Section One: The Fundamentals 

A) History and Context

Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt

In this podcast, I learned a lot of new information surrounding the issues women faced when it came to sex testing, as well as the many struggles professional athletes have experienced when it comes to DSD policies. Firstly, it is quite shocking that only females were forced to participate in sex testing if they wanted to compete in professional sports whereas men were not required to do so. It is heartbreaking how so many women had to go through such a violating experience.

On top of this, I learned that multiple scientists consistently backed up the fact that many women can be born with XX chromosomes and XY chromosomes, which in both situations still means they are female, yet the sport organization still went through with banning women with XY chromosomes from participating in their sport careers – the ones they worked so hard on their entire lives. Additionally, this represented an attack on women’s sports, especially since men were not asked to ‘prove’ their gender and participate in sex testing.

Lastly, the most shocking and unsettling information that I learned about in this podcast was the fact that we still don’t know how many women were burdened and affected by sex testing, and how many dreams and careers were stripped away from these individuals.

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.

1. Donald Trump upending an executive order to ban transgender females participating in women’s sports (NBC, 2025).

• This is a recent significant case in regard to transgender females participating in sport. Recent talk from Donald Trump has further perpetuated negative discourse around transgender athletes and diminishes the progress these athletes have made in the sport industry. His talk about ‘two genders’ has also further created harmful and negative attitudes towards the lives of transgender people. Being such a high figure in society , this only proposes an attack on transgender athletes, and does not reflect the notion of ‘protecting’ female sports.

2. #Metoo movement (2017)

• This movement revolved around women’s experiences regarding sexual harassment in the world, and sparked conversations and investigations to sexual violence and harassment in women’s sports. This was a very important and significant movement in society, and shed light on sexual harassment cases that has happened to females in the sport industry.

3. World Athletics ban transgender women from participating in female events (2023)

• On March 23rd, 2023, the World Athletics announced that transgender athletes will no longer be permitted to compete in international competitions. The reasoning stated was to protect women’s sports, when in reality it is just a discriminatory action placed on transgender athletes.

NBC News Group. (2025). After years of debate, Trump upends transgender sports landscape with the stroke of a pen. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/trump-upends-transgender-sports-landscape-stroke-pen-rcna192056

Damjanovic , J. (2023). KPE experts discuss World Athletics ban of transgender women from female events. UofT – Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education. https://kpe.utoronto.ca/faculty-news/kpe-experts-discuss-world-athletics-ban-transgender-women-female-events#:~:text=World%20Athletics%20announced%20on%20March,female%20category%20at%20international%20events

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?

Growing up, I never really felt like the gendering of sport has been a constraint on my involvement, although I am completely aware that this is not the case for everyone. Luckily, I am very grateful that I come from a supportive family who pushed and encouraged me to do any sport I wanted to do as a child and did not care about gender stereotypes that may come with certain sports. When my parents were growing up, they participated in all different kinds of sports, some of which would be considered more gendered than others in present day. My mom grew up with brothers and was equally encouraged to participate in whatever she wanted to do, whereas my dad participated in multiple sports including gymnastics, which can sometimes be stereotyped as a more ‘feminine’ sport in today’s society.

Amongst all this, I am still very understanding that many individuals do not have sufficient support and opportunities to participate in any sport they want. I am very aware that stereotypes exist within many sports, and although I experienced great support growing up, people at school still weren’t always the kindest when it came to different genders participating in sports others may not have ‘agreed’ with.

Although I have not experienced it personally, I understand that bullying can arise when individuals challenge certain gender norms that may exist within different sports. Additionally, it is particularly concerning that social media creates room for people to voice negative opinions and produces harmful impacts on any individual who just wants to participate freely in the things they enjoy. It is very sad to see how these stereotypes still persist in some individual’s minds.

D) How is sport gendered in the popular imagination?

Exercise 4: Padlet/Notebook Prompt 

In my view, popular sports are gendered in the popular imagination due to many things. Firstly, there are many stereotypes that can be associated with certain sports. For example, hockey and boxing may typically be associated with being a more ‘masculine’ sport due to stereotypical views from society, whereas gymnastics and figure skating may be looked at as a more ‘feminine’ sport from society. Secondly, the media can play a role on the perception of certain sports. Sometimes it feels like the media can show more attention to male sports rather than female sports, which can place the idea that male sports and male athletes are more important than female athletes. Lastly, popular sports may be more gendered due to the historical context that surrounds the upbringing of sports. Back in the day, sports were built for men and was discriminatory against any female participation. Although there has been substantial progress made when it comes to female sports and participation, there is no doubt that the journey to get here was a tough battle.

