Attitudes to Gender in Sport: policing the boundaries of gender presentation in competition
When I use the word ‘trans’ in this article it will be referring to trans women. This is because whilst there were no trans women at this year’s Olympics, discourse in sports tends to revolve around them. Sadly, trans men and non-binary people (both of whom were present at Paris 2024) remain largely ignored in societal discourse.
Image shows athletes Caster Semenya, Imane Khelif, and Serena Williams (left to right) who have all faced criticisms for their gender.
Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting are two prominent boxers from Algeria and Taiwan respectively. Recently, they have been the subject of controversy because they failed ‘gender tests’ applied by the International Boxing Association (‘IBA’) which resulted in them being banned from the world boxing championships in 2023. Since then, the IBA has been stripped of its status as the sport’s governing body by the International Olympic Committee (‘IOC’) due to concerns around judging and ethics, among others.
Both athletes won gold in the women’s boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics in their respective weight classes. Throughout their Olympic campaigns news outlets and prominent figures capitalised on the transphobic climate (which is particularly bad in sport) by accusing them of being trans. Obviously, vitriol towards trans people on any level is unacceptable, but neither boxer is trans. Both women are potentially intersex but there are no official statements on this and now their personal lives are being interrogated in public. The IOC has made a statement confirming that both athletes were assigned female at birth (‘AFAB’) and that they have every right to be at the Olympics.
Trans people have been allowed to compete at the Olympics since 2004 but have been anything but dominant. In fact, only one trans person has ever won an Olympic medal; she won Gold playing football for Canada. Despite this, many sports federations have banned trans people from competing with little to no evidence to back this up.
How transphobia in sports hurts everyone
The disinformation spread by news outlets has real-life consequences for trans people e.g. a rise in hate speech. The nature of the accusations contributes to a climate that is overtly transphobic, even though the accused athletes aren’t trans.
Historically, these accusations have been levelled at POC women such as Serena Williams and Caster Semenya because they don’t adhere to ‘traditional’ beauty standards (sadly Caster Semenya has been told she would need to dope to compete - if you are interested in finding out more about Caster’s struggle for inclusion in elite sport, please click here). Additionally, there is a certain narrative of the ‘big and strong POC woman’ beating the ‘delicate white princess’ that some pundits don’t like. What we mean by this is that they have POC features such as body hair, or that they have muscular arms and legs and therefore aren’t considered to be as feminine as their white counterparts. This results in abuse being directed towards POC AFAB athletes because of their perceived transness. This reinforces transphobia in sport whilst simultaneously creating artificial limits on women’s athletic abilities.
Men are born to win, women have ‘unfair advantages’
On top of this, there is a real difference in how women are treated in sport compared to men. A brilliant example of this is Michael Phelps as his webbed hands and feet, lack of lactic acid and double-jointed limbs are considered gifts. By contrast, raised testosterone levels in women athletes is considered an ‘unfair advantage’, even though the relationship between women’s testosterone levels and athletic performance is hotly debated. The overarching point is that the Olympics is supposed to be a celebration of the wonderful tapestry of diverse people we have in the world. We have men born with all sorts of incredible physical traits (e.g. being 7 foot 2) and they are seen as being ‘born to win’. But why doesn’t this apply to women?
The people who accuse women athletes of being trans if they are ‘too good’ have created a new glass ceiling of sporting achievement that women cannot pass without being accused of ‘being a man’ and having an ‘unfair advantage’. Ultimately, this is also a form of misogyny (as well as the racist connotations discussed above) as they are saying women can only perform to a certain level, whereas for men the possibilities are supposedly endless.
What can your organisation do?
It can be hard to know where to start in terms of combatting the toxic environment towards both women and trans people in sport. At werk., we are always looking to provide solutions so everyone can enjoy the many mental and physical health benefits of sport and find their community.
Below are some action points and for the purpose of these points the word ‘trans’ includes all trans people.
Lift up your women and trans athletes – If you have people in your space who are performing well they should be celebrated, and this goes for achievement at all levels whether it be beginner/intermediate competition, or the national stage.
Stand up for your athletes – If trans people or women are receiving abuse it is important that you stand up for them. The women and trans people in your space will appreciate this and see your space as a safe environment.
The above point also includes doing this on a national scale. This means that if you are coaching trans athletes and they are being excluded from competing in local and national competitions then you need to help fight their corner. Only with allies can we improve inclusion in sport.
If you want further help making your gym or fitness space inclusive, please get in touch.
