'We’ll continue to change over time:' Soap Box Derby embraces first openly nonbinary racer

On the top of John Barr’s jet-black car with white circles designed to look like an orca, there are two small progress pride flag stickers. At the back of the car, a sticker depicts a rainbow next to the phrase “#WeRaceAsOne,” a nod to Formula 1 racing’s initiative to promote equity and inclusion.

“The pride flag stickers are just to reflect who I am,” John said. “I feel like there’s not much — at least public — representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in Soap Box Derby right now, and so doing that is a good thing.”

Athletes have come to Akron since 1935 to compete in the All-American Soap Box Derby, but John, 15, of Arlington, Massachusetts, is the first openly nonbinary racer.

John hopes to increase visibility for other LGBTQ derby drivers by having a car with pride stickers.

“Statistically, I feel like it’s unlikely that there aren’t closeted or other nonbinary people in the Soap Box Derby community,” John said. "I feel like adding this could encourage them to be who they are and know that they’re not going to be the first person. They’re not going to have to deal with changing all these things to reflect that.”

Soap Box Derby adding nonbinary as gender option on sign-up forms

The biggest change: Soap Box Derby sign-up forms will now include nonbinary as a gender option for racers whose gender identities are neither male or female.

Soap Box Derby divisions are divided based on car type and whether the racer qualified through a local race or a rally series, so an athlete’s gender identity does not impact their racing.

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After John came out as nonbinary earlier this year, they remembered that previous iterations of the sign-up form only included male and female as gender options.

“I obviously felt like looking at the form, it wasn’t representing who I was,” John said.

John wanted to change that.

They talked with their parents, and then Wendy Barr, John’s mom, called Mark Gerberich, the International Soap Box Derby’s president and CEO, and asked him to expand the gender identities listed on the form.

“When Wendy called, it was a really important thing that we listen and respond,” Gerberich said. “We’ll continue to change over time.”

The organization intended to include nonbinary on the form ahead of this year’s race in response to the Barr family’s request. However, due to a technical issue, when the Barrs received the form, nonbinary wasn’t listed as an option.

John’s dad, Joe, instead printed out the form and wrote in nonbinary. He sent in a scanned version of the form, and the derby let the family know when the system was fixed to include the change.

“It made it not a big deal. You’re never sure when you go to something that’s national — particularly with what he reads about what’s happening in other parts of the country —– so it was really great,” Wendy said. “I just think Soap Box Derby did a really nice job of answering our requests and really respecting and embracing inclusion.”

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Gerberich said the organization had discussed expanding the gender options on the sign-up form before the Barr family called, but, at the time, they chose not to include options other than male and female.

“We’re starting to see a lot of different identities, and so we want to try and move this in the right direction,” Gerberich said.

He added: “We’re moving. I believe we’re probably moving slower than we should, but it’s just a work in progress.”

Showing pride at Derby Downs

John started competing in soap box derbies at age 7 after seeing a local race. They’ve qualified for the world championships four times and currently compete in the rally super stock division.

The stickers are a new addition to John’s signature orca-themed car, which they have used for the last two derby seasons. They added them shortly before coming to Akron because they’d started becoming more open to publicly sharing their gender identity.

Next year, John plans to race in the masters division and build a car that is more explicitly pride focused. Currently, their vision is to have a white base with various LGBTQ pride flags forming a ribbon down the length of the car.

John said they used the smaller symbols this year to gauge whether there would be a negative reaction. So far, there hasn’t been.

“I’m normal. From identifying as male to identifying as nonbinary, I haven’t changed anything about me,” John said. “I’m hoping that I can help normalize it in the world.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: First openly nonbinary racer competes in All-American Soap Box Derby