Earlier this year, in July, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, filed a defamation case against American political commentator and conservative influencer, Candace Owens. The case was in response to Owens’ claims that the First Lady of France was born ‘male’ and is a trans-woman. In response, President Macron has stated that he will prove in a U.S. court that his wife is “not a man”.

This event is not isolated. It reflects a pattern that has persisted for decades. People often try to ‘catch’ others by questioning their gender, claiming they aren’t who they say they are, based on biased ideas about gender, race, or trans identities. Such actions can cause real harm and echo the witch hunts of the past—except today, they target not just trans women, but also cis women who don’t fit Eurocentric beauty ideals, those with more ‘masculine’ features, butch women, or anyone who dares to defy the norm.

For example, cisgender women in sports have sometimes been accused of being transgender simply because they do not conform to narrow ideas of how women “should” look. At the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, prominent figures publicly questioned Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s gender, wrongly claiming she is a man or a trans-person. The incident triggered widespread debate about rigid beauty standards, the inclusion of trans athletes in sports, and the intersecting biases of racism and transphobia.

Time and again, so-called “conventional” beauty standards such as “petite figures” being feminine or “strong and rough” being masculine have proven damaging. Differences in human appearance should be celebrated rather than measured against rigid scales. From a young age, children are taught, both directly and indirectly, how they should or should not dress and behave. For instance, girls who weightlift or boys who act “feminine” are often criticized. These norms influence how adults speak and what they teach children, reinforcing harmful beauty standards and shaping how people treat those who don’t conform.

In the U.S., for some, “finding out” who is transgender is falsely equated with safety. In reality, research shows that transgender people are far more likely to be victims of abuse than perpetrators.

In the broader population, feelings of discomfort or indifference often arise toward trans, intersex, and queer people. Questioning where these feelings come from can be the first step toward replacing fear with understanding. At the end of the day, queer people are simply seeking what everyone else wants: a safe, loving, and accepting space.

In May 2023, Starbucks India released an ad titled It Starts With Your Name, featuring transgender model Siya Malasi. The ad was a welcome change for the trans community, demonstrating how representation matters and how it can spark important conversations, whether positive or critical.

Cases such as the Macrons filing a defamation case against Owens once again raise the question: How does investigating something that isn’t there actually help trans, intersex, queer, or cis people?