When Makayla Gerken Schofield posted a photo on Instagram with her then girlfriend in 2021, nearly everyone assumed the Olympic mogul skier was coming out as bisexual.
However, it was a label that Gerken Schofield did not feel she fitted. Instead, she found pansexuality provided a far better representation of how she understood herself, and within it, found freedom.
“I was in a relationship with a girl previously and she'd always say to me, ‘Why don't you post photos of us?’,” explained Gerken Schofield.
“Eventually I thought I'll just post a photo of us two and that was that. It was the tipping point of, ‘Oh, she's coming out.’ I didn't say I'm pansexual, I just posted a photo of me and my partner at the time and everyone assumed I was bisexual.
“Internally, I was so confused. It got to a point where I didn't like [the term bisexual] and I didn't like people calling me that and I didn't feel like it was who I was.
“It was a lot of research on my own and googling stuff and doing these silly quizzes online but I got to terms with myself to accept and fully love who I was.”
Pansexuality refers to people who experience attraction regardless of gender, and for Gerken Schofield the label has been an incredibly useful way point in her journey.
But she is equally aware of its limitations, and the pressures such terms can put on people.
“I hate labels," she added. "I've always told myself and people around me that you don't have to label yourself, you are who you are and that's it and that's perfectly fine.
“But there's also this part of you who wants to understand. The fact that I was able to read what pansexuality was and I was like, ‘Oh, okay actually I think I relate to that.’
“I felt this freedom. If you find a label that suits you [it helps in] realising what you are, who you are, coming to terms with that and accepting it.”
But while Gerken Schofield has found freedom in her pan identity, it has not stopped the assumptions from outside.
As is the case for many pansexual and bisexual people, she continues to grapple with those who deny her identity when she is in a straight-presenting relationship.
“I've talked about it recently with my partner. If I am dating a girl, people assume that I'm part of the community but if I'm dating a boy everyone's like, 'Oh, she's normal,’” Gerken Schofield explained.
“I don't particularly feel 'normal'. I'm not straight, I'm not in a straight couple. I do find that quite frustrating sometimes.
“If I'm not dating a girl, people forget that I am pansexual and I do love everyone, actually."
Since coming out as pansexual, Gerken Schofield has largely experienced positive reactions from the snowsport community, including her family with her brother and sister both having competed in mogul skiing.
While Makayla now provides representation for a whole community in snowsport and beyond, twins Thomas and Leonie have long been the role models she has looked up to.
In 2020, Thomas won duals silver to earn Britain’s first moguls medal in World Cup history, while Leonie qualified for the Beijing 2022 Olympics alongside her sister.
“The fact that I had my sister by my side was a dream that I couldn't imagine coming true,” reflected Gerken Schofield.
“It always means a lot. It's been a dream [to compete in the Olympics] since I was a little kid.
“I’ve been doing mogul skiing since I was 10 and it's always in the back of your mind that it would be incredible to compete at the Olympics.”
It was Leonie’s arms that she skied straight into when she achieved Team GB’s highest-ever Olympics finish in moguls, coming eighth in Beijing.
“That's indescribable. I definitely wasn't expecting it,” she said. “I was so in my own world while I was competing and I was really enjoying the skiing - the course was really fun.
“I got down and I remember I avoided the press because I just wanted to get to my sister and hug her and she was like, ‘You're eighth! You're eighth!’
“I didn't know my results but I was so happy with my run that it didn't really matter to me and then I just cried in her arms.”
While life on the circuit has not quite been the same without the in-person support of her siblings since Leonie's retirement and Tom's injury setbacks, Gerken Schofield has no intention to stop herself.
With Milano Cortina 2026 on the horizon, preparation is stepping up as she gears towards qualification.
“It's been hard [without them]," she admitted. "I’ve had to adapt myself to it because I had this routine of giving them a massive hug before my run and watching them. I always had them to lean on when I wasn't feeling okay.
“I do feel like I'm going down the right path and even my strength physically has been improving.
“I don't know what to expect and I don't really want to put pressure on myself, obviously it would be nice to do better than what I did in Beijing.
“I just want to enjoy it and it will be nice to have family and friends there as well this time.”
As Gerken Schofield continues to apply an attitude of fun and freedom to her competition on the slopes en route to Italy, she is also providing visibility to help others find freedom in their sexuality.
Sportsbeat 2025