True or false: male-dominated sports and sports organizations have always been female-friendly.

With Rochelle Eime

Over the past 5 years, women and girls in Victoria have increased their level of sport participation in clubs, in particular in male dominated sports. Unfortunately, community sporting clubs have a long way to go in making them feel welcome as full members. 

Our recent research published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living investigated community sport participation for 10 major sports in Victoria. Overall player numbers rose from 749 037 in 2015 to 868,266 in 2019. 

The research, funded by Sport and Recreation Victoria and VicHealth, demonstrated that over the past 5 years participation in sport for women and girls increased across all age groups (4-84 years), and highest amongst those aged 4 (7% increase) and 5-9 (5% increase) whereas participation decreased among boys aged 5-9 and 10-14 (4% and 1% respectively).

Much of the increase in participation for women and girls was in male-dominated sports such as football (soccer), Australian football and cricket. Only in recent years have these sports started to provide women and girls with genuine opportunities to play in all-female teams and competitions. 

Whilst participation in sport is still dominated by boys and men, the participation gap is gradually closing. Government strategies and targeted investments into improving access for women and girls into community sport have increased opportunities for girls and women to play the game of their choice. 

However, progress is hampered by persisting male-focused sporting cultures in many clubs which is driving women and girls away. A recent research project funded by the Victorian Government Change our Game initiative, investigated the experiences of women and girls playing male-dominated sports. The research reported that at a societal level, the gender norms and stereotypes at local sport clubs negatively affect women and girls desire to continue their participation in these male-dominated sports. 

The women and girls interviewed for this research study talked about their experiences in playing male-dominated sports - that they were frequently taunted and exposed to highly inappropriate comments mocking their sporting choice, criticizing their skill level, ridiculing their physical appearance and diminishing their performance.

Whilst many (mostly male) club leaders were seen to value the inclusion of women and girls as players, they often lacked a real commitment to resourcing them to equal standards of male teams and to play with quality equipment, in the best facilities and in a supportive female-friendly environment. 

Interviewees commented on being seen as less serious players, and many of them had directly been confronted with disrespectful and demeaning language towards them. One of the girls described that: “they were drinking on the sideline, yelling out to one of the players saying, ‘Number 10, give us a twirl. Number 10 get up and go faster.’ Little things like that can really affect someone’s mindset.” It cannot be stressed enough what such comments and attitudes can do to those on the receiving end. One of the interviewees said that: “It absolutely wrecked me. I remember going home and just crying and crying and crying... It didn’t stop me playing though because I did have the love for the sport by that time. But you know, that one incident, I think for me has driven my passion for gender equality in sport. Whereas for some, it would have probably completely turned them away.

It is important to note that others had positive experiences and relationships with coaches and club personnel that would elevate them towards feeling empowered, however, such experiences were the minority of those reported. 

There are now great opportunities for women and girls to play aggressive, physical and tough contact sports for the first time, and for many these characteristics of the male dominated sports were a main reason for being drawn to the sport. 

It seems however that Australian society still holds on to strongly gendered norms and dividing lines between men and women when it comes to playing sport, and the lack of visibility of women and girls in male-dominated sports clubs further hinders females feeling respected and confident in their sporting pursuits. Interviewees felt that such “barriers and not feeling like you belong because of the club environment make that you can’t see yourself represented there”.

Younger generations of sport club committee members already have vastly different attitudes. They are at the forefront of culture change and as such have to lead society and communities connected through sport, to understand that equal representation and equitable opportunities are at the foundation of inclusion. 

The immediate challenge for community sport organisations and those who participate in them is to call out inappropriate behaviours and actions and find ways to create all-inclusive club environments. As noted, younger generations are more in tune with this, but as observed before, young males continue to perpetuate masculine attitudes towards women and girls playing in sports that in regard to participation numbers, are dominated by men. Equal representation on club committees, government supported education programs, mandated provision of equal quality changeroom and training facilities are only the start of a much more complex cultural change process. A process that is in train, but still has a long way to go. Male club champions of change – boys and men calling out their gender peers’ inappropriate behaviour and language might well be the most powerful force towards inclusive change. 

