Propaganda masquerading as news

Is a biological woman, now identifying as "non-binary," winning an event that she won before particularly newsworthy?

Nikki Hiltz (middle) and Dominique Scott (right) running the Back Bay Mile in Boston, Mass. in 2019. Photo Credit: WhoisJohnGalt (CC-By-SA 4.0)

Axios Des Moines isn't known for its sports coverage, but a headline last week for a piece written by Linh Ta said, "Nikki Hiltz is first trans athlete to win Drake's Grand Blue Mile."

"Four years ago, runner Nikki Hiltz won the women's Drake Relays Grand Blue Mile for the first time and was draped in an American flag after breaking the record," Ta writes. "But this time, Hiltz was also draped with a rainbow flag as LGBTQ+ fans on the sideline cheered them on."

A hallmark of Axios pieces is the statement, "Why it matters." 

"Hiltz is the first-ever openly non-binary athlete to win the women's Grand Blue Mile."

First EVER!!!!!! 

What does this mean? 

Hiltz coming out as "transgender/non-binary" in 2021 on Instagram wrote, "Hi I’m Nikki and I’m transgender. That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is non-binary. The best way I can explain my gender is as fluid. Sometimes I wake up feeling like a powerful queen and other days I wake up feeling as if I’m just a guy being a dude, and other times I identify outside of the gender binary entirely."

So what has changed? Biologically, absolutely nothing.