I was extremely surprised to learn about the long history of the inequalities female athletes have faced. Though I have been aware of the discrimination and unjust treatment they have faced, I was oblivious to the fact that it has gone on since at least 1896. I was also very unaware that women did not compete across the board in Olympic sports until 2012- that is just over 10 years ago, WOW!

I was also surprised to learn that there is no history of men being subject to the same scrutiny that female athletes are subject to. I do see the validity behind ensuring that men do not compete in women’s sports, as men can have very different biological makeups that would give them an advantage, however, to subject women only to such scrutiny was very surprising to me. This highlighted how discrimination and inequality for women in sports is nothing new, and how not much has changed since the late 1800s.

However, I feel that a lot of this only scratched the surface of the inequalities female athletes face. The history of women’s rights runs deep, and I would be curious to learn more about how this ties into the discrimination of women in sports. Does it stem from historical slander against women? What advocacy was provided for female athletes in the late 1800s? What was the turning point? As we see now, there are many groups and leagues that advocate for the fairness and equality of women in the space of sport, but I am sure this was not always the case.

One major milestone I would have added to the timeline is women competing in/ attempting to compete in men’s competition sports from 1896 to 2012. This perseverance from female athletes was essentially what granted the ability for women to have their own sex classes in competition sports rather than integrated classes.

I would have also added a segment for this decade that depicts the moral panic that politicians and media have placed on transgendered athletes and women’s sports. Specifically, I would highlight the political need to pin transgender athletes as wanting to take over women’s sports, and how transgender inclusion has sparked anti-trans legislation in sports.

Finally, I would add a section for some additional background information that fills in the void period between 1896 and 2012. Though there were some female athletes in competitive sports at this time, what sports they were competing in, what “verification” were they subject to before 1968, and how many women made up that 2% of athletes in the Athen’s Olympics?

I feel that I have never felt constrained by the gendering of sports for multiple reasons. Since I was young and all the way through high school, I participated in what I now know are considered to be hyperfeminine sports. I was a dancer, then a gymnast, and throughout high school, a cheerleader. As someone who presented as female, was given the female gender at birth, and continued and still do continue to identify as female, I fit into these spaces without question. I was not scrutinized for, for lack of a better word, stepping out of line and into a sport that was not feminine. Though I did have thoughts of trying sports that are coded more masculine, like hockey or basketball, I attributed my place in these hyperfeminine sports as a result of my female features: small stature, dainty, feminine in nature- traits you see in professional athletes in these sports. Should I have been more of a tomboy and tried to find my footing in said hyperfeminine sports or taken myself as I was and tried to find myself a place in hypermasculine sports, I feel that this would have led to constraint by the gendering of sports. However, since I did not challenge the societal standards for sport, I feel that I never had to worry about facing any sort of constraint.

Gendered sports vote:

Martial arts- male

Boxing- male

Golf- male

Dance- female

Netball- female

Surfing- neutral

Figure skating- female

Tennis- neutral

Rugby- neutral

Swimming- neutral

Baseball- male

Cheerleading- female

Softball- female

Gymnastics- female

Hockey- male

Volleyball- female

Basketball- male

Power lifting- male

Soccer- neutral

Football- male

I was not surprised to see the results of the polls, and I felt that most students share the same view on how sports are gendered that I do. Speaking again to the idea of hyperfeminine and hypermasculine sports, both the polls and my response showed that this very well seems to be how society views these sports. For example, we saw that for dance and cheerleading, not a single vote was given to males. In boxing and martial arts, no votes were given to females. I was surprised to see that there were quite a few sports that ranked high in neutral, and they were the sports that I also voted neutral for. I believe that this shows how society, without even realizing it, conforms to the gender coding of sport. We associate the genders and traits of athletes with specific sports and further gender code them by reinforcing the idea that these traits are what make the athletes successful in their sport. For example, the idea is that females excel in dance and cheerleading because they are typically smaller, while males excel in martial arts and football because they are attributed to having larger frames and high muscle density.

As Barne’es discussed in her book, whether we realize it or not, we have a predisposed understanding of sports and the role that gender and sexuality play in them. I believe that these Padlet responses are a reflection of exactly this. We see males associated with hypermasculine sports and females associated with hyperfeminine, and while we may not intend to marginalize these categories and associate genders with them, we subconsciously do.

