There's a "radical normalcy" to trans woman Amy Schneider's historic Jeopardy! run

The New York Times

Schneider's recently having to denounce trolls pushing back at her accomplishment of having the “most consecutive victories by a woman" is a reminder of Jeopardy!'s power as a mainstream show, says Jennifer Finney Boylan. "Their ugly quotes are hardly worth repeating, but the sum of it was the complaint that Ms. Schneider’s remarkable achievements weren’t a win for women. That, of course, is because they insist she is not a woman at all," says Boylan. "Like all dust-ups over trans success stories, this bloviating over a trans woman winning one of America’s longest-running game shows is not about Ms. Schneider herself or the records she has set. It’s not even, really, about women’s rights or biology. It’s about how terrifying some Americans find any shift toward inclusivity and tolerance. It’s about their unwillingness to accept the reality that it’s actually not very radical to be trans anymore. What, after all, is more mainstream than Jeopardy!? To keep trans people on the margins of society, living in some sort of gender netherworld, is to assert that trans Americans aren’t America."

ALSO:

• It’s unfortunate that some people have fixated on Amy Schneider’s appearance rather than her amazing achievements: "There should not be any controversy about Ms. Schneider being called the most winning woman ever on Jeopardy! She identifies as a woman and has been referred to with female pronouns for her entire run on the show," The Washington Post's editorial board says of Schneider recently passing Larissa Kelly’s $655,930 in prize money. The Jeopardy! community has embraced Ms. Schneider. Ms. Kelly was quick to congratulate Ms. Schneider for surpassing her own record and 'becoming the woman with the highest overall earnings in the show’s history.' Other top female players have also weighed in with praise and celebration that a woman has made it this far. The most winning player of all time — Ken Jennings — is currently hosting the show, and he and Ms. Schneider have bantered to the delight of the audience...Many of the show’s fans are rooting for her. Ratings are up. People on social media report that older relatives have become more open-minded about trans people after watching Ms. Schneider’s historic wins. It helps that Jeopardy! is a contest where men and women have always competed side by side. Gender doesn’t matter."
• Amy Schneider becomes the fourth person with $1 million in Jeopardy! winnings with her 28th victory, joining Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Matt Amodio
• Jeopardy! contestant on witnessing Schneider in person: "She burned through it like a flamethrower"