhances a direct platform for amplifying anti-transgender bigotry in our own backyard,” the letter states.

Since the letter was released, some of its signatories have received hateful emails filled with anti-LGBTQ+ language. Additionally, anti-trans accounts on social media have posted personal contact information and places of work of some of the people who signed.

“It is unacceptable for the Women’s Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation to sit in silence while members and supporters of the communities they claim to serve are bullied, mocked, threatened, and dehumanized by their chosen keynote speaker’s supporters,” an additional public statement from Hobbs and Gedlinske said.

Recent data from the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health’s 2023 Annual Report attributed political divisiveness, specifically LGBTQ+ topics, to some of the external issues impacting youth today. Nearly 50% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered suicide, according to the report.

And, more locally, a 2023 report from NEW Mental Health Connection and the Medical College of Wisconsin focused on the mental health and well-being of residents living in Calumet, Winnebago and Outagamie counties found that LGBTQ+ adults are three times more likely to self-harm and 11 times more likely to report attempting suicide at least once over the course of a year than non-LGBTQ+ people.

Of the factors distinct to the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people living in the Fox Valley, the report noted that “acts of violence, exclusion through language that negates identities and experiences, and anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislative action” contribute to a dehumanizing feeling.

Growing anti-trans sentiments continue to influence state legislatures

Transgender issues have been a political flashpoint across the United States for decades. And, in recent years, nearly two dozen states have passed legislation specifically banning athletes from playing on teams that don’t match the gender they were assigned at birth.

According to Trans Legislation Tracker, the total number of anti-trans bills surged by more than three times in 2023 compared to the previous two years, with the introduction of 503 bills and the passing of 85.

In the first month of 2024 alone, Wisconsin has already introduced 11 anti-trans bills.

Over the past year, state GOP lawmakers have introduced multiple bills on transgender issues, including a recent bill that would have blocked doctors from providing gender transition treatment to youth.

And in October, Wisconsin's Republican-controlled Assembly passed legislation limiting transgender youth and college student participation on sports teams, but the bill didn't make it past the Senate.

Such bills are not likely to become law in Wisconsin as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has promised to block any legislation that restricts LGBTQ+ rights.

Both the political component and the mental health crisis demonstrate why organizations’ decisions matter on whom they include in discussions of empowerment, Ramos said.

”I really want people to zoom out and see the larger picture of what's at stake for the LGBTQ community, and specifically, trans folks and trans youth. Because it is far too easy to look at this particular situation and dismiss the LGBTQ community for blowing this out of proportion,” Ramos said. “It's one piece of a much larger struggle.”

Sophia Voight covers local government and politics in the Fox Valley. Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: LGBTQ+ advocates protest Oshkosh Women's Fund's 2024 keynote speaker