• ‘The tennis club is my safe space’: assessing the positive impact of playing tennis on LGBT+ people in Australia, R. Storr, J. Richards, Sport, Education and Society, (28 January 2022). This article reports on a national study commissioned by Tennis Australia to assess the positive role that sport, specifically tennis, has on the lives of LGBT+ people in Australia. It explores specifically the role of tennis in building social solidarity and community capital through leisurely and organised sporting activities. To gain comprehensive insights into the perceptions and lived experiences of LGBT+ tennis players, we employed a qualitative research design drawing on the methods of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. In total 27 interviews were conducted, 3 focus groups and over 50 hours of observations at various LGBT+ tennis clubs and tournaments in Sydney, Hobart, Perth and Melbourne. Our paper makes a significant contribution to scholarship by assessing the ways in which sport can advance inclusion efforts for LGBT+ people, and positively impact their lives and overall wellbeing. Our research clearly indicated that those who play tennis reported improvement in their mental and physical health whilst also enhancing their social capital.
• Queering Indoor Swimming in the UK: Transgender and Non-binary wellbeing, Jayne Caudwell, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, (15 November 2021). This paper draws from a research project that was initiated in 2017 and continued in to 2020. It followed on from previous University-LGBT + community projects (e.g., football versus homophobia 2012–2018) and involved working with a local transgender social group, specifically, their engagement with once-a-month recreational swim sessions. The research findings that are discussed come from sixty-three research participant's ‘drawings’, three focus groups including a professionally drawn illustration of two of these focus groups, and nine semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the qualitative data demonstrates the significance of play and pleasure, feeling free, and transgender and non-binary imaginations to physical activity participation, and wellbeing. These three themes are presented through the lens of queer/queering and transfeminism. As such, the paper has two aims: to document the experiences of physical activity by an often-excluded group; and to evaluate the concept of queering to an understanding of indoor recreational swimming and wellbeing.
• Developing trans-athlete policy in Australian National Sport Organizations, L Stewart, P O’Halloran, J Oates, et.al., International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 13(4), pp.565-585, (August 2021). The purpose of this study was to explore the way Australian national sport organisations (NSOs) create, develop and implement their policies relevant to trans athletes. Representatives of nine NSOs were interviewed utilising in-depth semi-structured interviews. Four key themes emerged from the organisation spokespersons’ accounts: a) finding the right policy, b) underfunded and under resourced, c) challenges of educating employees and the public, and lastly, d) communication between NSOs and the trans athletic community. Findings revealed that only two NSOs reported had specific policies directed at trans athlete’s sport participation. Several NSOs indicated that they had plans to develop separate policies for the different levels of competition to assist trans athletes to participate in their sport as their identified gender. This is the first study to explore the perspective and views of NSOs on the participation of trans athletes in sport.
• Sport Is for Everyone: A Legal Roadmap for Transgender Participation in Sport, Erin Buzuvis, Sarah Litwin, Warren Zola, Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, Volume 31(1), (August 2021). In recent years, the public has paid greater attention to transgender athletes participating in sport at all levels—high school, collegiate, professional, and Olympic—despite the fact that transgender athletes have been competing in sports for decades. Backlash has arisen in general but also more specifically in response to several recent Supreme Court cases that have both solidified and extended rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other gender and sexual minorities. In turn, state laws that seek to limit the rights of transgender students to participate in sports have been drafted around the country. To be sure, these laws are often built on erroneous data, a misunderstanding of facts, and ignorance, but their existence continues to fuel the public debate on whether transgender athletes should be allowed to participate based on their gender identity or their sex as determined at birth.
