Hunter Schafer Responds to Transmedicalist Accusations
LGBTQ

Hunter Schafer Responds to Transmedicalist Accusations

Hunter Schafer has finally addressed the accusations that she is a transmedicalist and anti-nonbinary after agreeing with a questionable Instagram post.

A few weeks ago, some keen-eyed fans noticed Schafer commenting in agreement with an Instagram post by Jordan (@piggytaiwan) that said nonbinary people could be making it more difficult for trans people to receive medical treatment, and because of the former's argument that being trans isn't a medical issue, the latter is being denied healthcare due to restrictive laws.

"You had to dismantle all of the guidelines around being trans to fit your narrative so you could feel valid and then you demonized trans people who challenged your ideals and called them truscum/transmedicalists," the now-deleted post read. Schafer, who is trans herself, responded with several exclamation points.

Transmedicalism is the idea that in order to be transgender, one must experience gender dysphoria and/or require medical treatment. Truscum, which is a derogatory name for transmedicalists, was popularized on Tumblr.

Screenshots of the Euphoria star's comment quickly went viral, but it took a few weeks for her to address it. In a photo dump featuring some flicks of her summer, the first two photos are of a star hanging on a door with the word "comprehension" on it as well as a selfie of a bloody-faced Schafer wearing a pink shirt that says "Nobody knows I'm a transsexual." In the comments of the post, she cleared the air surrounding the transmedicalist accusations.

"I hold absolutely no hatred towards non-binary folks," Schafer clarified. "I agreed with another t-girl's post in which she pointed out an in-balance between non-binary folks and binary trans women (particularly those of color and/or those who have resulted to sex work as a means of survival) [...]."

Schafer isn't the first of her Euphoria co-stars to face criticism. Recently, Sydney Sweeney had to answer to accusations that she was a Trump supporter after posting photos of her mother's 60th birthday. Her father was spotted wearing a pro-police "Blue Lives Matter" shirt. The phrase became popularized as a counter to Black Lives Matter. Further investigation on the actress' brother's page found photos of people wearing red "Make America Great Again" parody hats that said "Make Sixty Great Again." In a tweet responding to the controversy, Sweeney said, "An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention."

Meanwhile, Barbie Ferreira announced that she will be leaving Euphoria alongside a photo of Schafer's fan art of Ferreira's beloved character. In an Instagram story she said, "after four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character kat, I'm having to say a very teary eyed goodbye."

The Internet, always taking the opportunity to turn a situation into something humorous, has witnessed the show's cast drama unfold. Their answer? America's Next Top Model elimination-style videos.

Photo courtesy of Marc Patrick/BFA