2
Section One: The Fundamentals
A) History and Context
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
| Something I learned throughout this module was about the sex and chromosome testing in general. I was aware that it was something that had happened in the past but I did not know that the procedures were so invasive. As mentioned in the podcast, Maximila explained her experience in with the test and how brutally invasive and exploiting it was, not to mention how confused and scared she was because nothing was explained to her about what was going on or why. Also, as mentioned near the end of the episode, they did not have legitimate probable cause or reasoning to be doing the tests in the first place. It was somewhat surprising that they only really did the tests when a woman didn’t look “womanly” enough or that others thought the women were performing too well in their specialty sport.
Another thing from the episode that I found interesting was that people feared the idea of men sneaking into women’s sports as a way to cheat and win when the testing was starting but it is also a suspicion people have now. When the Olympics were happening, I heard and read many stories about how men were going to lie about being transgender so that they can be on the women’s teams and win all the medals. I mainly found it interesting how the fear and global panic that was happening then is still happening now and it is about the exact same issues.
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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.
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To this timeline, I would add that in 2023 the World Athletics Council receded back to the more strict rules in regards to trans women and athletes with Differences in Sexual Development. They said that unless they had not experienced male puberty, they could compete in the female category but if they had, they were removed from competing. I think this is an important aspect to include because it represents how influential moral panic can be and how easy it is for people to forget the past and ignorantly move repeat history.
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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?
| Growing up, I only ever played soft ball and volley ball in elementary school, however, I was a competitive dancer for about 6 years. Being a cis female, I never felt that the gendering of dance had a direct constraint on my involvement, however I did witness many people making comments about any cis male that was on our team. They would constantly get called gay or worse slurs, to which parents would get involved and shut down any rumours, but I have no found that the gendering of sports has been a constraint for me directly.
I think this could be because I was a tougher young girl and people would not typically make comments about dance to me. But, it also might have been because I fit the stereotype of the people that would be involved in dance so there was nothing out of the “norm” to be said. Same with when I played volley ball, I was good at the sport so no one had anything particularly negative to me. Finally, when I was on the softball team, I was okay at the sport, but I was really only on as a sub so they could have enough people for the tournaments. |
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?
| After answering and reading those of others, I was not very surprised about the votes. As the assignment was to say what we think the majority population would say, I would expect the answers that were seen. Although I think most of us took a very historic approach to the votes, I believe that in today’s society the votes would generally be less binary and reveal more “neutral” responses.
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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 partially agree with the statement. I agree that trans women in who compete in women’s sports are not threatening anything but I disagree with the rationale that it is because they are a small minority. I think it is because it has been more publicized and by people in media trying to find a cause to “support” in the public eye. I think that the photo reinforces this idea because politicians and influencers constantly promote and show support for movements and companies even if they go against their actual belief system or because they are paid to do so. This not to say all influencers and politicians do this or that they are always falsely promoting these movements, however, there have been many scandals that I have seen online to do with people posting one thing and then getting caught doing the opposite. I feel like this is somewhat similar to what is happening with the people that are coming out and speaking on the topic of trans women in women’s sports.
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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?
| In the podcast episode, Rose Eveleth seems to focus on the “protected categories” that exist within sport and how the “professionals” define who can/is a part of those categories. The topic of the unfair advantage presents itself as a point of view of a certain group of people in which belittles anyone different than the majority. These people that are affected are the DSD athletes who are openly being discriminated against because of their innate biology and the fact that they are succeeding while being seen as different.
In terms of unique biological advantages that athletes benefit from while having nothing to do with gender, aspects such as wingspan, height, bone structure, or weight come to mind. As mentioned in the podcast, swimmers arm length help them tremendously but is not considered an unfair advantage.
In terms of circumstantial advantages, athletes with better coping skills and mental preparation could be seen as having an advantage over those who do not. This is not even mentioned in the podcast or reading but in my opinion could still be seen as an advantage.
These advantages, though viewed as unfair through the eyes of certain people, are not necessarily truly unfair, they are just innate benefits some people have, and other do not. |
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.
| The design of sport is to have a level playing field. The people that change the rules, regulations, misconduct, and many other aspects are what makes the unfairness. Sport as an overarching title can mean anything from a kid’s soccer game to the Super Bowl, either way there are different stakes, rules, expectations, that make it unfair and thus, unjust. The higher the stakes, the more likely it is going to be for someone to take the time to find reasons why it is unfair and create regulations that need to be met in order to keep certain people out of the game. I believe it is true that sport is unfair and that the majority just accepts it but, I also think that those who do not agree with it and does not accept it are the ones that are trying to speak out about the unfairness but being shut down because they have to fight the majority. I think the idea of sports is to be fair but once someone seems to win “too much” or by an amount someone thinks is due to unfair advantages, then they become unfair and people are expected to ignore it and move on.
My comment on other’s post: I agree with your comment, specifically the point about how fairness in sport is similar to that of life. I like how you incorporated the idea that some people are just better at recognizing and utilizing their innate skill and biological advantages. It is not about what is fair and just, but more so the extent to which people are going to accept the reality that certain people were afforded certain opportunities and resources. |
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.
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