Transgender Individuals In Sports Essay

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The topic I choose to reflect on was the subject regarding transgender and intersex individuals in sports. Such a topic caught my attention the most because it really opened my eyes as to what these particular individuals have to go through just to compete in a sport they enjoy. I also enjoyed the reading by Pat Griffin “Ain’t I a Woman?” due to its detailed descriptions of occurrences between transgender individuals and sports. Griffin also includes the common misconceptions of transgender individuals playing in teams opposite to their birth gender and challenges them directly, without showing any sympathy. In relation to this topic, I have always been exposed to the ‘issue’ about transgender individuals competing in the Olympics and I would …show more content…

Griffin in the reading disputes the argument of gender being an advantage in sports and begins to list all other advantages that one can have that could put them in the lead compared to others. These advantages consist of the environment individuals grew up, their economic class, their overall health, and their exposure to a certain sport. All these advantages opened my eyes because I never really thought how much more important these factors are and with these in mind, I realized that gender is hardly an advantage, it is simply a label people use to categorize themselves into a team. Someone who grew up in a wealthy home, with supporting parents to pursue a career in athletics has a much higher advantage over someone who may not have had access or support to practice their desired sport. Now, these scenarios are real advantages that could make a game or event unfair, so why are they not highly stigmatized or argued about compared to when it comes to transgender individuals? The answer is obvious, and it is because people have socially constructed norms that they refuse to leave behind. They refuse to accept something that they do not agree with or understand, such as someone wanting to identify with another gender other than their birth-assigned

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