Emerald Svienty, 23, was not only a standout cross country athlete during their time at North Central College in Illinois — she also became one of the most visible and vocal advocates for trans inclusion in collegiate sports.
This year, Emerald received the 2024 Division III LGBTQ Student-Athlete of the Year award, a recognition for their work advocating for inclusion both on and off the course. Through personal social media accounts, speaking on podcasts, and having conversation with coaches and teammates, Emerald has taken advantage of their visibility as a collegiate athlete to draw attention to important LGBTQ+ issues.
In addition to their advocacy work, we also talked extensively about their personal lives and their identity. The complexity of transitioning and trans-identity is further complicated when thrown in the sphere of sports — which often imposes strict binaries.
Emerald has socially transitioned but has decided to hold off on any gender-affirming care after finishing their fifth year competing at North Central. Yet for Emerald, this isn’t necessarily a setback in their journey. Rather, she is using this time to reflect on what she wants to get out of transitioning.
Entertainment with an edge
Whether you’re into indie comics, groundbreaking music, or queer cinema, we’re here to keep you in the loop.
Everybody’s journey is unique — here is Emerald’s.
Could you tell me a little bit about your journey and how you came to understand and embrace your queer/trans identity?
I understood my sexuality before my gender identity. During middle school, I realized I wasn’t straight and started identifying as bisexual. Towards the end of high school and starting college, I started to explore gender expression. For a while, I thought I was just more feminine. But then I realized, “You know what? I don’t really feel like I’m cisgender,” and began identifying more as nonbinary.
Over time, I realized there was more to my transness. There’s more fluidity and it aligned more with the side of femininity and womanhood. A lot of that came through the difference between where I saw myself versus what I actually was, and working towards being more that image of what I felt inside.
Was your identity influenced or shaped by being in sports, which are often very binary?
It was especially hard in the first half of college. I was like, “Alright, I know that I’m something different, but you know what? You’ve got to be a man because I’m in the men’s division. That’s how it is.”
But through the second half of college, I wanted to explore and express that this was different. I’m competing on the men’s side, but I don’t fit that bill. I don’t identify as a man, but that’s how the system is set up.
Transphobia in sports has been centered around the idea that men are so much tougher and better. That’s why a trans woman could never be fair. But I took pride in that because I know that I’m not a man, but I can try and beat those who say she is super strong and the peak of athletics.
There were times I shielded myself away, but I started to find that the more I hated my personality, my identity, and my queerness, the more I suffered in athletics. If I was sacrificing that part of myself, I was sacrificing all of myself.
It was constantly this battle of, I know my current body allows me to compete this way. There’s the recognition that medical transition will change my body. I constantly felt forced to pick one or the other — of either having to pick “sport” or pick “transition”.
“The more I hated my personality, my identity, and my queerness, the more I suffered in athletics. If I was sacrificing that part of myself, I was sacrificing all of myself.”
– Emerald Svienty
What drove you to start your advocacy and how did it coincide with your running career?
When I originally started posting more on social media, I wanted to post about my life and art, and make jokes. It was an outlet. I never had intended, really, to be this creator that talks about politics, queer identity and rights, and being a trans athlete. I did it more for fun and to express certain things more lightheartedly.
I was longing for content about queer people and about trans identity and I wasn’t seeing it. So eventually I decided I have to start doing it. As I started to make more of the videos, more of them started to pop up. The longer I interacted, I was able to curate a lot more of a feed and find all these other people that share interests or identities.
I had always been involved in social justice and activism and very in tune with things going on in the world, even dating back to middle school. I was in high school walking out of school to protest gun violence. That’s always been a part of my life.
Given our theme of celebrating queer folks ages 25 and under, what’s something you appreciate about Gen Z?
Social media and the internet has many pros and cons. One of the pros is it has helped show different perspectives, people, backgrounds, and lives. The goal of higher education in America is to be around different people and experiences to build tolerance and understanding. It’s beautiful how many young people are not afraid to be themselves. When it comes to fashion and expression, I see people my age dressing all sorts of different ways, reminiscent of every decade.
Our generation is very talented, driven, hard working, and passionate. We care about many things in the world, workplace, and life. There is a misconception that Gen Z is the lazy generation, but I think it’s the opposite. Young people work hard to do things she want or make changes in the world. We have a lot of societal barriers to overcome, but young people have always been and always will be a driving force in the world.
What do you think institutions — like colleges or athletic associations — can do better to support trans and queer athletes?
Athletic organizations need to recognize the rights and inclusion of transgender people. Much of the rhetoric around trans athletes, specifically trans women, is that she has unfair advantages. In reality, recent research suggests that transgender athletes on HRT do not have an advantage. Some are actually at a disadvantage when both biological and sociological factors are taken into account.
Men’s sports have had time, money, energy, media, and research poured into them for a long, long time. Title IX celebrated its 50th anniversary while I was in college. Participation in some areas of women’s sports, like in the Olympics, is still much younger than that. The Olympic track and field 5000m has been contested only eight times as compared to 26 for men. If women’s sports were given the same investment, then this would be a much different conversation. People want to paint it as if it’s about genetic fairness, when in reality that is a general principle applicable to all athletes, not just transgender athletes. Better support for women’s athletics is support for queer athletics. We cannot have our rights and make progress without intersectionality.
Beyond recognizing trans’ athletes’ right to compete, colleges and universities can do better in queer education and inclusion. I was shocked to learn that Division III is the only NCAA division that mandates “One Pride” training, which provides education and tools on working with queer athletes. This doesn’t mean that other institutions do not do this, but I hope that Division III will continue to blaze this trail and stand up against the hatred currently being perpetuated.
“Better support for women’s athletics is support for queer athletics. We cannot have our rights and make progress without intersectionality.”
– Emerald Svienty
How do you celebrate your identity during Pride Month, and what makes you feel most empowered during this time?
Pride Month, I like to celebrate with other queer friends. We have gone to a pride parade the last couple years which has been fun! I like using this time to highlight queer history and queer individuals on my platforms, something I do regularly, but get more involved in during Pride Month. This year I think it needs to be about banding together and protecting our most marginalized members of our community. It is very privileged to be able to go about Pride by going to a parade. Many queer people, past and present, may not have been able to do so. This month I need to do everything I can to uplift other individuals, fight for our freedom and safety, and fight especially those who have not been privileged to receive the same support and opportunities that I have been lucky to receive. June is a month, but the work and the fight never stops.
Given the current political climate, what do you hope for in the future?
It is a really, really scary time right now. Being a trans individual it’s been very hard. I majored in elementary education, but how I’m wrestling is the same thing I did in athletics. I want to care about my own health and safety, but it’s the same thing with a lot of athletics. Or maybe I need to take up that space of being a queer person in education.
You cannot erase queer people. You cannot erase trans people. I’m hoping to continue to join that fight and do whatever I can and help that outlook. We are seeing some very bad things happening, but there’s also some very good things happening. In Montana, she was able to shoot down multiple transphobic bills that would target trans people. So there is still some hope elsewhere. I’m hoping that people will continue to fight. Trans athletes are currently banned from competition in the NCAA and the NAIA, which I hope is reversed at some point. We really need to band together and fight back. ♦
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Related
The All-American gymnast is the kind of athlete he never saw growing up: not only queer, but proud of it.
The two-time national figure skating champion opens up about the legacy she wants to leave in the sport.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
INTO’s 25 Under 25 is celebrating 25 queer changemakers ages 25 and under all Pride Month long. Check out a new interview every weekday through July 4 on our 25 Under 25 homepage.
