A transgender activist has demanded an apology from an club over a player’s Instagram story.
Jaycee Tanuvasa called out West Tigers star Shawn Blore for imposing a photo of his teammate Michael Chee Kam over transsexual dancer Antony Sua with laughing face emojis.
Ms Tanuvasa and Sua are members of LGBTQIA+ dancing group House of Iman, which was profiled on the cover of magazine in February this year.
A transgender activist has asked an NRL club to apologise for a social media post shared by a player. Pictured: Jaycee Tanuvasa (centre) and the House of Iman group on Viva Magazine
Jaycee Tanuvasa (pictured) has called out Tigers player Shawn Blore for imposing a photo of his teammate Michael Chee Kam over trans dancer Antony Sua with laughing face emojis
Ms Tanuvasa is the self-described ‘mother’ of The House of Iman, which is a competitive ballroom troop that practices vogue, a form of dance popular with the transgender community.
‘I am not going to allow the trans and homophobic behaviour from the members of your team slide,’ Ms Tanuvasa wrote on Twitter.
‘Queer lives are not a joke! This behaviour is not okay! It’s dangerous for my community especially for queer people in NRL who are mostly closeted.
‘What are your policies around homophobia and transphobia behaviour from the team? This is cannot be allowed.’
Ms Tanuvasa tweeted a screenshot of an Instagram story shared by footballer Shawn Blore, in which he imposed a photo of fellow player Antony Sua’s head on a transgender dancer with laughing face emojis
Ms Tanuvasa told NZ Herald she wanted Blore (pictured) to apologise and the NRL to state what they were doing to support the LGBTQIA+ community
Ms Tanuvasa told the she wanted the NRL to state what they were doing to support the LGBTQIA+ community.
‘I’m not trying to ridicule these boys’ careers, I just want some ownership of their behaviour and for them to understand that this is not okay,’ she said.
‘People are already making fun of us, already bully us for who we are.
‘When you see Pacific Island leaders, male leaders, TRAVESTIS LISBOA ACOMPANHANTES perpetuate that, what that does is validate those violent behaviours towards us and encourages it even more. Any mockery of our authentic lives will continue to add to the violence of us in our daily lives.
‘If they are laughing at us, then a lot of young people will say, ‘these lives are not worthy of anything else other than laughter and ridicule’, and it has been true.’
The transgender performer said the post, which imposed Chee Kam’s (pictured) face on a photo of her dance group, made fun of transgender people which can cause others to be violent towards them
Blore joined the West Tigers halfway through 2020 and is signed on until the end of the 2023 season. Pictured: Blore is tackled by Jazz Tevaga of the Warriors in July 2020
Blore, 20, joined the West Tigers halfway through 2020 and is signed on until the end of the 2023 season.
An NRL factsheet on called ‘LGBTI-Pride in League’ states ‘The NRL supports Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people.’
‘In 2018 the NRL continues to provide ongoing training and education support to our elite players and staff members.
‘Education occurs via a series called ‘Theatre Sports’ — where actors demonstrate real-life scenarios and appropriate ways to act, speak and learn from.’
In a statement to , the Wests Tigers said: ‘The club has addressed the matter with both players involved — who removed the posts straight away — and remain inclusive as a club in all aspects of equality.’