Nike, Which Punished Allyson Felix For Getting Pregnant, Now Partners With Transgender Activist Dylan Mulvaney

Nike made headlines recently for deciding to use transgender activist and biological male Dylan Mulvaney to promote sports bras to women.

READ: NIKE USES DYLAN MULVANEY TO PROMOTE SPORTS BRAS AND WOMEN’S LEGGINGS

This act of corporate political activism isn't particularly surprising in the current promotional climate. But it does reflect extremely poorly on Nike compared to their treatment of biological females.

Nike has frequently claimed to reaffirm its commitment to women. In 2019, for example, Front Office Sports reported on Nike's desire to cater to female athletes.

They explained that Nike released new apparel and uniforms that were specifically "better designed to fit women's bodies."

WNBA player Sue Bird at the time said “It’s finally being exposed of what it means to be a woman, what we go through, the good and the bad. Companies like Nike are starting to realize, ‘Wow, this is a group of people that we haven’t been supporting enough, and there’s more we can do.’”

Yet just before that commitment to women, track and field star Allyson Felix revealed they'd wanted to pay her 70% less as a brand ambassador after she got pregnant.

Woman gets pregnant? Pay her less. Biological male dresses in women's clothing with a wildly different body type? Perfect for promotional opportunities.

EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 20: Allyson Felix celebrates with her daughter Camryn after finishing second in the Women's 400 Meters Final on day three of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 20, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Nike's Real Commitment Is To The Current Thing

The wildly different treatment of pregnant women and biological males shows what Nike's real motivations are.

Their efforts have nothing to do with promoting or celebrating women. It's about supporting whatever The Current Thing of progressive cultural ideology demands.

Transgender activism is currently popular, so Dylan Mulvaney has 1.7 million followers.

Potential sales from exposure outweigh the absurdity of designing clothes for "women's bodies," then using a biological male to model them.

A biological female gets pregnant? Requires a substantial salary cut. But a biological male apparently provides the perfect opportunity to promote sports bras.

After the Allyson Felix situation, Nike did change their policies around pregnancy and pay decreases. The fact that it required a New York Times op-ed and public outcry however, shows how little interest they had in actually supporting women.

And as their embarrassing Mulvaney partnership shows, not much has actually changed.