Reading the comments on volleytalk and groups like this as a fellow trans athlete are beyond devastating. I consider myself a grown a** woman (who has a fantastic therapist) but this constant rhetoric and commentary on trans people eats away at you. People speak so freely with hate and disdain but then say it is not personal but you cannot attack a person’s equality, character, or identity without it being personal. It’s not only personal to the specific person but to trans people at large, especially trans women.
When your identity and validity as a person is constantly attacked and ridiculed you turn into a shell of a person.
And I don’t want to hear any BS about “it’s about fairness” or “you shouldn’t let what others say or think affect you”. There are ALREADY rules in governing bodies all the way up to the IOC for how trans athletes can compete and even so- there are SO FEW of us trans athletes. And even the few that do compete there is NO EVIDENCE of some massive influx of trans athletes.
We do not transition for sports. We transition TO STAY ALIVE. If you think this will be an avenue to men to win, then your issue is with predatory men, NOT TRANS WOMEN.
Do yall really think that in this transphobic, misogynistic, sexist, patriarchy that faking being a woman is a legit way MEN are wanting fame?
This journey is TREACHEROUS every single moment that trans people are alive. We have NO safe places. All we want to do is play the sport that we love. To escape reality and just exist on the court. No one is transitioning just to win sports, we face discrimination in every aspect of our life. We have less access to education, safety, job security, access to healthcare, and struggle to even have relationships and friendships. All bc of this hateful rhetoric and because people feel the need to demean people and other people. Imagine living in a world where every where you look you are being told you will never amount to anything, never have a career, never have happiness, never have love, never have equality, where society denies your validity. Why would anyone CHOOSE that?
And unless you are trans you have NO idea what it is like.
Not to mention transphobia is immensely rooted in racism as well. You see athletes like Serena Williams who constantly were accused of “being a man.” Intersex athletes like Castor Semenya who were disqualified for a NATURAL OCCURRING difference. Meanwhile athletes like Michael Phelps who ALSO have naturally occurring advantages (his body does not produce the normal amount of lactic acid) are lauded.
People always rag on “more bone density, more lung capacity, taller height” but don’t even acknowledge the biodiversity within each assigned sex at birth. There are a MULTITUDE of cis women who are stronger, taller, faster etc than me. Does this mean women who are taller than others should not be able to compete?
Additionally, the immense muscle mass that trans women lose after hormone replacement therapy (HRT) greatly affects athletic ability. I am a shell of an athlete of what I used to be. And guess what? All that extra “bone density, height and weight” combined with LESS MUSCLE = more stress being put on the body.
Lastly, this issue also affects cis women. There are news articles about cis women who are harassed for people assuming they are trans, with some even being physically attacked or killed. How is this protecting women? How is this furthering our “safety”? How do you explain to your child that because they are so good, or because they look a certain way, that people want to do tests on them or even PHYSICALLY EXAMINE THEM to prove they belong?
Finally, even if you disagree with their belonging in sports- the least you can do is gender them correctly. You may not think they should compete but you don’t have to dehumanize them and attack their identity at the same time.
I hope that this athlete is being looked after and loved on. I hope that she knows that there is nothing wrong with her. I hope she knows she deserves love, happiness, equality, and equity. I hope she knows she has community and she belongs. We’ve lost too many people to the cruelty of the world. Please think about that whenever you speak.
✌🏽