• The construction of categories in sport: Unfair advantages, equality of opportunity and strict attainability, Silvia Camporesi, Mika Hämäläinen, European Journal of Sport Science, Volume 21(11), pp.1477-1484, (July 2021). On 8 September 2020, the Swiss Federal Supreme Sport dismissed the double appeal by Caster Semenya against the decision of the Court for Arbitration of Sport to uphold the World Athletics regulations restricting testosterone levels in female runners. On 24 February 2021, Semenya appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. This is the most recent episode of an international legal case which was ignited at the 2009 Berlin World Track Championship, when Semenya was 18 years old. Semenya’s case has generated an intricate web of questions for classification in sport that are yet to be resolved. In this paper we aim to disentangle them. We proceed as follows: we describe the problem of binary classification related to Semenya’s case and introduce the concept of property advantage, and the fair equality of opportunity principle. We compare Semenya's case with Eero Mantyranta's case and fail to identify a way according to which the two cases could justifiably be treated differently. We then discuss three possible ways to organize sport categories based on the combination of Loland’s fair equality of opportunity principle and our strict attainability criterion, and outline the implications of each alternative for international sports law regulation. Finally, we summarize and outline the legacy of Semenya for the construction of categories in sport.
• How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation, Joanna Harper, Emma O'Donnell, Behzad Sorouri Khorashad, et.al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 55(15), pp.865-872, (July 2021). Twenty-four studies were identified and reviewed. Transwomen experienced significant decreases in all parameters measured, with different time courses noted. After 4 months of hormone therapy, transwomen have Hgb/HCT levels equivalent to those of cisgender women. After 12 months of hormone therapy, significant decreases in measures of strength, LBM and muscle area are observed. The effects of longer duration therapy (36 months) in eliciting further decrements in these measures are unclear due to paucity of data. Notwithstanding, values for strength, LBM and muscle area in transwomen remain above those of cisgender women, even after 36 months of hormone therapy. In transwomen, hormone therapy rapidly reduces Hgb to levels seen in cisgender women. In contrast, hormone therapy decreases strength, LBM and muscle area, yet values remain above that observed in cisgender women, even after 36 months. These findings suggest that strength may be well preserved in transwomen during the first 3 years of hormone therapy.
• Integrating transwomen athletes into elite competition: The case of elite archery and shooting, Blair Hamilton, Fergus Guppy, James Barrett, et.al., European Journal of Sport Science, Volume 21(11), pp.1500-1509, (June 2021). ;The inclusion of transwomen into elite female sport has been brought into question recently with World Rugby banning transwomen from the elite female competition, aiming to prioritise safety over fairness and inclusion, citing the size, force and power-producing advantages conferred to transwomen. The same question is being asked of all Olympic sports including non-contact sports such as archery and shooting. As both these Olympic sports are the polar opposite to the contact sport of rugby in terms of the need to consider the safety of athletes, the IF of both archery and shooting should consider the other elements when deciding the integration of trans individuals in their sports. Studies on non-athletic transwomen have reported muscle mass and strength loss in the range of 5–10% after 1 year of their transition, with these differences no longer apparent after 2 years. Therefore, based on the current scientific literature, it would be justified for meaningful competition and to prioritise fairness, that transwomen be permitted to compete in elite archery after 2 years of GAT. Similarly, it would be justified in terms of shooting to prioritise inclusion and allow transwomen after 1 year of GAT given that the only negligible advantage that transwomen may have is superior visuospatial coordination. The impact of this considered integration of transwomen in elite sports such as archery and shooting could be monitored and lessons learned for other sports, especially where there are no safety concerns from contact with an opponent.
• Effect of gender affirming hormones on athletic performance in transwomen and transmen: implications for sporting organisations and legislators, Timothy Roberts, Joshua Smalley, Dale Ahrendt, British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 55(11), pp.577-583, (May 2021). We reviewed fitness test results and medical records of 29 transmen and 46 transwomen who started gender affirming hormones while in the United States Air Force. We compared pre- and post-hormone fitness test results of the transwomen and transmen with the average performance of all women and men under the age of 30 in the Air Force between 2004 and 2014. We also measured the rate of hormone associated changes in body composition and athletic performance. Participants were 26.2 years old (SD 5.5). Prior to gender affirming hormones, transwomen performed 31% more push-ups and 15% more sit-ups in 1 min and ran 1.5 miles 21% faster than their female counterparts. After 2 years of taking feminising hormones, the push-up and sit-up differences disappeared but transwomen were still 12% faster. Prior to gender affirming hormones, transmen performed 43% fewer push-ups and ran 1.5 miles 15% slower than their male counterparts. After 1 year of taking masculinising hormones, there was no longer a difference in push-ups or run times, and the number of sit-ups performed in 1 min by transmen exceeded the average performance of their male counterparts. The 15–31% athletic advantage that transwomen displayed over their female counterparts prior to starting gender affirming hormones declined with feminising therapy. However, transwomen still had a 9% faster mean run speed after the 1 year period of testosterone suppression that is recommended by World Athletics for inclusion in women’s events.
• Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage, Emma Hilton, Tommy Lundberg, Sports Medicine, Volume 51, pp.199-214, (2021). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) determined criteria by which a transgender woman may be eligible to compete in the female category, requiring total serum testosterone levels to be suppressed below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to and during competition. Whether this regulation removes the male performance advantage has not been scrutinized. Here, we review how differences in biological characteristics between biological males and females affect sporting performance and assess whether evidence exists to support the assumption that testosterone suppression in transgender women removes the male performance advantage and thus delivers fair and safe competition.
• A Case Study Exploring the Experiences of a Transgender Athlete in Synchronized Skating, a Subdiscipline of Figure Skating, Shannon Herrick, Meredith Rocchi, A. Lauren Couture, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Volume 44(5), pp.421-449, (October 2020). The inclusion of transgender athletes in sport challenges a number of long-standing cis-heteronormative beliefs within athletics at all levels of competition. There are limited studies examining the integration and experiences of transgender athletes within amateur sport. The following case study follows the experiences of a transgender synchronized figure skater, Mason, who was able to continue competing throughout his transition process. We conducted eight semi-structured one-on-one interviews with Mason, his teammates, his team manager, and his past and present coaches. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subject to thematic analysis which resulted in four overarching themes: (a) building inclusivity: “promote a safe space,” (b) acknowledging stress, (c) disclosure: “I didn’t want to talk about my past,” and (d) celebration. Results are interpreted as recommendations for coaches on how to adopt inclusive practices to better support transgender athletes.
• Questioning representations of athletes with elevated testosterone levels in elite women’s sports: a critical policy analysis, Annette Brömdal, Rebecca Olive, Brooke Walker, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 12(4), pp.699-715, (October 2020). Sport sociologists are often required to interpret, question and respond to the ways in which fairness and eligibility concerns in elite sports are represented in policy frameworks produced by sports governing bodies. Drawing on Carol Bacchi’s critical policy analysis framework, ‘what is the problem represented to be?’, this paper explores the importance in developing a critical eye and reading about representations of women athletes with particular differences of sex development (DSD) with elevated testosterone levels and the idea of regulating their testosterone levels in the female classification. Through using the above critical policy analysis line of questioning, this analysis aims to consider what the problem of women athletes with relevant DSDs with elevated testosterone levels in female elite sports is represented to be; what the assumptions underlying these representations of the problem are; how these representations of the problem have come about; what is left unproblematic in this problem representation; what the lived effects produced by these representations of the problem are; and how these representations of the problem have been produced, disseminated, defended, questioned, disrupted and even could be replaced. The critical policy analysis argues that the continuing persistence of policies marking particular women with DSDs as a problem, is related in part to societal views defining particular bodies and athletic abilities in the female classification as either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and in need of fixing. In moving forward and redressing the problem, it requires the embodiment of biomedical ethics and human rights advocacy work by sports governing bodies.
• ‘Gender Verification Issues in Women’s Competitive Sports: An Ethical Critique of the IAAF DSD Regulation’, Mizuho Takemura, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Volume 14, pp.449-460, (June 2020). In 2018 the World Heath Organization decided to re-examine the classification of gender identity disorder and exclude it from being defined as a mental illness. This re-examination means that sex and gender do not have a single meaning It can be argued that the WHO decision presents an ethical dilemma for competitive sports, since a more concrete definition of gender is required to determine the category in which an athlete will compete without the violation of basic human rights or the violation of fair play in sport. The example of Caster Semenya illustrates the ethical dilemma that arises in this situation. In what follows, I will discuss: 1) the circumstances and background of Semenya’s eligibility; 2) the conflict between moral values that arises here; 3) an ethical interpretation of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)’s claim regarding Semenya’s case; and lastly 4) the acceptable level of injustice in competitive sports. From these perspectives, I will offer a practical philosophical discussion of the IAAF’s new regulations using Semenya’s case as an illustrative example and clarifying the difference between ‘discrimination’ and ‘distinction’. This paper partially affirms the Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) regulations issued by the IAAF in 2018. Its intention is not to completely support the IAAF’s regulations, however, but rather to show that the paradigm of modern sports itself can be a target of criticism.
