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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 22, 2026

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Secondary sexual characteristics don't develop until puberty.

Yes but – are you telling me you can't tell a boy and a girl apart unless they have breasts? Six-year-old boys and girls look like an androgynous mass to you?

You have to admit in many photos she passes.

No, I don't. I was introduced to Petras by my brother, who wasn't aware that they were trans, but I clocked her immediately.

How about Diana Korkunova?

This is clearly a heavily filtered and colour-corrected photo, and Korkunova is wearing a baggy sweater which hides the breadth of their shoulders. A cursory Google indicates that basically every photo of them meets that description, which is surely very telling.

Yes but – are you telling me you can't tell a boy and a girl apart unless they have breasts? Six-year-old boys and girls look like an androgynous mass to you?

Hairstyle and clothing is a major confounding factor. If a six-year-old boy and girl had the exact same hairstyle and outfit – which never happens because there are clearly defined boy and girl styles – do you think you could tell them apart? How?

This is clearly a heavily filtered and colour-corrected photo, and Korkunova is wearing a baggy sweater which hides the breadth of their shoulders.

You can look her up to find more photos. Or look at her Instagram (apparently she's in Paris, which is good to hear).

Edit: Just saw your edit. Are you honestly telling me, after looking at various photos of her, that she looks like a man or like she used to be a man?

Are you honestly telling me, after looking at various photos of her, that she looks like a man or like she used to be a man?

Who, Petras or Korkunova?

Korkunova. I conceded that Petras doesn't pass perfectly.

I'm saying that every photo I've seen of them is obviously so heavily filtered and edited that I can't even say with confidence I would even recognise them if I passed them on the street, and hence cannot pass judgement if they are really indistinguishable from a female person.

I've seen her on Russian TV and talk shows and I don't think those recordings were edited.

Here are photos from the Daily Mail. I don't think they edit photos to make people look better.

You can see next to a man she looks noticeably shorter (because she started hormones early and didn't go through male puberty), which would have a major effect in person. Many trans women don't pass due to height.

You know, I just asked ChatGPT "is Diana Korkunova trans" and it said there's no credible evidence that she is. Where did you hear she was trans?

She was well known in Russia and did interviews about her experience. Are you seriously relying on ChatGPT? Does she pass so well that it made you suspect she might actually be cis?

Well, I only have your word for it that she is trans. "Is Diana kurnikova trans" returns no relevant hits. Surely you can link one of these interviews.

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