UN Women United Kingdom named male Munroe Bergdorf, a self-described transgender woman, as a “UN Women UK Champion.”
“I will continue to draw attention to the systemic and social impact of misogyny, transphobia and gender based inequality within the UK — In order to help provide data and insight that contributes to forming tangible methods of tracking and countering it,” Bergdorf wrote on social media in a post announcing the new title.
Bergdorf began working with UN Women UK in 2018 and has since been involved in the Draw a Line campaign, which seeks to “change attitudes and behaviour towards violence against women.”
Bergdorf has been a vocal advocate for transgenderism, racial justice, “sex workers,” and Palestine.
“Trans people should be fighting with Black people, should be fighting with cisgender women, should be fighting with sex workers, should be fighting with refugees,” Bergdorf wrote in a Glamour op-ed for “Transgender Awareness Week” this year.
Bergdorf sparked controversy in 2017 over comments about racism and was dropped a L’Oréal campaign.
“Honestly I don’t have energy to talk about the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people,” Bergdorf wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post. “Because most of ya’ll don’t even realise or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour.”
“Your entire existence is drenched in racism,” Bergdorf continued.
L’Oréal sacked Bergdorf, who was the company’s first transgender model. L’Oréal rehired Bergdorf in 2020 after the model accused the company of “gaslighting” with its Black Lives Matter social-media post.
“You dropped me from a campaign in 2017 and threw me to the wolves for speaking out about racism and white supremacy,” Bergdorf wrote online. “I said just yesterday that it would only be a matter of time before RACIST AF brands saw a window of PR opportunity to jump on the bandwagon. . . I’m disgusted and writing this in floods of tears and shaking.”
In response, L’Oréal announced its new UK Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board, of which Bergdorf would be a member.
In 2018, Bergdorf was appointed as an LGBT adviser to the Labour Party, but resigned a week later after earlier social media comments resurfaced. Bergdorf had tweeted that the suffragettes were “white supremacists who were fighting for WHITE women’s rights” and said “gay male Tories a special kind of dickhead.”
“This is a decision that I’ve had to make due to endless attacks on my character by the conservative right wing press and relentless online abuse,” Bergdorf said when announcing the resignation.
“I wanted my appointment to be something positive and exciting for the community, but instead it has turned into nasty tabloid fodder, blown out of all proportion,” Bergdorf continued.