• Physical Activity and Sport in Trans Persons Before and After Gender Disclosure: Prevalence, Frequency, and Type of Activities, Elena López-Cañada, José Devís-Devís, Alexandra Valencia-Peris, et.al., Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Volume 17(6), pp.650-656, (May 2020). A face-to-face survey was administered to 212 Spanish trans persons, aged from 10 to 62 years old. McNemar and chi-square tests were used to determine significant differences. About 75.5% of the trans persons in this study engaged in PAS and more than 50% did so ≥3 times/week, which is similar as in the general Spanish population. Participation was higher in trans men (78.7%) than trans women (72%). However, GD emerges as a key issue in characterizing trans persons’ PAS participation. A group of 14.5% of them stopped activity after GD. Participation in nonorganized PAS was higher than in organized PAS, and this difference is greater after GD because most participants gave up organized PAS in favor of nonorganized PAS. Trans persons preferred individual sports and activities than team sports before and after GD, and the top 3 activities were jogging, walking, and bodybuilding. Trans men participation was higher than trans women in team PAS, whereas individual PAS were equally practiced before and after GD. Participation in football, swimming, basketball, dancing, and volleyball declined after GD, whereas bodybuilding increased in trans men. The results show that the high involvement of trans persons coincides with strategies used to hide or conceal their gender identities when participating in PAS. A decrease in PAS participation is observed after GD probably because it is an acute potential period of anxiety, discrimination, and victimization caused by trans persons’ body exposure.
• Transgender and Intersex Athletes and the Women’s Category in Sport, Pam Sailors, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Volume 14(4), pp.419-431, (May 2020). Issues surrounding the inclusion of transgender and intersex athletes in the women’s category in sport have spurred vigorous, and sometimes vicious, debate. The loudest voices on one edge of the debate warn that allowing transgender and intersex athletes to participate in women’s sport will push women out of sport entirely as it is equivalent to having men compete against women, while the other edge dismisses as a transphobic/racist/bigot anyone advocating for less than full and unconditional inclusion. Between the edges are more nuanced positions, offering arguments to support conclusions regarding competition, fairness, equality, and inclusion. This paper is an attempt to discover and elucidate the foundational commitments underlying the most common arguments, evaluate the arguments, and consider implications of the commitments.
• The journey of transitioning: Being a trans male athlete in college sport, Alexandra Klein, Amanda Paule-Koba, Vikki Krane, Sport Management Review, Volume 22(5), pp.626-639, (November 2019). This case study presents one transgender athlete’s journey during his social, hormonal, and athletic transition. Social support and financial resources can impact an athlete as he or she transitions and these are areas that athletic departments can influence. We recommend strategies to support transgender inclusion in athletics programs, including creating a culture of inclusion and respect for all.
• Experiences of trans persons in physical activity and sport: A qualitative meta-synthesis, Víctor Pérez-Samaniego, Jorge Fuentes-Miguel, Sofía Pereira-García, et.al., Sport Management Review, Volume 22(4), pp.439-451, (August 2019). The purpose of this paper was to map and provide new insights to existing qualitative research on experiences of trans people in physical activity and sport. Searches in international databases identified 604 documents related with those issues. Of these, the authors assessed 31 studies in accordance with a reading guide. Finally, 12 qualitative studies were selected. Key issues are condensed into four cross-cutting themes: (a) language; (b) facilities and spaces; (c) transgendering strategies; and (d) abjection. The identified issues show how trans persons diversely experience and manage situations of verbal discrimination, resistance, occupation of spaces, identification, and rejection. The paper concludes with insights based on the distinction between gender conformers and gender transformers, and implications for sport managers in order to enhance participation, enjoyment, and wellbeing of trans people in physical activity and sport.
