Black Women Used By Trans Lobby

Johnathan Willoughby On X.

How Black Women Are Being Exploited By White Trans Identified Men

By Imani Caldwell

Brooklyn, NY - In response to a newly proposed mandate requiring genetic testing to verify eligibility for participation in women’s sports, a firestorm erupted online. The purpose of these tests, advocates say, is to ensure that women’s athletic competitions remain fair by distinguishing between biological males and females. Predictably, this move has been controversial—but among the most startling responses came from Johnathan Willoughby, a British broadcaster and trans-identified male. Willoughby tweeted that this kind of testing would "harm Black women."

At face value, the statement seems like a concern for racial equity. But it masks a troubling insinuation: that Black women are somehow at risk of being "outed" as biologically male—specifically, that they may have XY chromosomes. This notion is not only scientifically inaccurate—Black women are women and do not possess male chromosomes—but also deeply rooted in racist and misogynistic history.

It’s not an isolated sentiment. The idea that Black women are “manly,” “too strong,” or “too muscular” to be women has long existed in Western culture. These stereotypes were weaponized during slavery, reinforced in 20th-century media, and continue to echo in contemporary portrayals. Now, they are being subtly repackaged within parts of the trans activist movement, where white trans-identified males seem to lean on Black women both as rhetorical shields and as archetypes for their own gender expression.

It’s especially striking that while many Black women have been among the most vocal supporters of trans rights—often showing up in solidarity across progressive movements—they are now the ones being subtly maligned or used to make a case for trans inclusion. Trans-identified males like Willoughby claim to protect Black women while reinforcing the very stereotypes that have historically dehumanized them.

Black women, who have fought for generations just to be seen as women—not as workhorses, not as exotic curiosities, not as gender anomalies—now find themselves back at square one, having to reassert their womanhood in the face of a new ideological challenge. And in a cruel twist, they’re now being pitted against white women under the guise of “trans rights.”

Many trans-identified males perform womanhood in ways that are cartoonishly exaggerated, based on how they believe women—especially Black women—should act. This kind of performance is what many feminists refer to as “womanface.” Just like blackface caricatured Blackness by exaggerating physical features and speech patterns, womanface reduces womanhood to makeup, curves, sass, and submission. It’s not rooted in lived female experience—it’s based on stereotypes. When these performances intersect with race, the result is even more harmful. Black women are not being emulated—they’re being impersonated.

Black male comedians have been central to this pattern for decades. Martin Lawrence’s Sheneneh, Jamie Foxx’s Wanda, Tyler Perry’s Madea—these characters, though often beloved, reflect the same foundational idea: that Black womanhood is inherently aggressive, absurd, and masculine. These performances weren’t created to honor Black women; they were created to get laughs, often from audiences who already viewed Black women with suspicion or contempt.

Now, white trans-identified males are adopting these same tropes—loudness, exaggerated curves, flashy hair, over-sexualized clothing—and calling it “female identity.” But this identity is built on how men see Black women, not on how Black women see themselves. It’s not just inauthentic—it’s dehumanizing.

Trans ideology, in its most extreme activist form, encourages this blurring of lines. It asserts that identity overrides biology, that feelings outweigh facts, and that questioning this framework is a kind of heresy. But for Black women, who have always had to fight for their identity within the boundaries of biology and race, this erasure is personal. And the most perverse part? Black women are being asked to support the very ideology that undermines them. They are told that trans women are women, that inclusivity requires them to silence their doubts, and that failure to comply is tantamount to bigotry.

Meanwhile, white women—often more secure in their societal femininity—are the ones stepping up to say: No. Black women are women. They deserve to be protected. They deserve to be seen.

But this, too, is turned into a wedge. The narrative becomes, “Black women are being used by white women to attack trans women.” In reality, many white women are saying what Black women have been afraid to: that the normalization of these gender performances harms all women, but Black women most of all.

If we allow sex to be dictated by how one feels, while ignoring the biological and social realities women face—especially Black women—we’re not liberating anyone. We’re simply allowing a new class of males to dictate the terms of womanhood, just as the old class did. Let’s be clear: genetic testing will not harm Black women. Black women will pass such tests because they are women. What threatens them is not science—it’s the suggestion that their womanhood is debatable, questionable, or indistinct.

The trans movement must reckon with its own racial blind spots. It must ask: Why do so many trans-identified males and gay men emulate Black femininity? Why is the hyper-stylized, over-sexualized version of womanhood—often modeled on Black pop culture—held up as “authentic”? And why is it considered bigotry to challenge these performances? If we do not confront these questions, we are not advancing equality—we are enabling a new form of cultural appropriation, one that disguises itself as civil rights.

Black women are not stepping stones in anyone’s self-discovery, and men like Johnathan Willoughby should keep our names out of their mouths.