“She’s always been supportive of [transgender rights] in the media. [Her teammate] Amber is also pansexual, and they’ve both been very outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights [and] making anti-ICE statements,” he says. “They’re sending a message that they’re not going to be silenced. I don’t want to speak for them, but as a fan, it’s like they see political issues as human rights issues. Even though they’re in Milan representing the United States, they find their individual views to be just as important.”
Liu represents a generation of skaters who are navigating their career on their own terms: who wear what they want, skate to what they like, and have a life outside of their rigorous training. Rather than this newfound balance hindering her performance, it has only strengthened it. Her championship win and medals are proof — and poised to shape an entirely new generation of young athletes.
“What [Liu] is doing, bringing her own life to the party, is desperately needed in the skating community,” Hundshamer says. “I wish I could have skated to My Chemical Romance when I was young. I feel I could have told a real story. Seeing Alysa skate to Lady Gaga with her amazing hair lets me live vicariously through her.”
