(Photo credit: globalsportsmatter.com)
This piece details the history and current policies governing trans and other non-binary participation in sports. The essay focuses mainly on policy from the top-down, beginning with policies from the IOC and discussing how such policies differ from those surrounding sports at the high school level. By taking into account perspectives from athletes, as well as those who work to govern the sports world, I attempt offer a glimpse into the landscape of competition for trans athletes as well as an overview of potential changes to the system.
"It's a relief that next barrier has been knocked down," says Chris Mosier, an All-American duathlete and 5-time member of team USA. In 2015, Mosier became the first transgender man to make the United States men’s national track team. Without a doubt, he is correct about the barrier that his success has broken -- his presence in the cisgender male dominated sphere of track is an astounding and unprecedented affirmation for transgender people, especially athletes. But while his accomplishments prove that trans people in sports can be successfully acclimated into the category of their gender, the politics and policies surrounding trans participation in sports remain` as complex as ever.
The concept of gender is a relevant consideration in countless social and political discussions. Accommodating the needs of transgender people has become an object of contention among politicians, advocates, and otherwise vocal and opinionated individuals. While discussion about trans bathroom and locker room usage has been the most prominent feature of transgender politics in the media, trans and other non-binary gendered people also face an even broader question of their ability to participate in sports. The governing bodies that advise and regulate athletes, across all categories and levels of sport, owe athletes a sense of unity that clarifies and commits to a position on trans participation in sports in order to work towards solutions for athletes who feel that their gender holds them back from doing what they love. Change should begin with the International Olympic committee, which represents the highest level of competition and governance, and work from the top-down to reach athletes of all levels.
The IOC’s policies, over time, has largely been informed by public opinion alongside scientific study. The organization’s most recent stance, which was developed in 2016 and allows transgender people to compete, hits a vein for some athletes who feel that they may be cheated by letting those with an opposite assigned gender into their field of competitors. On the other hand, trans activists believe denying trans athletes full access to the team category that aligns with their gender is a violation of discrimination laws, as well as principles of equality and civil rights. The continual failure to commit to a concrete designation of what the “male” and “female” categories of sport entail has always been at the root of the debate of gender in sports, and while scientific studies have sought to bring clarity to this issue, the IOC’s ever-changing policies illustrate that defining gender and sex using these two categories is not a simple task. This ambiguity often leaves trans and intersex people without a space to compete in the Olympics, among other other levels of competition, and in some instances, stripped of their former accomplishments.
Intersex is a term used to describe individuals who possess physical characteristics associated with the characteristics of both “male” and “female”, and the volatile sense of placement of intersex athletes within sports is often discussed alongside transgender politics. There are a number of ways in which the sense of biological androgyny can occur for intersex people, including differences in chromosomes makeup and resistance to hormones. The question of IOC’s stance on intersex participation in sports has caused controversy, and some even believe that intersex people should be barred from sport. One athlete who fell in the middle of this tension was track star Caster Semenya, an athlete who identifies as a woman, but has faced criticism after revelations that her testosterone levels are three times higher than expected in women. Semenya’s track career took off when she competed at her first Junior World Championships, taking the gold medal in the 800m at age 17. She went on take numerous first place titles in the 800m race, including two at the Olympic level in the 2012 and 2016 games. Her success drew criticism and tension from her competitors, as other active individuals in the world of sports politics -- including the secretary of The International Association of Athletic Federations, which governs track and field at the world championship level, Pierre Weiss, who stated “She is a woman, but maybe not 100%”.
To read more, please visit my blog.
"It's a relief that next barrier has been knocked down," says Chris Mosier, an All-American duathlete and 5-time member of team USA. In 2015, Mosier became the first transgender man to make the United States men’s national track team. Without a doubt, he is correct about the barrier that his success has broken -- his presence in the cisgender male dominated sphere of track is an astounding and unprecedented affirmation for transgender people, especially athletes. But while his accomplishments prove that trans people in sports can be successfully acclimated into the category of their gender, the politics and policies surrounding trans participation in sports remain` as complex as ever.
The concept of gender is a relevant consideration in countless social and political discussions. Accommodating the needs of transgender people has become an object of contention among politicians, advocates, and otherwise vocal and opinionated individuals. While discussion about trans bathroom and locker room usage has been the most prominent feature of transgender politics in the media, trans and other non-binary gendered people also face an even broader question of their ability to participate in sports. The governing bodies that advise and regulate athletes, across all categories and levels of sport, owe athletes a sense of unity that clarifies and commits to a position on trans participation in sports in order to work towards solutions for athletes who feel that their gender holds them back from doing what they love. Change should begin with the International Olympic committee, which represents the highest level of competition and governance, and work from the top-down to reach athletes of all levels.
The IOC’s policies, over time, has largely been informed by public opinion alongside scientific study. The organization’s most recent stance, which was developed in 2016 and allows transgender people to compete, hits a vein for some athletes who feel that they may be cheated by letting those with an opposite assigned gender into their field of competitors. On the other hand, trans activists believe denying trans athletes full access to the team category that aligns with their gender is a violation of discrimination laws, as well as principles of equality and civil rights. The continual failure to commit to a concrete designation of what the “male” and “female” categories of sport entail has always been at the root of the debate of gender in sports, and while scientific studies have sought to bring clarity to this issue, the IOC’s ever-changing policies illustrate that defining gender and sex using these two categories is not a simple task. This ambiguity often leaves trans and intersex people without a space to compete in the Olympics, among other other levels of competition, and in some instances, stripped of their former accomplishments.
Intersex is a term used to describe individuals who possess physical characteristics associated with the characteristics of both “male” and “female”, and the volatile sense of placement of intersex athletes within sports is often discussed alongside transgender politics. There are a number of ways in which the sense of biological androgyny can occur for intersex people, including differences in chromosomes makeup and resistance to hormones. The question of IOC’s stance on intersex participation in sports has caused controversy, and some even believe that intersex people should be barred from sport. One athlete who fell in the middle of this tension was track star Caster Semenya, an athlete who identifies as a woman, but has faced criticism after revelations that her testosterone levels are three times higher than expected in women. Semenya’s track career took off when she competed at her first Junior World Championships, taking the gold medal in the 800m at age 17. She went on take numerous first place titles in the 800m race, including two at the Olympic level in the 2012 and 2016 games. Her success drew criticism and tension from her competitors, as other active individuals in the world of sports politics -- including the secretary of The International Association of Athletic Federations, which governs track and field at the world championship level, Pierre Weiss, who stated “She is a woman, but maybe not 100%”.
To read more, please visit my blog.