Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport While efforts to include gay and lesbian athletes in competitive sport have received significant attention, it is only recently that we have begun examin- ing the experiences of transgender athletes in competitive sport. This book represents the first comprehensive study of the challenges that transgender athletes face in competitive sport; and the challenges they pose for this sex- segregated institution. Beginning with a discussion of the historical role that sport has played in preserving sex as a binary, the book examines how gender has been policed by policymakers within competitive athletics. It also considers how transgender athletes are treated by a system predicated on separating males from females, consequently forcing transgender athletes to negotiate the system in coercive ways. The book not only exposes our culture’s binary thinking in terms of both sex and gender, but also offers a series of thought- provoking and sometimes contradictory recommendations for how to make sport more hospitable, inclusive and equitable. Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport is important reading for all students and scholars of the sociology of sport with an interest in the rela- tionship between sport and gender, politics, identity and ethics. Eric Anderson is Professor of Sport, Masculinities and Sexualities at the University of Winchester, UK. He holds four degrees, has published 17 books, over 60 peer-r eviewed articles, and is regularly featured in inter- national television, print and digital media. Professor Anderson is recog- nized for research excellence by the British Academy of Social Sciences and is a fellow of the International Academy of Sex Research. His work shows a decline in cultural homohysteria and promotes inclusive attitudes toward openly gay, lesbian and bisexual athletes as well as a softening of hetero- sexual masculinities. Ann Travers is Associate Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser Univer- sity, Canada. She has published two books, 13 peer- reviewed articles, and is a regular presenter at conferences relating to sport, embodiment and sociology more generally. She has received over $200,000 in funding for her research relating to sport and gender and transgender issues in sport. Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society 72 Sport and Discrimination 79 International Sports Edited by Daniel Kilvington and Volunteering John Price Edited by Angela M. Benson and Nicholas Wise 73 Seeking the Senses in Physical Culture 80 Football Fans, Rivalry and Sensual scholarship in action Cooperation Edited by Andrew C. Sparkes Edited by Christian Brandt, Fabian Hertel and 74 The Role of the Professional Sean Huddleston Football Manager Seamus Kelly 81 The Feminization of Sports Fandom 75 The Rugby World in the A Sociological Study Professional Era Stacey Pope Edited by John Nauright and Tony Collins 82 Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport 76 Sport and English National Edited by Eric Anderson and Identity in a ‘Disunited Ann Travers Kingdom’ Edited by Tom Gibbons and 83 Sport and Militarism Dominic Malcolm Contemporary global perspectives 77 Phenomenology and the Edited by Michael L. Butterworth Extreme Sport Experience Eric Brymer and Robert Schweitzer 84 Sport, Community Regeneration, Governance 78 Lifestyle Sports and Public and Development Policy A comparative global Edited by Daniel Turner and perspective Sandro Carnicelli Rory Shand Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport Edited by Eric Anderson and Ann Travers First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Eric Anderson and Ann Travers The right of Eric Anderson and Ann Travers to be identified as the authors of the editorial matter, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-23563-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-30427-4 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear Contents List of illustrations viii List of contributors ix Introduction 1 ERIC ANDERSON AND ANN TRAVERS PART I Individual stories of transgender sporting experiences 11 1 Advantage Renée? Renée Richards and women’s tennis 13 LINDSAY PARKS PIEPER 2 My name is Jay, I transitioned and I’m a disabled young athlete 23 JAY ANONYMOUS 3 Becoming me: transitioning, training and surgery 32 RILEY MCCORMACK AND MAYLON HANOLD PART II Research into transgender sporting experiences 41 4 An introduction to five exceptional trans athletes from around the world 43 KINNON MACKINNON vi Contents 5 Between stigmatization and empowerment: meanings of physical activity and sport in the lives of transgender people 54 AGNES ELLING AND KIKI COLLOT D’ESCURY 6 Athletes’ perceptions of transgender eligibility policies applied in high- performance sport in Canada 68 SARAH TEETZEL 7 Sport and physical exercise among Spanish trans persons 80 VICTOR MANUEL PEREZ SAMANIEGO, SOFÍA PEREIRA- GARCÍA, ELENA LOPEZ- CAÑADA AND JOSÉ DEVÍS-DEVÍS 8 Honesty and discipline: identity management of transgender netballers 90 BRENDON TAGG 9 The experiences of female- to-male transgender athletes 103 MARK F. OGILVIE 10 Media accounts of the first transgender person to work in the English Premier League 116 RORY MAGRATH PART III When policy and identity clash 129 11 Subjective sex: science, medicine and sex tests in sports 131 VANESSA HEGGIE 12 Including transgender students in United States’ school- based athletics 143 HELEN J. CARROLL 13 Transgender athletes in elite sport competitions: equity and inclusivity 156 ERIC VILAIN, JONATHAN OSPINA BETANCURT, NEREIDA BUENO- GUERRA AND MARIA JOSE MARTINEZ- PATIÑO Contents vii PART IV Challenging the system 171 14 From transsexuals to transhumans in elite athletics: the implications of osteology (and other issues) in levelling the playing field 173 MICHELLE A. B. SUTHERLAND, RICHARD J. WASSERSUG AND KAREN R. ROSENBERG 15 The tenuous inclusion of transgender athletes in sport 194 ADAM LOVE 16 Queer genes? The Bio-A mazons project: a response to critics 206 CLAUDIO TAMBURRINI Index 218 Illustrations Figures 7.1 Participation in SPE by gender 82 7.2 Participation in main types of SPE 83 7.3 Participation in individual SPE 83 7.4 Participation in collective SPE 84 14.1 The Q- angle is the angle between the vector that represents the force of the quadriceps muscles and the direction of pull of the patellar tendon 179 14.2 Because of the average difference in the Q angles between males and females, the force available for the extension of the knee differs even if they have identical musculature 181 14.3 Males and females also differ in the average carrying angle at the elbow, which is due to the fact that the humerus and ulna (like the femur and tibia in the lower limb) are not in a straight line 182 14.4 The largest average osteological differences between males and females are in the pelvis 184 Tables 13.1 Evolution of the sex testing and gender verification policy 159 Contributors Jay Anonymous Jonathan Ospina Betancurt, The Technical University of Madrid, Spain. Nereida Bueno- Guerra, University of Barcelona, Spain. Helen J. Carroll, National Center for Lesbian Rights, USA. José Devís-Devís, University of Valencia, Spain. Agnes Elling, Mulier Instituut, Netherlands. Kiki Collot d’Escury, Mulier Instituut, Netherlands. Maylon Hanold, Seattle University, USA. Vanessa Heggie, Birmingham University, UK. Elena Lopez-C añada, University of Valencia, Spain. Adam Love, Mississippi State University, USA. Kinnon MacKinnon, University of Toronto, Canada. Rory Magrath, Southampton Solent University, UK. Maria Jose Martinez- Patiño, University of Vigo, Spain. Riley McCormack, Seattle University, USA. Mark F. Ogilvie, Durham University, UK. Sofía Pereira- García, University of Valencia, Spain. Lindsay Parks Pieper, Lynchburg College, USA. Karen R. Rosenberg, University of Delaware, USA. Victor Manuel Perez Samaniego, University of Valencia, Spain. Michelle A. B. Sutherland, Georgetown University, USA.