TikTok banned my brand XX-XY Athletics from advertising on their platform
This morning the Washington Examiner published a piece I wrote about TikTok banning the brand I started a few months ago — XX-XY Athletics — from advertising on their platform.
Below you’ll find a slightly longer, less edited version — because I don’t have to edit myself!
As always, thanks to the folks at the Washington Examiner for putting my words out into the ether.
Two days ago, TikTok notified XX-XY Athletics that:
“Your account has been permanently suspended because it doesn’t comply with our advertising policies.”
No mention of what policy the brand was in violation of.
Here’s the ad in question.
Pretty offensive, right? How dare we stand up for women’s sex-based rights?
I launched the brand XX-XY Athletics on March 25 of this year. It is the only athletic brand standing up for women’s sports and female athletes. The brand is for the protection of women’s sports and spaces because it is compassionate to advocate for women’s rights. We are against the inclusion of males in women’s sports and spaces because it is unfair and often unsafe for women and girls.
We are not for banning anyone. We support the recent decision by the The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that women’s sports remain female, while the current male category shift to “open to all.” This eligibility policy would allow everyone -- no matter how they identify – to compete in sports and enjoy all of the developmental advantages of doing so and upholds fairness for women.
We are unapologetic about our goal of protecting women’s sports and spaces. And standing up for truth. And the truth is, male biological advantage is the single biggest determinant of athletic performance. And to allow males who say they are women to compete in women’s sports — when they are stronger and faster than females — is an affront to women, an erasure of the original intent of Title IX and is astonishingly misogynistic.
Which is why, in the ad, we say: Don’t let men tell us how to be good girls.
And let’s face it, it is male bullies – who identify as female – who are telling us to sit this one out. My answer to that is an unequivocal NO.
Since Title IX was signed into law on June 23,1972, the landmark civil rights legislation protecting women’s sex-based rights in the education system, the participation of women and girls in sports has skyrocketed, increasing by over 1000%.
As of 1972 there were about 300,000 women and girls playing college and high school sports in the U.S. Female athletes received only 2 percent of college athletic budgets and college scholarships for women didn’t exist.
But by 2012, the 40th anniversary of Title IX’s passing, the number of girls participating in high school sports had risen by a factor of ten. More than three million girls and young women were competing in high school sports. By 2016, one in five girls in the U.S. played sports. Before Title IX passed, the number was one in twenty-seven.
Sadly, in 2018-2019, girls participation in high school sports declined for the first time in 30 years. I won’t stand by and let that decline continue.
The benefits of participation in sports are many fold, especially for adolescent girls. Sports participation leads to less depression, better body image, improved self-esteem, less anxiety, increased likelihood of graduating from high school, decreased likelihood of getting pregnant while still in high school. And on and on.
I competed as an elite gymnast for nearly 10 years. I was a member of the national team for 7 years and the 1986 National Champion. By competing in sports, I learned resilience. I learned that if I work at something, even if I can’t do it at first, I will master it eventually. I learned to organize my time with competing priorities — sports and school. I learned to maintain focus in times of stress. I learned discipline.
All of these skills have benefited me in my adult life and career. I was able to enter Levi’s as an entry level marketing assistant in 1999 and rise the ranks to Brand President by 2020. I suffered setbacks and disappointments along the way, but I kept working and achieved my goals. Sports taught me that.
And I won’t sit by and allow males to take over women’s sports because they want to. And for those that say well it isn’t that many, just be nice and let them, I would say:
There are nearly 600 examples of males who identify as female participating in women’s sports and taking medals, team berths, sponsorship dollars and scholarships away from hardworking women. And the frequency of these instances is accelerating.
And while there may not be that many males who identify as female who also want to compete in women’s sports, it impacts all of the girls and women who do. One male harming a female athlete or taking away her hard-won trophy is one too many.
I have been an advocate for the safety of women and girls in sports since 2008 when I wrote a book called Chalked Up about the emotional, physical and sexual abuse in the gymnastics culture that is far too common. I was smeared as a liar and a grifter for writing about my experience which was patently true, and exposed more broadly as such, when former Team USA “doctor” Larry Nassar was arrested and convicted for sexually abusing over 500 athletes under the guise of medical treatment.
I was harassed and bullied and cancelled by my own community of gymnasts and fellow Team USA teammates. I didn’t back down then, and I won’t back down now.
Which is why I wrote the words in that ad. TikTok take note: I will not be quiet, sit down, be nice. I am not a bigot because you say so. And I won’t let the voices of a few silence me for saying something that most Americans agree with.
It is compassionate to stand up for women and girls. Period.
Despite the fact that TikTok is denying me and my brand the ability to reach the close to 50% of people under the age of 30 who spend time on TikTok, I’m not giving up.
Just like I didn’t give up when I broke my femur at World Championships in 1985, was counted down and out in the sport, but came back less than a year later to win USA Championships.
Sports taught me resilience and I’m applying it now to get my fledgling business of the ground. I won’t give up in getting the XX-XY Athletics message out there. Gallup’s opinion research showed last summer that 70% of Americans agree that women’s sports should be for women. As awareness grows, so does support for equal opportunity for women and girls and in sport. Most are just too afraid to say so and be smeared as a bigot.
But XX-XY Athletics aims to change all that. If you stand up in defense of women’s sports, you will not stand alone.
Be honest. Be brave. Fight for women. We’ve come too far to give up now.
Here’s some other coverage of the kerfuffle:
Sky News (at about 5:30)
And we were trending on X/Twitter.
I placed my first XX-XY order this morning! So happy to support you and your brand. Keep up the fight, Jennifer!
I will be buying from XX-XY today. I follow you on X under another handle and we have interacted some. I have your book. By trying to strike you down they have helped make your brand more powerful than they could possibly imagine. Streisand effect in action.