I do agree with Lia’s statement, as the presence of trans women in sports has been around for many years, and despite this, they continue to take up only a very small minority of all athletes. While we have not seen a surge in dominance over women by transgender athletes, we also have not seen uproar surrounding a win from a transgender athlete the way we did after Lia’s win against Riley Gaines. There is a longstanding history that allows the participation of transgender women in sports, including major leagues of sports such as the Olympics. And still, we have not seen in any league (not just college level) a surge in wins from trans athletes. In the interview, Lia briefly discussed her transition using hormonal therapy, and how she did it for herself, not for her sport. This is the case for many, if not all, athletes that subject themselves to this intensive therapy in order to achieve gender affirmation. The accusations that she had transitions for the sole purpose of winning are absurd and aimed to wreak havoc rather than bring fairness, considering she had competed in swimming since the age of five.

Yes, I do believe that because of the extensive history and stigma that accompanies the topic of transgender individuals, the topic of trans participation in sports could very well have been brought to light and grasped by the hands of politicians that blew it out of proportion. Politicians and influencers who care more about political agendas would be able to use the topic of Lia’s win as a highly charged way to create and further division rather than create conversation about inclusion and fairness. Ultimately, those who did use such topics as politically charged topics

I agree that sports by design are not fair. Many sports utilize the natural advantages that athletes are born with, which subsequently hinders the participation of any athlete that does not possess the desired biological traits. For example, basketball favours athletes with above average height, and those that do not meet a general height requirement typically do not excel in higher competitive levels. Separate from biological factors, sports are a costly extracurricular activity that many do not have the means to access. While recreational or intramural may be more affordable than other leagues, competitive and professional sports cost significant amounts of money to play in. On top of registration fees, athletes in this level of sport are required to pay for high-level training and coaching, top-of-the-line equipment, sufficient diet and nutrition, and the ability to prioritize sport over other typical day-to-day necessities such as working.

In my experience, sports at any level are not fair. Beginning in elementary school sports, you see physical advantages between athletes. Some have natural biological advantages such as height or muscle mass, and others have advantages that come with adolescence such as reaching puberty at a younger age. As you grow and sports are no longer free or at reduced costs, you lose the ability to participate in recreational sports unless you are able to afford them. Come time for competitive sport or professional level, you see the disadvantages that genetics and physical advantages bring as well as the barriers that accessibility and funding bring. To excel or simply participate in these leagues, you must possess a sufficient physical build or have the right physical traits, as well as the funding to support your participation.

Response:

I really enjoyed the example you provided! I feel that we very often see the disadvantages that phenomenal athletes are subject to, not because of their disadvantage in physical or genetic traits, but because they lack the necessary funding to continue to pursue their sport. While an athlete can participate in recreation levels for many years, the cost increases as age does, and once they are ready to move into competitive or professional leagues they must have the funding to support not only just the sport, but all of the added expenses that accompany it- travel time and costs, equipment, nutrition, etc. I agree that this is a huge economic barrier for athletes and that it creates an unfair advantage between social classes. Though we see more grants being given to athletes, it is not nearly enough to bridge the unfair advantage that upper class athletes have over lower class ones.

I believe that in Robin’s statement, they are making the point that the penalizing of Olympic athletes, specifically Imane Khelif in the instance of the article, has more to do with the public’s perception and discomfort with transgender women and women in sport than with the competitive equity of the game. The backlash against the athlete with absolutely no proof of her being transgender proves this.  The individuals causing an uproar about the speculation that Imane is transgender come from those that have no true care about sport, equality, or the integrity of athletes but instead come from a place of transphobia. While the many ‘far-right’ individuals who took part in the charged debates claimed their opinions stemmed from a place of compassion for biologically female athletes, it is more likely they knew little about sport and used it as an opportunity to belittle the transgender community.

The statement that it has never been about sport is backed by the dismissal of the issue of Canadian women’s team when caught cheating, yet the unproven assumption that an athlete is transgender is cause for chaos. Robin notes that in Imane’s home country, being transgender is illegal, yet the speculation brought unimaginable amounts of slander to the athlete. This proves that the topic of transgender individuals and transgender women in sport specifically is one that can be contorted into a politically fuelled debate to further the divide between women assigned female at birth and transgender females. Such speculation was used as a political opportunity to cast doubt on the legitimacy of transgender women and their so-called advantage over biological women.