Harry’s ‘gender reveal’ was a BIG OOPS

Before I begin, let me get one thing straight: I am not a racist. Therefore, anything negative I say in this article is aimed exclusively at Harry, NOT Meghan. I would never dream of criticizing a strong independent WoC and everything Meghan has done in her life so far, and will achieve in the future, is empowering — and a direct result of either her own inner strength, or the systemic racism she has faced while navigating the stormy seas of prejudice. 

Good, now that’s out of the way, I shall get to the plant-based meat substitute of this article. The Oprah interview was nothing short of Earth-shattering. As a Brit myself (although I inwardly apologize for this every damn day), the impact Meghan’s truth has had on us as a nation has been immense. Obviously the most talked about aspect of the interview was the heart-breaking revelation that someone, perhaps in the royal household, at some point (maybe?) said something about Archie’s skin color, possibly. Of course, Meghan being the dignified kween that she is, refused to give any details, stating it was something she didn’t feel comfortable doing. Meghan and Harry’s main goal was to stress to the potential billions of viewers during a widely promoted and hyped across several weeks interview with Oprah Winfrey, how important it was for them to be allowed privacy so it’s understandable that Meghan would only wish to impart the very remotest of hints. Likewise, when Harry was then asked by Oprah what was said about Archie, he also refused to dignify the subject of his wife’s vague accusation by embellishing any further. But we know for definite that a thing was said. We don’t know what was said. Or who said it. Or why it was said. Or in what context. Or when. All we know for certain it that it was racist. It honestly disgusted me to hear Harry enigmatically imply that such a horrifyingly racist thing (whatever it was) had been said, and the media thankfully felt just as strongly about something they had no evidence or even tangible information of as I did. 

All of that said however, I was hugely disappointed with Harry. Yes, he’s in a relationship with a mixed-race woman. Yes he’s a minority himself (ginger). Yes, he has been bullied all of his life by a family who showered him with toxic privilege and riches he never asked for. But in no way does that exonerate him from the heinous and archaic mistake he made halfway through this interview. I thought he was a progressive. I had assumed Meghan had shown him her wokelights. But sadly, no. Revealing the gender of your child before she/him/they has had a chance to work that out for theirselves is appallingly irresponsible. I had given them the benefit of the doubt with Archie and hoped that perhaps during an ultrasound scan, the fetus had given them some indication of ‘his?’ preferred pronouns. But alas, I no longer think that plausible. 

So many impressionable young people, babies, and toddlers will be influenced by this event. Even now, gender-questioning infants will be confused by what they heard. The suicide rate of trans toddlers will increase. Nonbinary babies will be feeling their existence dangerously invalidated right now. For Harry to announce to the world that this child is a girl before first waiting to see whether or not they like to wear dresses and play with princess toys is terrifying. We are on the verge of breaking through so many boundaries in regards to how we see gender. As a social construct, gender is more than actual biology. It’s about stereotypes and a preference for pink or blue. For all Harry and Meghan know, child #2 may very well enjoy football and construction toys. How embarrassed will they feel then to have assumed his gender in front of Oprah and the world?

During the interview, Meghan very poignantly and without a hint of narcissism compared herself to Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Saying that, like Ariel, she met a prince, fell in love, made a deal with a sea witch who transformed her tail into legs, and lost her voice. I’m sure we can all appreciate the similarity here, but alas, I fear perhaps that Meghan may have also lost her empathy towards trans mermaids (not *actual* mermaids — I use this term in the context of the previous sentence) like myself ☹