• Transwomen in elite sport: scientific and ethical considerations, Knox T, Anderson LC, Heather A, Journal of Medical Ethics, Volume 45(6), pp.395-403, (July 2019). The inclusion of elite transwomen athletes in sport is controversial. The recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) (2015) guidelines allow transwomen to compete in the women’s division if (amongst other things) their testosterone is held below 10 nmol/L. This is significantly higher than that of cis-women. Science demonstrates that high testosterone and other male physiology provides a performance advantage in sport suggesting that transwomen retain some of that advantage. To determine whether the advantage is unfair necessitates an ethical analysis of the principles of inclusion and fairness. Particularly important is whether the advantage held by transwomen is a tolerable or intolerable unfairness. We conclude that the advantage to transwomen afforded by the IOC guidelines is an intolerable unfairness. This does not mean transwomen should be excluded from elite sport but that the existing male/female categories in sport should be abandoned in favour of a more nuanced approach satisfying both inclusion and fairness.
• Science, Sport, Sex, and the Case of Caster Semenya, Roger Pielke Jr., Madeleine Pape, Issues in Science and Technology, Volume 36(1), pp.56-63, (Fall 2019). A half-century ago, the sex categorization of female athletes was verified in some instances of elite competition via so-called naked parades, involving a visual inspection of their genitalia. When this demeaning practice was abandoned, sport organizations adopted methods that they believed held the promise of scientifically and objectively telling us what is, rather than what ought to be, when defining the eligible female athlete. However, the promise of objective science has proven far more illusory than real, as the complexities of human biology have defeated all medical tests proposed by sports organizations to reliably divide biological sex into two distinct categories.
• Beginning to Understand the Sport Experience of High Performance Female Transgender Athletes in Canada, Camille Michon, Guylaine Demers, Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching, Volume 19(1), (April 2019). In Canada, studies on the sport experience of transgender athletes are scarce, and this is especially the case within the high performance arena. To shed light on this topic, we interviewed three female transgender athletes. 1 Each has competed at the national, international, or professional level in three different sports, each with its own culture. While their respective sport backgrounds differ considerably, all three share similarities that help us to better understand the sport experiences of transgender athletes, whether before, during, or after their transition. These sport experiences provide guidance regarding what should be considered to make sport more inclusive and open to diversity, particularly with respect to transgender women at all levels of competition. Our aim is to give a voice to these athletes in order to promote greater awareness of their reality within the sport community, in particular among coaches. We want coaches to have a better understanding of the transgender athletes' sporting experience. We also want to equip coaches to work with transgender athletes and to educate their own athletes about the importance of allowing transgender athletes to compete at all levels of competition.
• Three strikes and you’re out: culture, facilities, and participation among LGBTQ youth in sports, Alex Kulick, Laura Wernick, Mario Alberto Espinoza, et.al., Sport, Education and Society, Volume 24(9), pp.939-953, (2019). Our study uses a data set of adolescents, collected as part of a community-based participatory action research project led by high school students in southeast Michigan, USA. Respondents reported their sexual and gender identities, as well as experiences in youth sport, as well as safety using sex-segregated facilities (i.e., bathrooms and locker-rooms). Using mediation models based on linear regression, we found evidence that LGBQ high school students play sports at a significantly lower rate compared to straight students, and among those who play sports, LGBTQ respondents felt significantly less safe compared to straight and cisgender students. Opposite to the LGBQ and trans youth in this study, straight/cisgender youth also reported feeling safer using all facilities. The mediation models suggest that these inequalities help to explain disparities in rates of sports participation and feelings of safety while participating. These findings have important implications for policy, practice, and future research.
• ‘People have a knack of making you feel excluded if they catch on to your difference’: Transgender experiences of exclusion in sport, Owen Hargie, David Mitchell, Ian Somerville, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Volume 52(2), pp.223-239, (March 2017). While there is a growing literature in the field of gender, sexuality and sport, there is a dearth of research into the lived experiences of transgender people in sport. The present study addresses this research gap by exploring and analysing the accounts of transgender people in relation to their experiences of sport and physical activity. These are examined within the theoretical rubrics of social exclusion and minority stress theory. The findings from in-depth interviews with 10 transgender persons are detailed. Four interconnected themes emerged from the interviewee accounts: the intimidating nature of the changing/locker room environment; the impact of alienating sports experiences at school; the fear of public space and how this drastically constrained their ability to engage in sport and physical activity; and the overall effects of being denied the social, health and wellbeing aspects of sport. The findings are discussed in relation to the distinctive quality of transgender exclusion, and the related distal and proximal stressors experienced by this particular minority group.
