2
Section One: The Fundamentals
A) History and Context
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
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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.
| One significant milestone I would add is:
1977 – Renée Richards wins the right to compete in women’s tennis After being disqualified from the U.S. Open because of sex verification testing, transgender woman Richards filed a challenge against the United States Tennis Association (USTA). She was granted permission to compete by a New York Supreme Court decision, which was a significant turning point in the struggle for transgender inclusion in sports and established a standard for discussions on gender and athletic eligibility in the future. I feel this is important because it questioned strict gender stereotypes and established the first legal framework for transgender participation in sports. Future discussions on fairness and inclusion were shaped by her victory, which compelled sports organizations to reevaluate their sex verification and athlete eligibility policies. |
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?
| My involvement has not been limited by the gendering of sport because I only played volleyball in elementary school. Boys and girls were encouraged to play and compete together in volleyball, which was a fairly inclusive sport in this context. Because teamwork and skill development are prioritized over strict gender divisions in school sports, everyone had the chance to participate without facing major obstacles. I did not feel constrained by the sport’s traditional gendered expectations because I was a part of an environment that valued enjoyment and involvement. |
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?
| Martial arts: male
Boxing: Male Golf: Neutral Dance: Female Netball: Female Surfing: Neutral (historically male, but shifting) Figure skating: Female Tennis: Neutral Rugby: Male Swimming: Neutral Baseball: Male Cheerleading: Female Softball: Female Gymnastics: Female Hockey: Male Volleyball: Female Basketball: Male Powerlifting: Male Soccer: Neutral Football: Male The majority of these answers are consistent with dominant gender norms, which code sports that emphasize grace or flexibility (dance, figure skating, gymnastics) as feminine and physically aggressive or high-contact sports (boxing, rugby, football) as male. Neutral categories, such as tennis and swimming, indicate that certain sports have greater gender integration. One surprising aspect is the shift towards neutrality in surfing and soccer, which reflects changing cultural perceptions and increases women’s visibility in these fields. |
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.
| Since trans women make up a small percentage of athletes and there is not much proof that they are controlling women’s sports in a way that goes against the grain, Leah Thomas’ statement seems reasonable. The worry may be more motivated by political and media agendas than by any real threat to the integrity of women’s sports, given that NCAA regulations have been in place for more than ten years without causing significant disruption. This idea is further supported by the image that suggests the issue is exaggerated by politicians and influencers who do not prioritize women’s sports, as it seems that the discussion is more about fueling alienating narratives than it is about addressing real concerns about equity or athletic participation. |
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 explores the nuanced issues surrounding what qualifies as an “unfair” advantage in professional sports. She looks at the background and effects of sex testing in sports, emphasizing how some physiological characteristics—often perceived as “masculine”—can improve performance. Eveleth talks about how these characteristics are occasionally used to disqualify female athletes, which raises concerns about fairness and the standards by which it is defined.
Additional instances of special biological or contextual elements that have greatly benefited athletes include:
These instances demonstrate how athletes may have distinct advantages that are not gender-related, but they are typically acknowledged as a natural aspect of human physiology’s diversity. This brings up significant issues regarding fairness and the standards by which it is defined in sports. |
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.
| Sports are inherently unfair due to a variety of factors, including physical differences, training opportunities, resource availability, and even chance. Despite the regulations in place to ensure fairness, athletes who have access to better coaching, facilities, and nutrition, for instance, frequently have an advantage. Individual differences can also offer advantages that are not always viewed as unfair, such as natural talent or physical characteristics (e.g., height, muscle mass, VO2 max). Sports, in my experience, are frequently only as equitable as the structures that oversee them. Even if regulations are put in place to promote equality of opportunity, outside influences will always affect the level playing field. For instance, even if both athletes train equally, someone with a natural body type that is appropriate for a particular sport may have a significant advantage. reply: I completely agree with your points. For many athletes, particularly at the youth level, the structural disparities you highlighted—such as access to resources, travel expenses, and the influence of socioeconomic status—create a major obstacle. These outside variables can restrict an athlete’s chances even if they possess the talent and motivation, demonstrating that sports fairness is not solely dependent on an individual’s ability or effort. As you pointed out, bias and sponsorship are major factors in an athlete’s success at the professional level, which makes the idea of fairness even more challenging. Your observation regarding unconscious biases in coaching is particularly significant because it illustrates how ingrained societal problems like racism and sexism can affect even the most seemingly impartial choices, like choosing a team. Sports may be framed as meritocratic, but the system contains numerous layers of unfairness. |
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.
| In this passage, Robins argues that the emphasis on “transvestigating” (the examination of trans women’s bodies in sports) is not genuinely about fairness in athletics or the protection of cis women’s spaces, but rather serves as a vehicle for larger societal debates about trans identity. She claims that the true motivation for such investigations is not a concern for sports or gender equality, but rather part of a larger cultural and political attack on the existence and legitimacy of transgender women. The underlying goal of framing these cases as an “unfair advantage” or a threat to women’s sports is to call into question the recognition and inclusion of trans women in society as a whole, particularly in terms of transfeminity. Essentially, she claims that the issue has been co-opted to perpetuate transphobia rather than addressing genuine concerns about competition and fairness. |
