2
Section One: The Fundamentals
A) History and Context
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
| The most surprising facet of this module that stood out to me was the concept of nude parades as I had never heard of such a thing. The fact that they made female athletes looking to partake in championships walk in a line naked in front of a panel of sports officiants that’s sole purpose was to judge them based on their bodies if they were considered female or male. Not only is that disgusting, but also so violating. Our history of discrimination and hatred never fails to amaze me I’m learning. |
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.
| I believe an important addition to the timeline would be that of Ewa Klobukowska, a Polish sprinter who participated in the 1966 European Athletics Championships. During this championship, the first sex testing took place: women were asked to participate in an examination – conducted visually by a panel of three female doctors – of their genitals, also known as a “naked parade”. Ewa was the first athlete banned from competing for failing the sex verification test, although it came out afterwards that the results were inaccurate. This disqualification ended her career, as this news was spread throughout the media. |
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?
| Personally, the gendering of sport has not been a constraint on my involvement. When I was younger I participated in dance (ballet, lyrical) and taekwondo. Since many various types of dance are societally viewed as “feminine” or “meant for girls”, I was not discouraged from joining. This being said, there weren’t many boys in my class as I took it at such a young age so a conversation about this might have been beneficial to help me understand that this was not just a “girl’s” sport. With tae kwon do, my parents signed me up with a male friend of mine and I had no anxieties as there were some other girls in the class as well. I also believe my parents would not let something like the gendering of sports be a reason to keep me from joining, as they have always been very neutral when it comes to sports. Anything that we wanted to participate in they would let us without question, which is something I have grown to truly appreciate. |
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?
| MMA: neutral
Javelin: neutral Hockey: male Cricket: neutral Racing (motorsports): male Martial arts: neutral Boxing: neutral 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 Volleyball: female Powerlifting: neutral Basketball: male Soccer: neutral Football: male Reflection: My responses and the polling figures in general confirm assumptions about gender-coding and sports. I was more surprised at my own answers, especially when I answered with “male” or “female”, as I know people of both genders personally that play each sport or have played at one time. This should make the association neutral, however I believe I consider the gender association that society has put in place when thinking about each sport individually. I was not surprised that when I had an answer that confirmed gender association, that majority of others voted the same way. |
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.
| Having reviewed contrasting perspectives on this topic before, I understand the concerns this may have. However, I personally agree with what Leah Thomas states. I have decided to look at this debate from a few perspectives: human rights and social justice, thus cultivating a supportive perspective. Thomas was correct in saying that there is little evidence of trans women dominating in sports or removing opportunities for cisgender women. It is also important to consider that in varying countries, gender identity is a protected right thus meaning that denying trans women the opportunity to partake in female sports could be seen as a violation of that right, while also being discriminatory in nature. By advocating for the inclusion of trans women in sports, we would be working towards greater gender equality and social justice as these women are heavily marginalized; we would be able to go against larger forms of inequality through advocating, allowing us to challenge the broader issues as well. I believe that sports should be inclusive always, and I understand that a common point against trans inclusion in sports is the claim that these women maintain a significant advantage and opportunities are being taken away from cisgender women, however I believe opportunities are taken away from trans individuals every day in varying aspects of their lives. |
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 made an amazing point that challenges the idea that trans women maintain unfair advantages in women’s sports, one that I had not previously considered but makes a lot of sense. In sum, she said the perfect athlete is made up of varying elements of athletic advantage. Some of these would be time and money, or determination, or body proportions, or even erythropoietin receptor and ACT-3. There are many examples of individuals with more time and money than others, who can hire top trainers and spend every day practicing. There are also examples of those who possess genetic mutations like erythropoietin receptor that allow for more oxygen to be carried in the blood which ultimately aids in aerobic exercise. Another great question she posed and answered was “But why is it that some kinds of biological advantages are fine, and others require a whole new rule to be written to remove the alleged advantage? The answer to this question, according to those in favour of regulations, is simple. We don’t divide sports by blood oxygen or fast twitch muscles, but we do divide sports by sex. And so, these folks argue, advantages that might be connected to sex are fair game” (Eveleth, 2024). Another example of an athlete that has benefitted due to a unique biological or circumstantial advantage would be Usain Bolt. Usain has a greater proportion of what are known as fast twitch muscle fibres than the average man. He has 80% fast twitch muscle fibres and 50% slow twitch, putting him at a speed 99.9% faster than those of the general population. |
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 do agree with Katie Barnes on this subject, as I believe sports are not always fair. One facet of unfairness that I have noticed personally is that of early specialization. Growing up, my parents struggled financially, meaning that when and if we partook in sports was situational and sometimes not a constant in our lives. I had to quit dance when I was young, and when I was able to rejoin again in grade eight, I quickly realized that I was not at the same level as majority of my peers. I did not have that flexibility that was required or the coordination, as it was not something I had practiced since I was four. I tried my hardest, but the girls in my class had all been in the same class since they were in kindergarten, being trained at the same studio. I was very, very far behind them and this ruined my experience as I felt ridiculous. Being as there was one instructor, she could not spend the extra time I required helping me catch up on years of learning and adapting. Another example of this is my brother, who loves hockey very much. He has never played on a team but has played recreationally and has always had a passion for it. When my parents suggested and encouraged him to join a team in grade nine, he refused because he did not start at the age that all of his friends did. He said he would be behind and it was too late for him to catch up. This fear prevented him from joining at all. |
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.
| I believe that what Robins means when she says this is relating back to the concept of the last prompt in the responses that Katie Barnes provided. Sports have never been fair, by design. So why now, when trans women want to join sports, and there are many athletes with unfair advantages of varying kinds of their own, does it matter so much for sports to be fair? Why are these other advantages not being investigated? Because society does not like transgender peoples, in fact, society has made a point to oppress them. Taking one look at the regression of America right now, this point is more evident than ever. |