• Inclusive Spaces and Locker Rooms for Transgender Athletes, George B. Cunningham, Erin Buzuvis and Chris Mosier, Kinesiology Review, Volume 7(4), pp.365-374, (2017). The purpose of this article is to articulate the need for a strong commitment to transgender inclusion in sport and physical activity, including in locker rooms and team spaces. The authors begin by defining key constructs and offering a theoretical overview of stigma toward transgender individuals. The focus then shifts to the changing opportunities for transgender athletes at all participation levels, case law and rulings germane to the topic, and the psychological, physical, and social outcomes associated with inclusion and exclusion. Next, the authors present frequently voiced concerns about transgender inclusion, with an emphasis on safety and privacy. Given the review, the authors present the case for inclusive locker rooms, which permit access by transgender athletes to facilities that correspond to their gender identity. The authors conclude with the official AKA position statement—“The American Kinesiology Association endorses inclusive locker rooms, by which we mean sex-segregated facilities that are open to transgender athletes on the basis of their gender identity”—and implications for sport and physical activity.
• Sport and Transgender People: A Systematic Review of the Literature Relating to Sport Participation and Competitive Sport Policies, Bethany Alice Jones, Jon Arcelus, Walter Pierre Bouman, et.al., Sports Medicine, Volume 47, pp.701-716, (2017). In relation to sport-related physical activity, this review found the lack of inclusive and comfortable environments to be the primary barrier to participation for transgender people. This review also found transgender people had a mostly negative experience in competitive sports because of the restrictions the sport’s policy placed on them. The majority of transgender competitive sport policies that were reviewed were not evidence based. There are several areas of future research required to significantly improve our knowledge of transgender people’s experiences in sport, inform the development of more inclusive sport policies, and, most importantly, enhance the lives of transgender people, both physically and psychosocially.
• Sex in Sport, Doriane Lambelet Coleman, Law and Contemporary Problems, Volume 80, pp.63-126, (2017). The analysis focuses on competitive sport’s traditional sex classifications, and particularly on its commitment to setting aside the women’s category for biological females only. It returns in the end to the applicability of this methodological approach to other institutional settings in which the legal and policy question whether to erase sex also arises.
• Transgender and gender nonconforming athletes: Creating safe spaces for all, Morris J and Van Raalte J, Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, (2 June 2016). Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) athletes face a number of challenges in a sport setting. This article provides information on how coaches can create more welcoming environments by using appropriate language, educating team members, and offering social support for TGNC athletes.
• Debating the testosterone ‘sex gap’, Karkazis K and Jordan-Young R, Science Magazine, Volume 348(6237), (22 May 2015). Sexual dimorphism of testosterone in elite athletes was at the centre of a case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in which teenage Indian sprinter Dutee Chand challenged a policy that regulates competition eligibility of women with naturally high testosterone levels. The idea of a ‘sex gap’ in testosterone is a cornerstone of this policy, which implies that men’s higher testosterone is a significant factor that makes a difference between men’s and women’s athletic performances. Therefore, women having naturally high testosterone may unfairly enjoy an ‘androgenic advantage’ over other female athletes. This article reports on the emerging scientific debate regarding the testosterone sex gap, as it applies to elite athletes.
• Race times for Transgender Athletes, Harper J, Journal of Sporting Cultures and Identities, Volume 6(1), (2015). Despite International Olympic Committee regulations that now allow athletes who have undergone gender reassignment to compete in their chosen gender, there is still a widespread belief that transgender female athletes have a performance advantage over 46XX female competitors. This study analysed race times for eight transgender female runners, who have competed in distance races as both male and female, using a mathematical model called age-grading. Collectively, the age graded scores for these eight runners are the same in both genders. The reduction of testosterone and hemoglobin levels of transgender women after transition would suggest that endurance capabilities of transgender women athletes should be similar to those of 46XX women. It should be noted that these results are only valid for distance running; transgender women are generally taller and somewhat larger, on average, than 46XX women and this may present some potential advantage in other sports. From this small sample of high performance (but not elite) distance runners the author concludes that transgender women race at approximately the same level, for their respective age and gender, both before and after gender transition.
