"They always, always blame the women first" - Martina Navratilova insists feminism should not be held responsible for gender identity ideology

Martina Navratilova has long been known as a champion of women's rights since her playing days. The American has remained a crusader for the cause commenting on social media on various topics. The most recent instance of that was her reacting to a post on X where a user laid out some of their stances regarding many things.

Navratilova reacted to that by stating that women often get the blame even when they are the victims. She wrote on X:

"They always, always blame the women first. Think of what is the first most asked question is when a woman is raped- what were you wearing…. Somehow the women are to blame for male behavior- hence burqas, hair coverings etc…"

The Czech-American legend's opinions do not always find support within her community. Her stance on transgender athletes has garnered lots of criticism from those who subscribe more to the intersectional feminist idea as opposed to what some would call more radical feminism demonstrated by Navratilova.

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Navratilova's stance on transgender athletes

For much of her life since coming out publicly, Navratilova was known as an LGBTQ+ icon because, for many, she served as an inspiration. Being open about her sexuality wasn't as common when she came out as it is today.

"And, yes, I mean, I came out in '81, when it was definitely not the thing to do. You know, I've been out way before any kind of LGB community was organized... LGBT community, and now people say I turned Right. I did not," Navratilova said on the "The Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt podcast.

Since then, however, she's become a very controversial figure in LGBTQ+ circles, especially due to her stance against transgender athletes competing in women's sports. She has repeatedly stated that she's not against transgender people and supports their rights; however, she is very much against transgender athletes in sports, believing it to be a competitive advantage to be born a man and play in women's sports, regardless of the effects of hormone therapy and similar treatments.

While this remains a controversial topic, it has seen her lose favor with large swathes of the LGBTQ+ movement in recent times. As much as she professes support for transgender rights, her comments at times have veered heavily into anti-trans agendas as she repeatedly called those individuals men instead of transwomen or women, and sometimes agrees with people she wouldn't agree with otherwise.