The United Nations' decision to appoint a transgender activist as a “women's champion” has led to expressions of “dismay and disappointment” from various women's rights groups.

The Times reported that “Seventeen women’s rights groups have signed a letter to the charity UN Women UK expressing concern about its choice of a transgender woman as its “UK champion”.

UN Women bills itself as the “Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women,” that works “for gender equality and the empowerment of women.”

Campaign group Fair Play For Women released a statement that said, “In December the UN Women’s UK committee appointed a male who presents in a highly sexualised stereotype of womanhood as an ambassador for women.”

“UN Women has made a point of demonstrating that it considers males can become women. It’s disappointing to see the UK committee go so far as to select a male to represent women. Their credibility is in tatters,” it continued.

We wrote to @UN_Women and @UNWomenUK about their appointment of a male with a track record of misogynistic abuse to represent women. Never mind the trail of unsavoury online posts and the safeguarding fail. Do they really prefer this male to all UK women? https://t.co/UOr6K1hQGs

— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) January 2, 2024

The groups also point out that Bergdorf has a problematic history, adding that Bergdorf resigned as an adviser on LGBT+ issues to the UK Labour Party after previous homophobic and racist posts on social media were revealed. These included saying that “all white people” are “violent racists” and “f*ck you, stupid dirty and smelly n*gga”. There are numerous examples of homophobic messaging, using expressions like “f*ggot” and “old poof”, “hairy barren lesbian” and “barren…hairy dyke”.

In 2017, L'Oréal severed ties with Bergdorf following remarks about race. Among these comments, Bergdorf accused white people broadly, stating that many are either unaware or unwilling to accept that white people “don’t even realise or refuse to acknowledge” that their “existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour,” and that their entire existence is “drenched in racism.”

The letter also mentions that Bergdorf was removed from the role of ambassador for Childline, a children's charity, due to messages that were deemed inappropriate and in conflict with the standards of safeguarding.