Transgender Athletes
Transgenderism has become prevalence amongst athletes, more so now than ever before. Despite their internal conflict and desire to alter their gender, it is only appropriate for them to compete at their birth gender.Good afternoon, I, Robby Donnelly, and my associate, Hannah Beck, firmly oppose to the following resolution, “Resolved: If a transgender person has fully or partially transitioned, and they want to play sports, they should play on the team of the gender to which they are transitioning.” Because of the privacy laws, different levels of testosterone, and athletic advantages and disadvantages, Hannah and I disagree with this resolution.
To begin, one of our three main reasons is the effect of privacy laws. First of all, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, privacy means, “freedom from unauthorized intrusion,” (ENTER WEBSTER DICTIONARY). With that being said, with a male with the internal drive to become female is on a female sports team, the other women may feel a violation to their privacy. “A Boyertown High School student and his parents filed a federal
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lawsuit...accusing the school district of violating the student's privacy rights when he was involuntarily exposed to a female student undressing in the boys' locker room,” (LAST SOURCE). Furthermore, transgender students in non-separated locker rooms, will cause more and more conflict involving privacy laws. On the other hand, others believe that privacy laws are not important when debating this, but just think...would you, want to change before a game knowing that there is someone that is not your gender changing with you? I did not think so. Finally, privacy is one of the more valuable laws when it comes down to transgender athletes playing for their naturally born into gender. To continue, testosterone and muscle distribution are important reasons to consider when debating this topic. For instance, scientists say that transgender women participating in a female sport are producing an advantage because they still have the testosterone that males have. Additionally, just think about what athletes have to do in order to prepare for the majority of sports played; they get prepared for their sport, mainly by working out and lifting weights. With that being said, the comparison of muscles on a female and male body is a huge gap. Transgender males playing for male sports teams will be at a disadvantage, and will not be able to contribute or keep up with the rest of the team. Last, studies, all over the world, have proven that men have greater skeletal muscle than women. Therefore, furtherly exemplifying the differences in muscle and testosterone levels in men and women, will eventually show how transgenders are unfit for the gender sport they want to be a part of. Third, disadvantages and advantages occur in all sports; however, with transgender athletes participating within opposite gender sports, these advantages and disadvantages are more prevalent.
Others believe that if the transgender athletes taking testosterone pills of the other gender will negate all disadvantages and advantages during competition. On the other hand, a 17-year-old transgender boy won the women’s state wrestling tournament. There was argument over this saying that the testosterone pills she was taking to be a male was giving her an unfair advantage over the other girls. Therefore, taking testosterone pills will not contribute in abrogating these disadvantages and advantages in sports. Scientists say that transgender women participating in a female sport are producing an advantage because they still have the testosterone that males have. In the
end, Finally, because of privacy laws, testosterone and muscle distribution, and athletic disadvantages and advantages, Hannah and I firmly challenge this resolution. One last reason we have to state is that in order for any transgender to compete or play for the gender they want to transform into, they have to transform all of their old gender testosterone levels and characteristics to the other gender. In other words, they have to have hormonal surgeries. However, many transgenders are not catalysts to this and do not ever get a hormonal surgery. In the end, this is why we contradict the resolution of transgenders participating in sports with their preferred gender.
When a woman or man joins a non-traditional sport for their gender or sex, it can have drastic social and cultural costs. These impact not just the individual but also the entire community. When a person challenges the gender roles of society, then they change the perceptions of what men or women are capable of doing, they further androgynize cultural norms, and they open up sports for others.
Lots of women were not allowed to play because of their gender. “Passing an entrance exam to morehouse college allowing women to get a good education but can not play on a basketball team” (Davis 3). School’s did not allow women to play because the schools did not think that women are not athletic. “Women were not allowed to play until the 1955 when they let men play” (Davis 4). It is hard for girls because so many people were saying that girls are not athletic as guys are.
A transgender, 25 year old woman named Avery Edison travelling from London, England was detained at Pearson Airport by Canada Border Service Agency. According to her, the reason for her detention was due to an immigration issue involving her overstaying a previous student visa. Despite being identified as a female on her passport, Avery had male genitalia. Avery tweeted that she would be assessed by a nurse before being placed in a male or female cell. However, the fact that she had male genitalia resulted in her being sent to Maplehurst, Correctional Centre in Milton, Ontario which is a prison for males where Avery stayed for one night. In the article, it is stated that Avery had concerns regarding potential sex attacks towards her in the
Women and men play various sports because they as Americans want to experience the excitement of playing for fun, and doing something they love. The idea of what men and women can do for fun in sports has been shaped by the American society in many different ways through the media, schooling and education, and professional sports organizations. America portrays women playing field hockey and doing synchronized swimming while men do boxing, and body building. If a woman chooses to do boxing because to her it is fun and if a man chooses synchronized swimming because he likes it, they face many cultural costs and benefits of choosing this sport. Society does not like change and holds female athletes up to ideals such as being beautiful, graceful, and healthy. Male athletes are held to ideals such as strong, aggressive, and powerful. People who choose to play non-traditional sports risk being judged by society as unnatural and homosexual, instead of being viewed as an athlete who is special and unique, they are often subjected to unwanted sexual advances and assumptions. The benefit of doing an untraditional sport is that you are able to do something you love. As a result of people who do non-traditional sports, they open the doors for future generations of women and men who might want do play an non-traditional sport.
