For a certain paranoid slice of the internet, a cabal of “secretly” trans celebrities and public figures has been operating right under our noses. For years, they’ve claimed that Michelle Obama is a man, circulating photos of the former first lady that have been manipulated to make her features appear more masculine: Michael, not Michelle.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif endured a global smear campaign falsely accusing her of being trans after she won a gold medal in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling, who regularly posts transphobic views online, led the charge on that one.)
The conspiracy theories — part transphobia, part misogyny, part TMZ-style celebrity gossip and a little QAnon in their intensity — pop up so often that they’ve earned a name: “Transvestigations.”
“Transvestigators” tend to be on the far right and draw on debunked phrenological tropes to make their case. They use skeletal and cranial overlays to identify what they claim are masculine physical characteristics in photos and videos of famous women they’re convinced were born male. Some point to body language and posture as telltale “signs,” too.
The trend has been circulating online for years, but lately, rather wildly, the right appears to be turning the tactic on its own. In recent months, both Erika Kirk, the wife of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and Sydney Sweeney, an actress who’s been labeled “MAGA Barbie” online (President Donald Trump is a fan), have been subjects of transvestigation.