• Serum androgen levels in elite female athletes, Bermon S, et.al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, (published online 19 August 2014). This research looked at the serum androgen levels among a large sample (N=849) of high-level female athletes as well as the prevalence of biochemical hyperandrogenism and some disorders of sex development. The study found that the prevalence of hyperandrogenic 46 XY in the athletic population was approximately 7 per 1000, which is 140 times higher than expected in the general population. This is the first study to establish normative serum androgens values in elite female athletes, while taking into account the possible influence of menstrual status, oral contraceptive use, type of athletic event, and ethnicity. These findings should help to develop the blood steroidal module of the Athlete Biological Passport and to refine more evidence-based fair policies and recommendations concerning hyperandrogenism in female athletes.
• [Transgender] young men: gendered subjectivities and the physically active body, Caudwell J, Sport, Education and Society, Volume 19, Number 4 (2014). This paper discusses the social, physical, and embodied experiences of transgender young men’s participation in sport. To date, much of the work on sport and gender has focused on lesbian's and gay men’s participation in sport and physical education. The general ignorance surrounding transgender participation perpetuates prejudice at both institutional and individual levels. Transgender people face multiple exclusions in sport, and these exclusions involve rejection of the transgender body and abjectification of transgender participants. This abjectification is evident at institutional and policy level as well as at the level of informal individual interactions between students.
• Endocrine profiles in 693 elite athletes in the post-competition setting, Healy M, Gibney J, Pentecost C, Wheeler M and Sonksen P, Clinical Endocrinology, Volume 81(2), (2014). This research measured the hormone profile of a group of retired elite athletes from 15 different sports. Hormone profiles showed significant differences in 19 of the 24 measured variables between sexes and between all of the 15 sporting disciplines in men; and 11 out of 24 measured variables in women. 16·5% of male elite athletes had low testosterone levels, whereas 13·7% of women had high levels, with complete overlap between the sexes. This study concluded that hormone profiles from elite athletes differ from non-athlete reference ranges. Individual results are dependent on a number of factors including age, gender and physique. Differences in profiles between sports suggest that an individual's profile may contribute to proficiency in a particular sport.
• Transgender Netballers: ethical issues and lived realities, Tagg B, Sociology of Sport Journal, Volume 29(2), (2012). This article discusses the specific case of transgender players in men’s netball in New Zealand as a case study example of emerging issues surrounding transgender athletes’ participation in sport more broadly. While netball is primarily considered a female’s sport, it is also played by New Zealand men and there are men’s leagues as well as mixed-gender competitions. This article explores the debate and ideology surrounding the ‘fairness’ of gender assignment and sports competition. Men’s netball in New Zealand has historically provided a safe space for transgender players to network and find social support. Immigration to New Zealand of people from the Pacific Islands during the 1970s drew groups of predominantly Maori and Pacific Island transgender, or ‘fa’afafine women’ to sport. The fa’afafine people in Samoan culture are those who are biologically male but who express a range of stereotypically feminine gender identities. During the 1980s many male netball competitions were dominated by Maori and Polynesian gay, transgender, and fa’afafine athletes. This article examines the lived experiences of players during that era.
• We shall never know the exact number of men who have competed in the Olympics posing as women: sport, gender verification and the Cold War, Wiederkehr S, International Journal of the History of Sport, Volume 26(4), pp.556-572, (2009). This paper analyses newspaper articles related to this topic mainly from the United States. It argues that in order to explain why gender verification was introduced at the Olympics, we have to combine different methodological approaches from the fields of gender studies, the history of international relations, media history and history of medicine that focus on the interdependency of society and technological innovation.
• Sex tested, gender verified: controlling female sexuality in the age of containment, Ritchie I, Sport History Review, Volume 34(1), pp.80-98, (2003). This paper traces the history of gender stereotyping in sport and provides background about the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to institute and then modify its gender verification policy for Olympic athletes.