Her ideas challenged my previous opinion in that I believed that in order for a transgender athlete to play for their non-biological sex was solely to undergo a complete sex. Prior to researching this topic, I was unaware of other methods such as hormone therapy that were available to transgender athletes. Through Castillo’s informative article, I was able to understand that other options are available in order to maintain the fairness and equality throughout athletics. While Castillo argues that transgender athletes must complete at least one year of hormone therapy, Canadian Blogger, Keph Senett, argues otherwise. In her essay, “Where Do Transgender Athletes Fit Into Sports?” which was published in newsletter Matador Network, Senett argues that transgender athletes must complete a full sex change before even considering competing for the opposite sex. Senett’s article did not add much more to my original opinion, nor did it challenge it in any
It goes without saying that a person's gender, racial and social origins influence their participation in sports. Particular races and genders often dominate certain sports. African Americans, for example, tend to dominate football and basketball, while Caucasians tend to dominate ice hockey. The same holds true for gender as well. Football is an entirely male dominated sport, while horseback riding, gymnastics and figure skating are much more female oriented. How and why did these divisions come about? Determining the origin of gender goes beyond the scope of this paper, however one can speculate about how gender classifications and stereotypes affect one's role in the sports arena.
Transgendered people in America have made many great strides since the 1990s. They have encountered violence, lack of health care, and the loss of homes, jobs, family and friends. There have been many phases of the struggle of being transgendered in America over the years. The current phase we must be in now is equal rights. There are many variations of discrimination against the transgendered community. In our society we simply do not like what we do not understand. It is easier to discriminate than to try and understand. We are all created different and we should appreciate our differences. The change must come by addressing the views of the public. There is much justification in the unequal rights of transgendered peoples. The Human Rights Campaign has been started to achieve equal rights for all Americans including the LGBQ community. A serious injustice is in the world of sports. Professional sports are one of societies major traditions totally based on rules and regulations that are meant to preserve the integrality of the games, but may not be inclusive to all its players.
Women have forever had this label on their back of being too small, too weak, too feminine, and too boring. The traditional gender roles of the female interfere with the extortionate nature of competing in sports. Men are usually the ones to go 100% and give whatever they got, and to show masculinity while doing it. The standard masculinity of being strong, smart, and taking charge over dues the feminine traits of being soft, gentle, and polite. That’s what society has taught us to learn and accept. But the traditional female gender role is diminished when participating in athletics and people may think it’s weird to see females compete at the same level as males do. Men have always had the upper hand in the professional, collegian, and high
Today more than any other time period, equality has become a hot topic for discussion. One of the major topic is, should women be allowed to compete with men in sports on the same or opposing teams. Due to a lot of differences in physical characteristics, sporting interest, and economic considerations; it’s not a good idea to bring teams consisting of both genders together. To begin with, we have to question whether there’s even a want from the general public for girls being allowed to play on boys’ sports teams. Very few athletes in sports are barely even bothered about the fact women can’t play on male sport teams. If there’s no true desire to combine the teams, it only makes sense to not try a force unneeded change.
Gender in sports has been a controversial issue ever since sports were invented. In the early years, sports were played only by the men, and the women were to sit on the sidelines and watch. This was another area of life exemplifying the sexism of people in which women were not allowed to do something that men could. However, over the last century in particular, things have begun to change.
In the world of sports it started off that girls could never play sports and then in 1972 a public law called Title IX came to existence which allowed girls to play sports but not with boys. Today the question is asked should girls play on boys’ sports teams? One would think that girls should not play with boys on a sports team because boys are just naturally taller and stronger than women and they would dominate the girls in a fully contact sport. Another may think that if a girl is truly capable to play on an all boys’ sports team, then she should not be denied the opportunity to try out for an all boys’ team. Some other people may believe that sports at younger ages should remain co-ed because boys and girls body types are still similar, but once boys and girls are in high school sports should separate based on gender. Females and Males are equal but not in physical stature, having a girl on an all boys team will negatively change the dynamics/flow of a game, having the best girl player on an all boy’s team will hurt the girls’ sports teams. So sports should strictly stay separated between males and females.
Many people in society argue about the unfairness of transgenders competing in sports. Transgenders should be able to be on the sports team that matches their gender identity with medical documents proving they have gender dysmorphia. Many other athletes would argue that transgenders being able to compete in sports is unfair. A transgender woman who has higher levels of testosterone than the other women might seem to have an advantage over the other female athletes. Transgender women might have a little bit of an advantage, but they truly feel as if they are women, so they should be able to compete as women.
In summary, Despite opponents argue, fans want to see thunderous dunks and incredible athleticism over the lesser abilities of females, male competitions is more intense and there is more at risk, and male driven associations produce more revenue than female driven associations. It is apparent that male and females are built differently therefore they have different abilities, females go through the same types of events and often have more on the line, and female athletics aren 't given the same recognition or praise. Then, maybe one day female will receive the same amount of pay as their male counterparts. As, Vera Nazarian once implied, “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”
In response to watching the Women’s World Cup this summer, I read how the World Cup female soccer players were treated differently than the males. After the US Women’s team won the tournament the won $2 million for the team to split and the men whom got knocked out the in their second game were awarded $4 million dollars. It got me wondering how deep does this unfair treatment and sexism go in sports, especially soccer. After much research, I now know that…
For most of human history, athletic competition has been regarded as an exclusively masculine affair. Women weren't aloud to watch most sporting events let alone participate in them. Not till late 19th century did women really begin participating in sporting events. Although women were permitted to participate in many sports, relatively few showed interest, for a variety of social and psychological reasons that are still poorly understood. Title IX declares: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Therefore sex should not deem females athletic ability as inferior in comparison to men. Women are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of playing any sport just as men are.