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Section One: The Fundamentals
A) History and Context
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
| I found it striking that despite Max being biologically female, her elevated testosterone levels prevent her from competing in her sport. While I understand the scientific argument that this could provide her with an advantage over other women, I am taken aback by the complete ban on her participation, rather than the creation of a separate category for women with higher testosterone levels. In my opinion, the assumption that gender determines athletic ability is problematic and overly simplistic. It introduces unnecessary ambiguity, suggesting that skill and gender are inherently linked, when in reality, they often aren’t. To address this, I believe competition categories should be based solely on skill, as gender and skill level do not always align.
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B) Timeline of History
Exercise 2: Notebook Prompt
What other significant case/milestone would you add to this timeline? Note it in your notebook along with a brief (one or two sentences) explanation of why you feel it is important.
| I would add to the timeline that during the 2024 Olympics, Imane Khelif won her boxing match in just 46 seconds after her opponent was unable to continue due to intense pain. This victory led to false narratives in the media claiming that Khelif was transgender. I believe this example is significant because it highlights the persistent biases in sports that underestimate female athletes’ abilities. While we like to think we are progressing in terms of acceptance and inclusion, this incident, which occurred so recently, serves as a stark reminder of how far we still have to go.
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C) Gender coding in Sports
Exercise 3: Notebook Prompt
Has the gendering of sport ever been a constraint on your involvement? How?
Or, if not, why do you think this is?
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I’ve never personally played a sport that was predominantly male, but my best friend has played hockey her entire life and has faced numerous gender-related challenges. For instance, when she was on a co-ed hockey team, she was often forced to change in a tiny, closet-sized room at the arena while the boys had access to a full-sized, well-equipped locker room. Despite being close friends with her teammates, they frequently overlooked her during games, passing to the other boys instead. It was clear that, even though they liked her as a friend, they still assumed she wasn’t as skilled as them simply because she was a girl. These experiences made it harder for her to feel fully included in the sport she loved, highlighting how ingrained gender biases can create unnecessary obstacles for female athletes.
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D) How is sport gendered in the popular imagination?
Exercise 4: Padlet/Notebook Prompt
While most sports are in fact unisex, gender coding remains pervasive, particularly at the professional level, although with a foundation established in youth competition. Participate in the poll below to share your views on how popular sports are gendered in the popular imagination. Also feel welcome to add or suggest sports that you feel strongly conform to the gender binary!
After you contribute to the padlet prompt, record your response in your notebook AND briefly discuss in two or three sentences how these responses and the polling figures in general confirm or contradict your assumptions about gender-coding and sports. Did anything surprise you?
| This poll confirmed my assumptions about gender coding in sports. Sports like figure skating, gymnastics and volleyball had the most votes as a female sport, whereas hockey and football were mostly male. This is what I expected and I also voted this way. I don’t believe that men are inherently better at hockey and football or vice versa, however, due to societal norms I definitely do associate each of these sports with a specific gender.
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Section Two: Breaking it down
A) Title IX
Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt
In a longer version of the interview excerpted in the video above, Leah Thomas states “Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports as a whole because trans women are a very small minority of all athletes and the NCAA rules around trans women competing in women’s sports have been around for 10+ years and we haven’t seen any massive wave of trans women dominating”?
Do you agree with this statement? See also the image above suggesting that the issue may be overblown by politicians and influencers who don’t actually care that much about women’s sports.
Please share any thoughts you have in your Notebook by clicking on the audio button above or writing a few sentences.
| I agree with Leah Thomas’s statement that trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports as a whole. The idea that trans women are dominating is largely overstated, given that they make up a very small percentage of athletes and must meet strict regulatory requirements, like those outlined by the NCAA. The lack of evidence of trans women disproportionately succeeding over the last decade supports this point. Additionally, as the image suggests, the issue often seems amplified by politicians and influencers who use it as a polarizing topic, rather than showing genuine concern for women’s sports. These discussions frequently overshadow more pressing issues, like equal pay, funding, and opportunities for female athletes.
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B) Unfair Advantage?
Exercise 6: Notebook Prompt
What does the host and writer, Rose Eveleth, have to say on the issue of unfair advantage?
Can you think of other examples of unique biological or circumstantial advantages from which athletes have benefitted enormously that have nothing to do with gender?
| Rose Eveleth challenges traditional notions of fairness in sports by questioning what truly constitutes an “unfair” advantage. She explores how factors like genetics, technology, training resources, and even societal structures influence athletic performance. Rather than accepting a rigid definition of fairness, she highlights the complexities of competition, showing that advantages, whether natural or engineered, are an inherent part of sports. She argues that the way we define and regulate these advantages often reflects broader social and ethical values, rather than purely objective measures of fairness. According to Rose, Michael Phelps has an extraordinary swimming ability partly due to his unique body proportions, which give him a natural advantage in the water. His unusually long torso provides greater surface area and buoyancy, allowing him to stay higher in the water and reduce drag. At the same time, his relatively shorter legs create less resistance, enabling more efficient propulsion with each kick. This combination enhances his speed and endurance, giving him a biomechanical edge over competitors with more typical body proportions. This is a prime example of advantage that is not gender related.
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Again, let’s turn to Katie Barnes who points out that we tend to forget amidst all the debate that “sports, by design, are not fair” (235), that “the reality of sports is that we accept unfairness all the time” (235).
Do you agree? Why? In your experience, how fair are sports? Feel welcome to add a video response in the padlet and provide an example if you’re willing. Make sure you include a screenshot of your response in your notebook.
| I agree with Katie Barnes’ assertion that “sports, by design, are not fair.” In my experience, sports inherently involve variables like access to resources, natural talent, and coaching quality, which can create significant disparities among athletes. For example, my friend who played hockey often faced gender-based inequities, such as receiving less practice time or inferior facilities compared to the boys’ teams. These systemic inequalities are widely accepted as part of sports culture, yet debates about fairness only seem to arise in discussions around issues like trans inclusion. This selective focus shows that the concept of fairness in sports is not applied consistently and is often influenced by societal biases rather than a genuine concern for equity.
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B) The Paris Olympics
Optional Response:
What does Robins mean when she argues that:
“The aims of transvestigating an Olympic athlete are not, in any meaningful sense, anything to do with sports, or fairness, or even with women (cis women, at least) as a social category. Rather, they have everything to do with transness, and the public expression of transfemininity.
For my money this has never been about sport.
What it has always been is an excuse to publicly relitigate the existence of trans women.”
Make a note in your Notebook.
| Robins argues that the focus on “transvestigating” Olympic athletes isn’t really about sports, fairness, or even protecting cisgender women. Instead, it’s a way to target and question the legitimacy of trans women and their visibility in public life. She sees these debates as less about making sports fair and more about using sports as an excuse to challenge the existence of trans women altogether. In her view, this isn’t about athletics at all—it’s about pushing back against trans inclusion and transfemininity in society.
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