2
Section One: The Fundamentals
A) History and Context
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
| In Episode 3 of the “Tested” podcast, titled “Card Carrying Females,” I was surprised to learn about the significant gender disparity in heart disease research and treatment. The episode highlights that women often experience different heart attack symptoms than men, leading to misdiagnoses and delayed treatments. Additionally, it was eye-opening to discover that women are underrepresented in clinical trials, resulting in a lack of data on how various treatments affect them specifically. This systemic bias in medical research has profound implications for women’s health outcomes.
|
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.
| A significant milestone to add to this timeline is the 1972 passage of Title IX in the United States. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal funding. Its impact on women’s sports has been profound, as it dramatically increased opportunities for female athletes in schools and colleges. This law played a critical role in fostering gender equality in sports and empowering generations of women to participate in athletics, making it a key moment in the history of gender and sports.
|
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?
| After participating in the padlet and observing the poll results, I noticed that many sports are still strongly gender-coded in the public imagination, particularly sports like football, hockey, and gymnastics. The responses confirmed my assumption that contact sports are often perceived as more “masculine,” while sports that emphasize grace and flexibility are seen as more “feminine.”
What surprised me was how some respondents pointed out the growing acceptance of women in traditionally male-dominated sports, such as boxing and weightlifting. Personally, I have not experienced constraints related to gender coding in sports, but I believe this is because societal norms around recreational sports have become more inclusive in recent years. However, at the professional level, these divisions remain prominent, reinforcing the gender binary.
|
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?
|
Sport is gendered in the popular imagination through stereotypes that associate certain sports with specific genders. Contact sports like football and hockey are seen as “masculine,” while gymnastics and figure skating are perceived as “feminine.” After participating in the padlet and reviewing the poll results, I found that many responses confirmed these assumptions. However, I was surprised by mentions of soccer and tennis becoming more gender-neutral. The increasing visibility of women in traditionally male-dominated sports and discussions around inclusivity suggest a gradual shift away from rigid gender binaries.
|
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.
| The regulations surrounding transgender athletes in women’s sports carry significant implications. As Lia Thomas mentioned, trans women represent a very small fraction of athletes, and there’s no evidence of them dominating women’s sports. The NCAA rules governing trans participation have been in place for over a decade without a noticeable competitive imbalance.
The concerns raised by athletes like Reilly Gaines about trans women taking spots from cisgender women highlight the tension between inclusivity and perceived fairness. However, the fact that fewer than 10 transgender athletes are currently competing in NCAA sports suggests that this issue is being disproportionately magnified by politicians and commentators who might not genuinely care about women’s sports. Ultimately, pushing trans athletes like Lia Thomas out of sports contradicts the principles of inclusivity and equality that Title IX was created to protect. The challenge lies in balancing fairness with the right of all athletes, regardless of gender identity, to compete.
|
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?
| I agree with Katie Barnes’ statement that “sports, by design, are not fair.” As Rose Evereth discusses in the podcast Tested, there are countless biological and circumstantial advantages that athletes benefit from, many of which have nothing to do with gender. For instance, Michael Phelps’s exceptional lung capacity, low lactic acid production, and wingspan gave him a significant edge over his competitors. Similarly, Lionel Messi’s unique muscle structure and low center of gravity contribute to his agility on the field.
These natural advantages are celebrated, yet when similar performance benefits are associated with gender, such as Caster Semenya’s naturally high testosterone levels, they are viewed as problematic. This double standard reveals how deeply gender norms are entrenched in sports regulations. In my experience, sports are inherently uneven due to genetic, socioeconomic, and training-related factors. However, these disparities are typically accepted unless they challenge rigid gender classifications. Ultimately, fairness in sports is subjective, and the current discourse highlights how societal biases shape what we perceive as fair or unfair in athletic performance.
|
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.” Athletes often benefit from natural, biological, or circumstantial advantages that have nothing to do with gender. For example, Michael Phelps’s genetic traits, like his exceptional lung capacity and low lactic acid production, gave him a significant advantage in swimming. Similarly, Usain Bolt’s muscle composition and stride length contributed to his dominance in sprinting. These advantages are accepted as part of the natural diversity of athleticism.
In my experience, sports are inherently uneven due to factors like genetics, access to resources, and training opportunities. While rules exist to create a level playing field, true fairness is difficult to achieve. The current debate surrounding transgender athletes highlights how gender-related advantages are scrutinized more than other natural traits, reflecting societal biases rather than genuine concerns about fairness. Ultimately, sports celebrate exceptional physical and mental capabilities, which often come from factors beyond an athlete’s control.
|
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.
|
|
