The UN has praised trans activist Katie Neeves as an “inspiration” for women’s rights conversations in New York, despite her admissions of stealing and wearing her sister’s panties when she was a boy.
The world body told DailyMail.com that Neeves, a British male-to-female activist, could adopt “practical ideas” from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which runs from March 11 to 22.
Neeves has revealed her trans backstory, and how as a boy he “secretly put on my sister’s clothes” because it “felt so good,” while feeling “shame and self-loathing” because “it was dirty.”
Whether trans women are treated the same as biological women is hotly contested.
Katie Neeve used to be called Martin and wore his sister’s underwear as a boy because he wanted to look more like a girl
Neeves announced on X/Twitter that she was representing Britain at the UN women’s rights meeting
Some feminists say that in reality they are men who should not be allowed into spaces reserved for women – especially women’s bathrooms, prisons, sports teams and coveted leadership roles.
Neeves will participate in the Commission on the Status of Women this month
The UN told DailyMail.com that Neeves was a “guest attendee” at the 68th annual event and did not represent the world body.
“Katie is one of more than 6,000 guest attendees from Great Britain who will virtually attend CSW68, where they will listen and learn with guests from around the world,” the email said.
‘They will bring practical ideas and inspiration back to their organizations and communities in Britain.’
The commission is the UN’s largest annual debate on gender equality and seeks to address why women are still paid less than men and the 10.3 percent of women worldwide languish in extreme poverty.
Neeves, formerly known as Martin, announced last month that she would be one of the British delegates to the event, saying she was keen to promote “gender equality and the empowerment of women”.
She advocates for transgender rights in Britain as a self-styled ‘ambassador’ for her charity Cool2BTrans, while continuing her male-to-female hormone therapy, which she started in 2018.
As a boy, Neeves said he would “secretly dress in my sister’s clothes” because it “felt so good,” while he felt “shame and self-loathing” because “it was dirty.”
Some of Neeves’ followers on social media congratulated her on her UN spot, but others reacted angrily.
One user, Melindi Scott, said Neeves “should be completely ashamed of himself for taking the position of a woman just so he can insult you.”
Another called the UN a “corrupt, lying, misogynistic organization.”
“If you want trans people in the UN, let them represent themselves, but stop gaslighting women!” the user posted.
‘Of the millions of women in Britain you couldn’t find a single one qualified to stand up for women’s rights!’
Neeves has come under fire in the past for her accounts of childhood confusion over her sexual identity, which she says began when she was just three or four years old.
In a video from a diversity training workshop released in 2022, Neeves revealed how he stole his sister’s “knickers” – a British term for women’s underwear – and wore them.
Katie, pictured two days before her transition, is now taking male-to-female hormones
“Growing up, I would secretly wear my sister’s clothes whenever I got the chance,” Neeves says in the video.
“And every time I did it, it felt so good. But then those feelings of being right were quickly overshadowed by feelings of guilt, shame and self-loathing. Because what I did was wrong, it was dirty, it was naughty, and not what respectable people did.”
The UN has struggled to accommodate transgender people in a 193-nation organization that includes modern Western countries as well as more conservative and traditional regions, such as Africa and the Middle East, with very different views on LGBTQ+ issues.
A U.N. panel charged with writing global guidelines on transgender health met for the first time last month amid a controversy over bias, and with only experts from one side of a heated debate.
It also involved transgender activists Teddy Cook, Florence Ashley and Cianán Russell – who were criticized for everything from racy social media posts to harsh views on giving children puberty blockers.