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Will new Olympics rules exclude or include transgender athletes?

By:   []

Date: 2021-09

While the participation in Tokyo of non-binary athletes such as American skateboarder Alana Smith and Canadian soccer player Quinn were deemed less controversial, they were also repeatedly misgendered by commentators.

“If you compare the conversation around Laurel to [that around] Quinn, the trans [women] misogyny is evident,” Mckenzie said. “It’s only trans women who are ‘unfair’ and ‘shouldn’t compete’. Quinn is [deemed] fine because cisgender women don’t necessarily support or believe in non-binary [identities].”

The Tokyo Olympics may be over, but the debate about how to build fair practices and policies for gender inclusion in sports is still raging. A recent US survey shows that more than a third of respondents believe transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete in the gender they were assigned at birth.

New rules for transgender athletes

Within the next two months, the International Olympic Committee (IOC – the governing body for the summer and winter Olympics but not the Paralympics) is set to release a new framework for transgender athletes, after admitting that its current guidelines are not fit for purpose.

Dr Richard Budgett, the IOC’s medical and science director, told The Guardian that the framework “would focus on safety as well as fairness” and allow for individual sports federations to make their own decisions. This means the rules for rugby, say, could be different from those for marathon runners.

The IOC has historically policed the “female division” of the Games in order to strictly impose the gender binary of male and female. In 1968, the committee began gender-testing women athletes to prevent “men posing as women” from participating.

In 2003, it allowed transgender athletes to compete, but trans women were required to have “sex reassignment surgery” (now known as gender affirming surgery) to qualify. Since 2015, trans women have been allowed to participate if their testosterone levels remain below a certain threshold.

Yet this requirement too is flawed. Some Black female track athletes have naturally elevated testosterone levels and would have to artificially decrease the hormone in order to qualify for certain races. A few have refused to do this – South African 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya is the most famous example. Others, including Namibian 400m runners Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi,​​ have been banned from competing.

Shiv Paul from the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), says such discussions shine a spotlight on the difficulties – and, perhaps, futility – of defining what it means to be a woman. They also expose the inherent sexism in sports; for instance, there are cases of female athletes being asked to “prove” their gender because they have a “masculine” appearance, he said.

“Sports is all about you competing at your best, in terms of whoever and whatever you naturally are, so with these debates you’re already tampering with who people are physiologically,” Paul said. “Surely that goes against sports and what the Olympics stand for.”

Such inequalities are what spurred the creation of the Gay Games, which launched in San Francisco in 1982. Featuring many of the same sports as the Olympics, the Gay Games aim to provide a platform for people of all genders and sexual orientations to compete authentically, without fear of persecution.

“Everyone talks about creating a level playing field. But actually, if competitive sports were level, it would be so boring,” said Jamie Hopper, chair of the FGG’s diversity and inclusion committee. “We love sports because of the tight edges, how you might get a Michael Phelps that will dominate. Not because people are equally pitched at each other.”

Exclusion or inclusion?

Now, the IOC is coming to terms with the fact that there are no definitive parameters for deciding whether an individual is biologically female or male. Yet for better or worse, the committee’s next steps are likely to create a ripple effect and set the bar for inclusion in competitive sports worldwide.

According to Hopper, allowing individual sports federations to decide on gender participation could potentially create more inclusion than is currently seen in elite sports. However, it could also lead to stagnation at policy level, with governing bodies not knowing where to start and therefore delaying action.

Different sports need to decide when they think it’s appropriate to separate female and male competition, and provide alternative opportunities such as “a mixed option, trans-specific option or a non-gender-defined option” when they feel they’re unable to be fully inclusive, Hopper said.

Gender sensitivity training as well as policies to prevent and manage negative behaviour – such as bullying – must also be implemented, to ensure that sport is a safe space for all, he added.

“The Olympics say it’s a human right to play sport, but they will take an exclusionary stance as opposed to an inclusive route,” Hopper said. “Some sports may be able to be more inclusive than others depending on factors around fair and safe competition. For example, newer sports like roller derby have been able to be fully inclusive.”

As governing bodies assess their gender policies, it’s essential that more transgender and non-binary people are involved in the decision-making process, Mckenzie said. The IOC, in particular, needs to take the lead on building more inclusive, fair policies, and should fund more scientific research on transgender athletes, she added.
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