When participating in the polls I was not very surprised when I voted as results from my peers supported the notion that some sports are more gendered than others. My results were in line with my peers and showed that the effects of certain societal stereotypes and opinions can influence the ways people think and categorize certain sports.

Section Two: Breaking it down

A) Title IX

Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt 

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.

When reading Lia Thomas’s statement, I completely agree with her. I believe that the recent banning regarding transgender females competing in women’s sports is a direct attack on the individuals themselves and does not reflect the reasoning to protect women’s sports as a whole. I believe that when the odd time a transgender female wins, this sparks conversations that these individuals should no longer compete despite following all other rules. As Lia Thomas said, there has not been a massive wave of transgender athletes overpowering and winning in their sport. Due to this, it makes no sense as to why this would be a “protection” of female sports as a whole. it is sad to see that when a transgender female wins in a sport she trained for her whole life, it gets an excessive amount of negative attention and perpetuates harmful discourse surrounding the fairness of their involvement.

When watching the video “The Human Experience Behind Being a Transgender Athlete”, it is very unsettling and upsetting. The way that Riley Gaines uses her large social media platform and other public platforms to talk negatively about transgender athletes, reflects transphobic behaviours and perpetuates transphobic discourse. The fact that Lia Thomas only came fifth place in the race against Riley Gaines yet got an extreme amount of backlash that sparked conversations about the ban of these athletes participating in female competitions, is absurd. Additionally, it is quite bizarre that the NCAA president is aware of less than 10 transgender athletes in NCAA schools (out of 510,000), yet the ban of transgender athletes competing still persists. I believe this further shows how the ban of these athletes have nothing to do with protecting women sports but reflects more harmful actions towards transgender people.

B) Unfair Advantage?

In this podcast episode, host and writer Rose Eveleth explores the concept of ‘advantage’ in the sports world. Rose examines the case of Eero Mantyranta, an Olympic medalist skier who carried a genetic mutation that may serve as an advantage in his sport. However, rather than being criticized for his different genetic makeup then most, he is looked at as a star. This prompts Rose to question how some athlete’s biological makeup are looked over compared to others, particularly transgender female athletes, who consistently get discriminated against due to their own. Despite taking all precautions in order to compete due to policies (such as lowering testosterone levels), these athletes are still frowned upon and ineligible to compete due to their biological ‘unfair’ advantage.

Rose Eveleth makes an impactful statement and says, “we don’t divide sports by blood oxygen or fast twitch muscles, but we do divide sports by sex”. This statement highlights the significant impact of sex on the governance of sports and policies that affect certain athletes.

Other examples of a unique biological advantage in which an athlete may benefit from in sport is height. Take Usain Bolt, for instance. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches tall, this can undoubtedly help his performance by creating longer strides for himself compared to others. However, no one has questioned his biological attributes or labeled it as unfair advantage in his sport. Why is it that transgender females, who take all mandatory precautions in order to compete, are constantly brutalized and labeled as cheaters simply because of their biological makeup?

Just like Katie Barnes, I believe that sports can be unfair in multiple aspects. When reading the book, Fair Play, Barnes mentions how there is a notion that fairness means that there are equal opportunities for everyone in sport, when that is not the case (Barnes, 235). Every individual is born differently, has grown up in different areas, and may have more advantages than others. Additionally, there can be other restraints on an individual’s involvement in sports. People come from all sorts of different cultures, economic statuses, values, and may have more or less access and resources to participate in sports. With these factors, it shows how sports are inherently not fair, as an individual’s involvement in sports can look completely different than someone else’s.

An example of sports being unfair by design in another aspect can be seen in recreational sports. When children and teens play sports growing up, there can be physical advantages that other kids have over others that may even foster more opportunities for them, more playing time, and more attention.

Response:

I completely agree with your response! I really like how you mentioned how important the background of some children is when it comes to their involvement with sports, as people can have better access or limited access to different opportunities. I agree with you and think that although talent is very important, there could be two equally talented children in a sport but they both come from different financial backgrounds, which can hinder one’s resources to evolve and progress in sports if they have limited resources available to them.